Healthy and Beautiful Corner

Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

The risk of depression is higher in individuals with serious illnesses, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, warning signs often dismissed by patients and their families, who mistakenly assume that it is normal for people facing serious health problems feel depressed. Many times the symptoms of depression are masked by other medical conditions, resulting in the treatment of symptoms but not the underlying depression. The concept of depression is an emotional response “normal” to another illness is a myth. Patients can become clinically depressed as a psychological reaction to the prognosis, pain and / or disability caused by the disease or its treatment (National Institute of Mental Health, 1999a)

One in four people with cancer also suffer from clinical depression and sometimes confused with depression side effects corticosteroids or chemotherapy, both treatments for cancer. For Furthermore, depressive symptoms may be wrongly attributed to cancer therein, which may also cause loss of appetite and weight, insomnia and energy loss (National Institute of Mental Health, 1999b). The association between depressive symptoms and increased risk of cancer was demonstrated in a epidemiological study of 2020 employees of Western Electric, which reported that depressive symptoms as measured by the MMPI test (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) were associated with double risk of dying cancer 17 years later, and with an incidence higher than normal in the first ten years (Shekelle et al. 1981). This persisted at follow-up carried out 20 years (Persky et al. 1987). Other studies have shown that depression in some cases the preceding symptom of pancreatic cancer, appeared long before symptoms become evident tumor (Fras et al., 1967). Likewise, other studies have confirmed that depression occurs with frequency and severity in patients with pancreatic cancer than in other gastrointestinal cancers. However, some studies report no similar results (Hahn and Petitti, 1988, Kaplan and Reynolds, 1988). Both cytotoxicity as the number of circulating NK cells vary with factors psychosocial. Low NK numbers have been associated with mood depressed and less anxious cytotoxicity. In patients with cancer advanced stages Decreases in NK cells and increase in cortisol levels when concomitantly with depression (Spiegel Rev 1998).

Cancer is a condition in which cells have lost normal control mechanisms, so that experienced abnormal growth, rapid and uncontrolled. Breast Cancer (Carcinoma mammae) is a cancer in breast tissue. This is the most common type of cancer suffered by women. Men also can be stricken with breast cancer, although likely smaller than the one in between in 1000. According to WHO 8-9% of women will experience breast cancer.

This makes breast cancer as a kind of the most common cancer in women. Each year, in the United States of 44.000 patients die from this disease while in Europe more than 165 000. After undergoing treatment, approximately 50% of patients experiencing end-stage breast cancer and survived only 18-30 months.

Causes and Risk Factors
The accurate origin of breast cancerous infection is unknown. Nevertheless, the study recognised several components that can boost the risk of certain persons, which include:

* Families who have a history of similar disease, Interestingly, the genetic components influencing only 50-10% of breast cancerous infection and show that other risk components play an significant role.
* Increasingly age, significance of age as a risk component strengthened by facts and numbers that 78% of breast cancerous infection happen in patients elderly over 50 years and only 6% in patients less than 40 years. The mean age at the time of the breakthrough of cancerous infection is 64 years old.
* Not having children
* Lifestyle, Study furthermore assesses the function of way of life components in cancerous infection development, encompassing the use of pesticides, alcoholic beverage utilisation, fatness, fat intake and need of exercise.
* First pregnancy at age above 30 years
* Longer menstrual period (early first menstruation or menopause later)
* Hormonal factors (both estrogen and androgen).

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