Cancer Part 1 Flashcards
(41 cards)
What is the leading cause of death?
Cancer
Whose life expectancy is longer, male or female?
Female.
Why is it that at age 65, we are given a higher life expectancy than at birth?
Some babies die, so the average age at birth gets lowered when age 0 is factored in.
What percent of Canadians will die from cancer?
25%
What percent of Canadians develop cancer in their lifetime?
40%
What’s the “Five-year cancer survival rate”? (If someone was diagnosed today, what are the chances they’ll survive after 5 years?)
64%
What is cancer?
Uncontrolled (or unregulated) growth and spread of abnormal cells anywhere in the body.
How many different types of cancer are there and what are the top 4?
More than 200. Lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate (they all make up 50% of all cases in Canada).
In cell replication, what happens when there is space (typically from a cell dying) between cells?
They replicate to fill the space.
What is apoptosis?
A cell killing itself due to being a mutation.
What happens if a gene or cell is damaged but the part of the cell that’s damaged is the apoptosis?
It cannot kill itself, so it replicates. First step of cancer.
What does hyperplasia mean?
Increased replication.
What does dysplasia mean?
Abnormal structure and organization. Can be seen under microscope.
Does dysplasia always lead to cancer?
No. it can lead to cancer but it can also go back to hyperplasia.
What is carcinoma in situ?
Abnormal cells that can be seen under the microscope but do not spread. Large clump in same location. This is called a benign tumor. “Stage 0”
What determines if carcinoma in site turns into cancer?
Depends on type of cells and where it is, can or cannot turn into a malignant tumor (cancer)
What is a cancerous (malignant) tumour?
- The abnormal growth becomes cancer (malignant tumor) when:
-It grows into nearby tissues.
Or - has cells that travel through the blood or lymphatic system and spread to other parts of the body ( metastatic cancer)
What happens during metastatic cancer?
An uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells that don’t do their normal job and are sucking up all the resources that your healthy cells need. This is what causes death.
What is the cancer staging system in Canada?
The TNM which is:
- tumour size
- node (lymph node)
- metastasis
How is tumour size in cancer graded?
From 1-4, higher number means tumour is larger.
How is lymph nodes staging of cancer graded?
- N0 means cancer has not spread to lymph nodes
- N1, N2, N3 based on number of lymph nodes that contain cancer as well as size and location
How is the metastasis staging of cancer graded?
M describes whether cancer has spread to other parts of the body through blood or lymphatic system. M0 means not press and M1 means has spread to other parts of the body
What determines what type of cancer is most common to you?
Age and sex.
Which sex is more likely than the other to die of cancer?
Male more likely than female
