Cancer treatment and care are much advanced these days if compared to what was a decade ago. Still, there is a long way to go before claiming CARE is CURE. There are many types of cancer, from head to toe and different subsets exist under each category. Though the word CANCER elicits fear even in the BRAVE HEARTS, some cancers are deadlier than others.
The blog discusses four deadliest types of cancers in the world.
Lung Cancer
Unfortunately, most lung cancer patients visit an oncologist when the cancer has already progressed to the advanced stage and there is not much to be done. Smoking is one of the risk factors though surprisingly not the commonest cause of lung cancer.
As per microscopic examination, there are two subtypes of lung cancer – small cell and non-small lung cancer. Nearly 65% patients survive five years after lung cancer diagnosis in the earliest stage. Depending on the stage of lung cancer, the treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.
Colorectal Cancer
In early stages, colorectal cancer rarely presents with acute symptoms. If diagnosed in early stages, five-year survival rate for colorectal cancer patients is nearly 90%. Small tumours, commonly found in early-stage colorectal cancer, are completely removable through colonoscopy.
Doctors at the best oncology hospital in India usually suggest surgery to remove large tumours, along with chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and/or targeted therapy. Five-year survival rate for metastatic colorectal cancer is not very impressive.
Breast Cancer
Surprised that breast cancer makes it to the list of the top five deadliest cancers in the world? Brace yourself for some facts and figures. If breast cancer is diagnosed in the 1st stage, five-year survival rate is more than 90% whereas, the rate drops down to only 22% for metastatic breast cancer (last-stage or fourth-stage).
Breast cancer mostly affects women. Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), the deadliest subtype, is most common in African-American women. According to some latest research, young women – under 40 years of age – are mostly affected by TNBC and Her2 breast cancer (another deadlier subtype).
Treatment for breast cancer largely depends on staging and subtype of the disease. In early stages, it involves surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Modern studies show that patients can skip radiation in some cases. If the breast cancer tumor is large, the best breast cancer treatment in Kolkata involves NACT (Non-Adjuvant Chemotherapy) before surgery to shrink tumor.
Surgery for breast cancer can be either lumpectomy (breast-conserving) or mastectomy (extensive), depending on the size of the malignant tumor. Based on tumor profile, doctors may recommend hormone therapy to stall the pathway and recurrence of cancer.
Pancreatic Cancer
It is one of the most aggressive cancers in the world. Pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed in advanced stage. Some of the most common symptoms of pancreatic cancer include nausea and vomiting, stomach pain, ascites, biliary obstruction, bleeding and many more.
Obesity and alcohol are two major risk factors for getting pancreatic cancer. The disease also develops due to genetic factor. If you are at a high risk, make sure to undergo routine MRI/CT imaging and endoscopy for early diagnosis.
Surgery is performed to remove malignant tumors, followed by chemotherapy. However, there are controversies over benefits of radiation. Only 5% percent of metastatic pancreatic cancer patients survive five years after cancer diagnosis. The figure is really worrisome.