Cancer, second leading cause of death

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Category: Ningbo Business

Published: Tuesday, 12 February 2013 12:22

February 4th is World Cancer Day. In recent years, lung cancer, stomach cancer, colorectal cancer, liver cancer, esophagus cancer, breast cancer and nose cancer have become the main diseases that harm people’s health. The incidence of cancer is rising and people affected are getting younger. 
    According to a report on the cause of death from Ningbo Municipal Center for Disease Control & Prevention, cancer has become the second leading cause of death in Ningbo, only next to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. But experts say that the latest medical research has shown that cancer may not be a death sentence, instead, it can be a controllable chronic disease. The key is prevention and early treatment. 
    Lung cancer, a malignant tumor, is the No.1 and No.2 killer in men and women respectively. It accounts for 1/6 of all tumors. Unfortunately, 80% of this cancer is diagnosed in the middle or late stage. 
    The treatments of cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and biological treatment. It is very important to choose proper treatment for different stages.
     The probability of lung cancer is higher in smokers than in non-smokers. The earlier and the longer one smokes, the more likely he is to get lung cancer.
    Experts say people had better not smoke. People over 40 should have a CT test every year so that the disease can be found and treated earlier. 

    People in their fifties or sixties are at high risk of having esophagus cancer.
    Department of Gastroenterology with Ningbo First Hospital once saw patients who had difficulty in eating consecutively for 4 to 5 days. They were found to have tumor in the esophagus. Early warnings of the disease include spine ache, difficulty in eating and pus and blood in reverse flow content. However, these symptoms are often neglected.
    People between 50 and 60 are at high risk of getting the disease and men are more prone to it than women. However, more people under 40 are getting it in recent years. If the tumor is inside the esophagus, it can be diagnosed and treated earlier; otherwise, it is often diagnosed at the middle or late stage. 
    Esophagus cancer is related to bad eating habits. People should say no to food that is moldy or too hot. They should have less pickled food and less alcohol. Drinking liquor for a long time is not suggested. 
    Ningbo has a higher rate of esophagus cancer. 
    The outbreak of esophagus cancer is related to region and people in Ningbo are more prone to it. Apart from virus attack, it is also because that people here prefer pickled food, in which cancerogenic nitrite exists.
    Esophagus cancer is more likely to fall on people between 30 and 50. As the tumor location is hidden, it is very likely to be misdiagnosed or even neglected. The treatments often include chemoradiotherapy as well as surgery.
    Doctors suggest that regular tests are the best prevention. Once one sees blood in nasal mucus, with headache sometimes, he should have an examination of nasopharynx in time. Also, one should do some prevention against colds, stay up less and say no to excessive exercise. 
    Cancer is usually related with life style.
    Studies show that prostatic cancer is relevant to eating too much meat and fish but taking little physical exercises; colorectal cancer with eating high-fat, frying and toasted food; gastric cancer is related to long-term intake of high-salt and pickled food; cervical cancer has something to do with premature or having sex with many partners; bladder cancer may result from long-term smoking and inadequate drinking; breast cancer may be caused by long-term pressure, psychentonia and too much intake of food that contains estrogen.
    Experts say that cancer results from long-term unhealthy lifestyle, one-third of cancer is preventable, one-third curable and the other one-third can be alleviated through proper treatment. However, in fact, a lot of cancer patients die from anxiety both physically and mentally and quite a few from overtreatment. A healthy lifestyle is the key to preventing cancer, and regular examination helps diagnosis and early treatment.