Cancer treatments - chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy drugs used in the treatment of cancer may be taken as tablets or, more commonly, given by intravenous drip directly into a vein.

Many different drugs are available, which generally work by killing or slowing the growth of fast-growing cells. Cancers are made up of fast-growing cells. Other fast-growing cells, such as the cells that make up hair follicles, are also affected. This is why one of the side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss. Chemotherapy medications are also known as cytotoxic or anti-cancer medications.

Different uses of chemotherapy
Depending on individual factors such as the type of cancer, where it is and the person’s age and general health, chemotherapy may be used:

• As the only form of treatment
• Together with radiotherapy
• Before surgery to shrink the tumour
• After surgery to kill off any remaining cancer cells.

Aims of chemotherapy
The major aims of chemotherapy are to:

• Cure the cancer or increase the chance of cure
• Reduce symptoms and improve quality of life
• Improve survival.

Cancer pain management

The pain of cancer is usually constant. A person with well-managed pain has an improved quality of life. They are likely to sleep better and have more energy during the day. Being as active as possible also reduces the risk of ailments like pneumonia, blood clots and bedsores, which are associated with immobility. The foundation of cancer pain management is regular medication, including paracetamol and opioid drugs, chosen to suit individual patients and to minimise side effects. Drug combinations to gain maximum benefit are common. Radiotherapy, surgery, hormone therapy and chemotherapy - if successful in reducing tumour size - may also relieve pain. Other techniques that may be helpful include relaxation therapies and acupuncture.

The drug regimen is determined by the pain
The pain experienced influences the choice of drugs and their use. Some of the factors that influence the treatment choices include:

• The location of the pain
• The severity of the pain
• The type of pain - such as sharp, tingling or aching
• Whether the pain is persistent, or comes and goes
• What activities or events make the pain worse
• What activities or events make the pain better
• The current medications
• Whether or not the current medications ease the pain to an appreciable degree
• The impact the pain has on lifestyle, such as poor quality of sleep or loss of appetite.

A range of medications
Some people respond better to certain pain-killing drugs than others, so treatment is always individually tailored. Pain relief can be provided by a range of medications, including:

• Aspirin-like drugs - these medications are used for bone pain, and pain caused by inflammation (such as pleurisy). Some people experience stomach problems, such as indigestion and bleeding, with this type of medication. Aspirin itself is generally avoided, because it is too hard on the stomach if taken regularly.
• Paracetamol - this drug is important in cancer pain control. It is usually well tolerated, doesn’t affect the stomach and won’t thin the blood. It is helpful to reduce fevers and relieve bone pain, and is often used along with opioids.
• Opioids - such as codeine and morphine. Some of the possible side effects can include nausea, vomiting, drowsiness and constipation. There is no danger of addiction if taken for pain relief purposes. There are several newer opioids available, so that one can usually be found to suit any individual. Many patients worry about taking opioids, because they are afraid to become addicted or think they should wait until they are very ill before they use these drugs. Evidence shows that it is far better to find a suitable opioid and use it regularly from the time when your pain becomes constant. This makes it easier to maintain the activities and interests you enjoy.

The different forms of medication
Pain-killing medication can be administered in different ways, including:

• Tablets or syrups - these can be taken by mouth and are simple to use. However, if nausea or vomiting is a problem, tablets or syrups may not be practical.
• Injections - injections into the skin are painless, effective and quick acting. Continuous infusions under the skin may be set up and maintained at home, using a small portable pump.
• Intravenous injections - drugs are administered directly to the bloodstream via a slender tube (catheter) inserted into a vein. The pain relief is more rapid than tablets, syrups or regular injections, but it is inconvenient for long term administration for patients who are at home.
• Spinal injections - drugs are administered though a small catheter in the back (epidural catheter). This procedure must be performed by an anaesthetist. Generally, this type of pain relief is offered when other methods fail.

Chickenpox

Chickenpox (varicella) is a highly contagious viral disease caused by varicella-zoster virus (VZV). The main symptom is a blistering skin rash. Outbreaks are more common in winter and early spring. A vaccine is available.

Chickenpox is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (coughing, sneezing) or from the fluid in the skin blisters (lesions). An infected person is contagious for 1–2 days (possibly five days) before the onset of the rash and remains infectious until the blisters form scabs (usually around day five of the illness). Children with chickenpox should not go to school or kinder until the last blister has dried. You should tell your child’s school or kinder if your child gets chickenpox, as other children may need to be immunised or treated.

For most healthy people, chickenpox is mild and the person recovers fully without specific treatment. However, complications occur in approximately one per cent of cases. It is more severe in adults and anyone of any age with impaired immunity. Immunisation is the best way to prevent chickenpox.

Symptoms
The symptoms of chickenpox include:

* The person develops a low-grade fever.
* The person experiences general discomfort, illness or lack of wellbeing (malaise).
* A skin rash appears as little blisters surrounded by irregular-shaped patches of inflamed skin (‘dew drop on a rose petal’).
* The rash usually starts on the body, then progresses to include the head and limbs.
* Ulcers may develop in certain areas, including the mouth and vagina.
* The rash is intensely itchy.
* The little blisters burst and develop crusts, usually about day five.

How it is spread
Chickenpox is spread by air-borne droplets from the upper respiratory tract (when the infected person coughs or sneezes) or from touching the fluid in the skin blisters (lesions). An infected person is contagious for 1–2 days (possibly five days) before the onset of the rash and remains infectious until the blisters form scabs (usually around day five of the illness).

The time from infection to appearance of the rash (incubation period) for chickenpox is around 14–16 days. A few days prior to the rash appears, the person may feel feverish with a sore throat and headache. Their skin may be marked for some months after the rash has cleared.

Children with chickenpox should not go to school or kinder until the last blister has dried or until all blisters are covered. You should tell your child’s school or kinder if your child gets chickenpox, as other children may need to be immunised or treated.

Immediate Treatment for Injuries

If you suffer an injury during exercise, following a few simple recommendations can help you recover quickly and avoid a chronic problem. If you feel acute pain while exercising, you should:

* Stop exercising immediately.
* Wrap the injured part in a compression bandage.
* Apply ice to the injured part.
* Elevate the injured part to reduce swelling.
* Get to a physician for a proper diagnosis of any serious injury.

What should I do if I get injured?

Obviously a serious trauma injury, such as a broken bone or ruptured ligaments, will require immediate medical attention, but most injuries are not so dramatic, and some may even respond simply to rest.

When you get injured, there is typically swelling, redness, tenderness and increased temperature. This inflammatory response is how the body tries to heal itself – it is the body's attempt to dispose of blood (from torn tissue) and damaged cells.

Excessive swelling (oedema) can interfere with the initial healing process, so it's important in the early first aid treatment of sports injury to help limit this swelling. The acronym NICER is a useful reminder:

* N = non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, which reduce inflammation and swelling, and alleviate pain (remember to check the label for contraindications).
* I = ice, or cold therapy, since this decreases pain and limits the extent of the swelling. Ice should never be placed directly against the skin. The time for which a tissue should be cooled depends upon the site and severity of the injury.
* C = compression, usually in the form of a compression bandage. This mechanically limits the amount of swelling by restricting the amount of space in and around the injury.
* E = elevation. This also helps control swelling since fluid is drained more effectively from the injury.
* R = restricted activity. To allow the healing process to proceed, the injured area must be rested initially.


Who's the best person to treat my injury?

If your injury is minor – not much more than a little stiffness or soreness – it may be that you have simply been doing a little too much too soon and the affected area just needs rest.

However, there may be underlying reason for the soreness, extrinsic or intrinsic, and it never pays to ignore an injury, especially when it may be very easy to locate its cause.

Start with a sports physiotherapist if the problem seems to be related to sport, or you've had it before, or with your GP, who may then suggest you see one or more of various therapists. You could be referred for:

* Physiotherapy - this covers a well-established group of treatments or techniques, frequently involving physical manipulation of the affected area. It's offered in hospitals, on the high street, in doctors' surgeries, and often in gyms and sports centres. Physiotherapy is a very broad term and many physiotherapists specialise in a particular area of the body, so you may need some guidance in choosing the right therapist for you. Physiotherapy is available on the NHS, but these days you usually have to wait weeks and months. If you can decide to see a physio privately, you can refer yourself directly.

* Podiatry - podiatrists specialise in diagnosis and treatment of disorders affecting the foot and lower limb. They can provide relief of painful symptoms and also preventive care for people with conditions that may affect the health of their feet. A podiatrist might prescribe and manufacture orthoses - specialist insoles that can address problems like pronation by holding the foot in a stable position and preventing it rolling inwards. Podiatry is rarely offered on the NHS, so you'll probably have to pay to see a podiatrist privately.

* Osteopathy - this is a complementary therapy that focuses on musculo-skeletal problems. It concentrates primarily on problems with muscles, joints and nerves and employs a range of physical and manual techniques. In the UK it's considered a complementary therapy, so access to osteopathy on the NHS is limited, but some osteopaths work alongside GPs, and GPs are permitted to refer patients to them. You can also go to see them privately without referral.

* Chiropractic - chiropractors use physical manipulation to treat problems with joints, bones and muscles, and the effects they have on the nervous system. Chiropractors place particular emphasis on the spine, which is why they tend to be associated with treating bad backs. Like osteopathy, chiropractic is only available as an NHS treatment in some areas, depending on the policy of the local primary care trust, or you can see them privately without referral.

Injury

Injury or bodily injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. Personal Injury also refers to damage caused to the reputation of another rather than physical harm to the body. A severe and life-threatening injury is referred to as a physical trauma.
Types of injury
Minor abrasion injury.

* Bruise is a hemorrhage under the skin caused by contusion.
* Wound: cuts and grazes are injuries to or through the skin, that cause bleeding (i.e., a laceration).
* Burns are injuries caused by excess heat, chemical exposure, or sometimes cold (frostbite).
* Fractures are injuries to bones.
* Joint dislocation is a displacement of a bone from its normal joint, such as a dislocated shoulder or finger.
* Concussion is mild traumatic brain injury caused by a blow, without any penetration into the skull or brain.
* Sprain is an injury which occurs to ligaments caused by a sudden over stretching; a strain injures muscles.
* Shock is a serious medical condition where the tissues cannot obtain sufficient oxygen and nutrients.
* Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery.
* Serious bodily injury is any injury or injuries to the body that substantially risks death of the victim.

Diamantina River

The Diamantina River is a river in Queensland, Australia. Rising north-west of Longreach,[1] it flows in a south-westerly direction through central Queensland and Channel Country to form the Warburton River,[2] which, in extremely wet years, flows as far as Lake Eyre.[3] The length of the river is approximately 900 km, and the basin is approximately 157,000 km2,[4] of which most (140,000 km2) is used for agriculture.

Most of the basin of the Diamantina is very flat: even the highest points in the northeast do not reach 500 metres (1600 feet) above sea level and Lake Eyre itself is sixteen metres below sea level. Apart from a few streams near Winton (the largest town in the basin) almost all rivers in the basin flow southwestwards towards Birdsville. The major feature of the river's sluggish course is Diamantina National Park about halfway between Winton and Birdsville. Apart from the national park, almost all land in the basin is used for grazing cattle and sheep; though numbers fluctuate greatly and considerable skill is required on the part of graziers.

The climate of the basin is hot and arid. In January, temperatures throughout the basin average around 37°C (98°F) during the day and decline only to about 24°C (75°F) at night. In winter, they typically range from 25°C (77°F) during the day to 11°C (52°F) at night. On occasions, however, frost has been reported in all areas of the basin: Winton has recorded minima as low as -1.8°C (29°F).

Rainfall is heavily concentrated between December and March: averages for these four months range from 310mm (12 inches) at Winton and Kynuna to around 90mm (3.5 inches) at Birdsville. In the rest of the year rainfall is very scanty and only on the rarest occasions are significant falls reported: throughout most of the basin the average rainfall between May and September totals around 40mm (1.5 inches). However, the rainfall of the basin, as with all of the Lake Eyre Basin, is exceedingly erratic and catastropic droughts and floods tend to be the normal state of affairs throughout this region. In the northern part of the basin, annual rainfalls as high as 1,100 millimetres (43 inches) were reported in 1894, 1950, 1974 and 2000, whilst even in Birdsville annual totals as high as 550 millimetres (22 inches) have been reported. In dry years such as 1902, 1905, 1928, 1961, 1965 and 2002, almost the whole basin reported totals under 100mm (4 inches). There can also be significant variation from station to station over small areas: although the annual averages and variability at Winton and Kynuna are almost alike, the actual totals at the two stations can differ by as much as 200mm (8 inches) in some years due to isolated very heavy rainfalls.

The soils in the region are mainly grey and brown Vertisols, with some Fluvents in the drier areas. Although they do not have high phosphate contents, they have adequate levels of most other nutrients: consequently when rainfall is abundant the grasses within the basin are extremely nutritious, especially in the lower reaches of the river around Birdsville, which is a primary region for cattle fattening in years when rainfall further north is adequate to flood the region.

The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (nee Roma), wife of Sir George Ferguson Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland.

Liver Cancer

Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It filters harmful substances from the blood, digests fats from food and stores the sugar that your body uses for energy. Primary liver cancer starts in the liver. Metastatic liver cancer starts somewhere else and spreads to your liver.

Risk factors for primary liver cancer include

* Having hepatitis
* Having cirrhosis, or scarring of liver
* Being male
* Low weight at birth

Symptoms can include a lump or pain on the right side of your abdomen and yellowing of the skin. However, you may not have symptoms and the cancer may not be found until it is advanced. This makes it harder to treat. Treatment options include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or liver transplantation.

Heart Failure

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood throughout the body. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped or is about to stop working. It means that your heart is not able to pump blood the way it should.

The weakening of the heart's pumping ability causes

* Blood and fluid to back up into the lungs
* The buildup of fluid in the feet, ankles and legs - called edema
* Tiredness and shortness of breath

The leading causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Treatment includes treating the underlying cause of your heart failure, medicines, and heart transplantation if other treatments fail.

Heart failure is a serious condition. About 5 million people in the U.S. have heart failure. It contributes to 300,000 deaths each year.

Reactive Airway Disease (RAD)

Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) is a term proposed by S.M. Brooks and colleagues in 1985 to describe an asthma-like syndrome developing after a single exposure to high levels of an irritating vapor, fume, or smoke. In time, however, it has evolved to be mistakenly used as a synonym for asthma.

Current usage of the term in the medical community is to describe an asthma-like syndrome in infants that may later be confirmed to be asthma when they become old enough to participate in diagnostic tests such as the bronchial challenge test. It can also manifest in adults with exposure to high levels of Chlorine gas, creating symptoms like asthma. The severity of these symptoms can be mild to fatal, and can even create long term airway damage depending on the amount of exposure and the concentration of Chlorine.

Yushō disease

Yushō disease (literally oil disease) was a mass poisoning by PCBs which occurred in northern Kyūshū, Japan in 1968. In January 1968, rice bran oil produced by Kanemi Company in Kyushu started to become contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). The contaminated rice bran oil was then sold to poultry farmers for use as a feed supplement and to consumers for use in cooking. In February to March 1968, farmers started reporting that their poultry were dying due to apparent difficulty in breathing; altogether 400,000 birds died.

About 14,000 people who had consumed the contaminated rice oil were affected in Japan. Common symptoms included dermal and ocular lesions, irregular menstrual cycles and a lowered immune response.Other symptoms included fatigue, headache, cough, and unusual skin sores. Additionally, in children, there were reports of poor cognitive development.

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (Colitis ulcerosa, UC) is a form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis is a form of colitis, a disease of the intestine, specifically the large intestine or colon, that includes characteristic ulcers, or open sores, in the colon. The main symptom of active disease is usually constant diarrhea mixed with blood, of gradual onset. Ulcerative colitis is, however, believed to have a systemic etiology that leads to many symptoms outside the intestine.

Because of the name, IBD is often confused with irritable bowel syndrome ("IBS"), a troublesome, but much less serious condition. Ulcerative colitis has similarities to Crohn's disease, another form of IBD. Ulcerative colitis is an intermittent disease, with periods of exacerbated symptoms, and periods that are relatively symptom-free. Although the symptoms of ulcerative colitis can sometimes diminish on their own, the disease usually requires treatment to go into remission.

Quebec Platelet Disorder

Quebec Platelet Disorder (QPD) is a rare, autosomal dominant bleeding disorder described in a family from the province of Quebec in Canada. The disorder is characterized by large amounts of the fibrinolytic enzyme urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) in platelets. Consequently, stored platelet plasminogen is converted to plasmin, which is thought to play a role in degrading a number of proteins stored in platelet α-granules.

These proteins include platelet factor V, Von Willebrand factor, fibrinogen, thrombospondin-1, and osteonectin. There is also a quantitative deficiency in the platelet protein multimerin 1 (MMRN1). Furthermore, upon QPD platelet activation, u-PA can be released into forming clots and accelerate clot lysis, resulting in delayed-onset bleeding (12-24hrs after injury). Individuals with QPD are at risk for experiencing a number of bleeding symptoms, including joint bleeds, hematuria, and large brusing . The genetic cause of QPD has not yet been determined.

Nutritional diseases

Nutritional diseases also include developmental abnormalities that can be prevented by diet, hereditary metabolic disorders that respond to dietary treatment, the interaction of foods and nutrients with drugs, food allergies and intolerances, and potential hazards in the food supply. All of these categories are described in this article. For a discussion of essential nutrients, dietary recommendations, and human nutritional needs and concerns throughout the life cycle, see nutrition, human.

Nutrition-related disease is chronic undernutrition, which plagues more than 800 million people worldwide. Undernutrition is a condition in which there is insufficient food to meet energy needs; its main characteristics include weight loss, failure to thrive, and wasting of body fat and muscle. Low birth weight in infants, inadequate growth and development in children, diminished mental function, and increased susceptibility to disease are among the many consequences of chronic persistent hunger, which affects those living in poverty in both industrialized and developing countries. The largest number of chronically hungry people live in Asia, but the severity of hunger is greatest in sub-Saharan Africa. At the start of the 21st century, approximately 20,000 people, the majority of them children, died each day from undernutrition and related diseases that could have been prevented. The deaths of many of these children stem from the poor nutritional status of their mothers, as well as the lack of opportunity imposed by poverty.

Coronary angioplasty

Coronary angioplasty (AN-jee-oh-plas-tee) is a medical procedure in which a balloon is used to open a blockage in a coronary (heart) artery narrowed by atherosclerosis (ATH-er-o-skler-O-sis). This procedure improves blood flow to the heart.

Atherosclerosis is a condition in which a material called plaque (plak) builds up on the inner walls of the arteries. This can happen in any artery, including the coronary arteries. The coronary arteries carry oxygen-rich blood to your heart. When atherosclerosis affects the coronary arteries, the condition is called coronary artery disease (CAD).

Angioplasty is a common medical procedure. It may be used to:

* Improve symptoms of CAD, such as angina and shortness of breath.
* Reduce damage to the heart muscle from a heart attack. A heart attack occurs when blood flow through a coronary artery is completely blocked. Angioplasty is used during a heart attack to open the blockage and restore blood flow through the artery.
* Reduce the risk of death in some patients.

Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related, non-reversible brain disorder that develops over a period of years. Initially, people experience memory loss and confusion, which may be mistaken for the kinds of memory changes that are sometimes associated with normal aging. However, the symptoms of AD gradually lead to behavior and personality changes, a decline in cognitive abilities such as decision-making and language skills, and problems recognizing family and friends. AD ultimately leads to a severe loss of mental function. These losses are related to the worsening breakdown of the connections between certain neurons in the brain and their eventual death. AD is one of a group of disorders called dementias that are characterized by cognitive and behavioral problems. It is the most common cause of dementia among people age 65 and older.

There are three major hallmarks in the brain that are associated with the disease processes of AD.

* Amyloid plaques, which are made up of fragments of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide mixed with a collection of additional proteins, remnants of neurons, and bits and pieces of other nerve cells.
* Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), found inside neurons, are abnormal collections of a protein called tau. Normal tau is required for healthy neurons. However, in AD, tau clumps together. As a result, neurons fail to function normally and eventually die.
* Loss of connections between neurons responsible for memory and learning. Neurons can't survive when they lose their connections to other neurons. As neurons die throughout the brain, the affected regions begin to atrophy, or shrink. By the final stage of AD, damage is widespread and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.

Orthorexia

orthorexia nervosa is not an official psychiatric diagnosis (it’s typically categorized as a variety of anorexia), Dr. Bratman’s disorder does possess unique attributes. The main difference between an orthorexic and an anorexic is the individual’s motivation. Dr. Bratman used the prefix “ortho” to mean right or true. Orthorexics don’t operate from a desire to be thin; instead, they strive to eat pure and healthy foods. While this condition may sound innocuous at first, it can have serious consequences. These health food addicts may obsess about eating the right foods to the point of social isolation, pathological obsession, and even starvation.

Specialized diets have achieved wider popularity in the United States in the last few years. Widely acclaimed regimens such as the Atkins diet (which allows little to no carbohydrates) have introduced self-imposed severe dietary restrictions to the mainstream, and made unusual or rigid dietary practices more socially acceptable than ever before. In addition, escalating obesity rates in the United States over the past two decades have created a backlash of healthy and socially-conscious eating in some areas.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is an extremely dangerous eating disorder in which a person intentionally deprives herself or himself of food and can literally starve to death in an attempt to be what they consider "thin." The disorder involves extreme weight loss—at least 15% below the individual's "ideal" weight—and a refusal to maintain body weight that is even minimally normal for their age and height and body frame.

The self-esteem of individuals with this disorder is hyper-dependent on their body shape and weight. Even if they become extremely emaciated, an anorexic person's distorted body image convinces them they are "fat." Weight loss for them is viewed as an impressive self-achievement and an indication of extraordinary self-discipline, whereas weight gain is perceived as an unacceptable failure of self-control.

Colorectal Cancer

Cancer of the colon or rectum is also called colorectal cancer. In the United States, it is the fourth most common cancer in men and women. Caught early, it is often curable.

It is more common in people over 50, and the risk increases with age. You are also more likely to get it if you have

* Polyps - growths inside the colon and rectum that may become cancerous
* A diet that is high in fat
* A family history or personal history of colorectal cancer
* Ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease

Symptoms can include blood in the stool, narrower stools, a change in bowel habits and general stomach discomfort. However, you may not have symptoms at first, so screening is important. Everyone who is 50 or older should be screened for colorectal cancer. Colonoscopy is one method that your doctor can use to screen for colorectal cancer. Treatments for colorectal cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination.

Mouth Disorders

Your mouth is one of the most important parts of your body. Any problem that affects your mouth can make it hard to eat, drink or even smile.

Some common mouth problems include

* Cold sores - painful sores on the lips and around the mouth, caused by a virus
* Canker sores - painful sores in the mouth, caused by bacteria or viruses
* Thrush - a yeast infection that causes white patches in your mouth
* Leukoplakia - white patches of excess cell growth on the cheeks, gums or tongue, common in smokers
* Dry mouth - a lack of enough saliva, caused by some medicines and certain diseases
* Gum or tooth problems

Treatment for mouth disorders varies, depending on the problem. Keeping a clean mouth by brushing and flossing often is important.

Mobility Aids

Mobility aids help you walk or move from place to place if you are disabled or have an injury. They include crutches, canes, walkers, wheelchairs and motorized scooters. You may need a walker or cane if you are at risk of falling. If you need to keep your body weight off your foot, ankle or knee, you may need crutches. You may need a wheelchair or a scooter if an injury or disease has left you unable to walk.

Choosing these devices takes time and research. You should be fitted for crutches, canes and walkers. If they fit, these devices give you support, but if they don't fit, they can be uncomfortable and unsafe.

Cancer in Children

Cancer begins in the cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, new cells form as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes, this process goes wrong. New cells form when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. The extra cells can form a tumor. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Malignant tumor cells can invade nearby tissues or break away and spread to other parts of the body.

Children can get cancer in the same parts of the body as adults, but there are differences. Childhood cancers can occur suddenly, without early symptoms, and have a high rate of cure. The most common children cancer is leukemia. Other cancers that affect children include brain tumors, lymphoma, and soft tissue sarcoma. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Treatment may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal. In rare cases, scar tissue replaces the muscle tissue.
Some people live long, healthy lives with cardiomyopathy. Some people don't even realize they have it. In others, however, it can make the heart less able to pump blood through the body. This can cause serious complications, including

* Heart failure
* Abnormal heart rhythms
* Fluid buildup in your lungs or legs
* Endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining

Heart attacks, high blood pressure or infections can all cause cardiomyopathy. Some types of cardiomyopathy run in families. In many people, however, the cause is unknown. Treatment might involve medicines, surgery, other medical procedures and lifestyle changes.

Cancer Chemotherapy

Normally, your cells grow and die in a controlled way. Cancer cells keep forming without control. Chemotherapy is drug therapy that can stop these cells from multiplying. However, it can also harm healthy cells, which causes side effects.

During chemotherapy you may have no side effects or just a few. The kinds of side effects you have depend on the type and dose of chemotherapy you get. Side effects vary, but common ones are nausea, vomiting, tiredness, pain and hair loss. Healthy cells usually recover after chemotherapy, so most side effects gradually go away.

Your course of therapy will depend on the cancer type, the chemotherapy drugs used, the treatment goal and how your body responds. You may get treatment every day, every week or every month. You may have breaks between treatments so that your body has a chance to build new healthy cells. You might take the drugs by mouth, in a shot or intravenously.