Cancer is a disease in which some cells of the body grow uncontrollably. These cells may form tumors, which are lumps of tissue. Tumors can be cancerous or not cancerous (benign).Benign tumors do not spread into, or invade, nearby tissues. When removed, benign tumors usually don’t grow back, whereas cancerous tumors sometimes do.

• Extreme tiredness that doesn’t get better with rest.
• Weight loss or gain of 10 pounds or more for no known reason
• Eating problems such as not feeling hungry, trouble in swallowing, pain in abdomen, or nausea and vomiting
• Swelling or lumps anywhere in the body
• Pain, especially new or with no known reason, that doesn’t go away or gets worse
• Skin changes such as a lump that bleeds or turns scaly, a new mole or a change in a mole, an ulcer that does not heal, or jaundice
• Cough or change in voice that does not go away
• Unusual bleeding or bruising for no known reason
• Change in bowel habits, such as constipation or diarrhea, that doesn’t go away or a change in how your stools look
• Bladder changes such as pain when passing urine, blood in the urine or needing to pass urine more or less often
• Fever or nights sweats
• Headaches
• Vision or hearing problems
• Mouth changes such as ulcers, bleeding, pain, or numbness

• Cancer is contagious
• Cancer can spread by needle testing/biopsy (except for very few)
• Cancer means death sentence
• Older people are not fit for treatment
• Hair will fall in all types of cancer therapies
• If you have a family history of cancer, you will definitely get it
• Treatment is extremely costly
• All cancer patients will receive same type of treatment

Surgery, Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Targeted therapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, transplantation are the various which are used separately or in combination to treat cancers. Type of therapy used is usually decided by the type & stage of cancer in combination to various other factors.

We need to perform a set of tests in order to stage cancer which helps us in tailoring the appropriate therapy .

Whether a person’s cancer can be cured depends on the type and stage of the cancer, the type of treatment they can get, general condition and comorbidities of the patient and various other factors. Some cancers are more likely to be cured than others. But each cancer needs to be treated differently. There isn’t one cure for all cancers.

The patient should commence cancer treatment as early as possible after getting properly staged using appropriate investigations. Delay in starting treatment gives cancer cells an opportunity to keep multiplying which in turn can impact the results of treatment.