Cancer of the esophagus is a cancer that originates in the lining of the esophagus and spreads from the inside out through the walls of the organ. Once esophageal cancer is diagnosed, staging occurs. Staging is a standardized way of describing the...
Breast cancer is a serious cancer that affects many women, as well as men. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Symptoms of breast cancer do not start immediately at onset....
After a diagnosis of breast cancer, the cancer is staged. Staging classifies cancer according to a standardized system, using characteristics of the tumor, lymph nodes and whether any metastases have occurred. The stage of breast cancer helps...
There is no single test that can diagnose cancer. A cancer diagnosis is made after conducting several diagnostic tests, performing a physical exam, and careful consideration of patient history. According to the Caring4Cancer website, extensive...
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. Should you begin displaying symptoms, such as coughing up blood, shortness of breath and a chronic cough, undergo testing as...
Positron emission tomography (PET) is an imaging modality used to acquire a three-dimensional image of the body. A pet scan is obtained by injecting a combination of a radioactive isotope and glucose. This imaging technique is most useful for...
After breast cancer is diagnosed, it is then staged, based on a standardized system of describing the spread and extent of disease. Stage IV breast cancer, also called metastatic breast cancer, is the most advanced stage of the disease, in which...
A mammogram compresses the breasts between two plates, while an X-ray machine takes images of the tissue to look for abnormalities. Doctors use mammograms for screening purposes, which means a woman can benefit from the test even when she has no...
Pleural mesothelioma is a type of cancer that affects the lining of the lungs called the pleura, according to Allaboutmalignantmesothelioma.com. Despite its location, it is not a kind of lung cancer, because it originates in the membranes, not the...
Treatment for esophageal cancer depends on how much the cancer has spread. Doctors perform diagnostic tests to diagnose cancer in the esophagus and to determine how serious the cancer is. Diagnostic tests a doctor may use include an endoscopic...
The esophagus is a tube starting at the throat and ending at the stomach. Food and liquid that is swallowed travels through this tube to get to the stomach. Cancer that starts in this tube is called esophageal cancer, which was diagnosed in more...
One of the most common ways that stage IV breast cancer metastasizes or spreads to the lung, liver and bone is if it is misdiagnosed. Cancer cells multiply and spread through the blood stream and oftentimes to the lymph nodes. Perhaps routine...
Adrenal gland cancer is rare. Adrenal tumor growths are usually noncancerous adenomas, which do not cause any symptoms and rarely require treatment. There are three types of cancerous adrenal gland tumors including adrenocortical carcinoma,...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), lung cancer kills more people than any other type of cancer. Lung cancer includes all cancer that begins in the lungs, not cancer that spreads to the lungs after beginning in...
After breast cancer is diagnosed, staging of the cancer then takes place. Staging is done with surgery and various tests such as PET scans or an MRI to find out if and where the cancer has spread. The stages are a standardized way of describing...
Cancer that starts in the gingiva, or gums, is grouped with other cancers of the oral cavity. Oral cancers typically start in instances of leukoplakia, which are areas of white patches of cells that are persistent and do not go away, and in cells...
A pulmonary nodule is a small lesion found incidentally in about one out of every 500 chest x-rays, according to the University of Rochester Medical Center. Most pulmonary nodules are benign, but they can represent early cancer. It is important to...
Malignant melanoma is an advanced form of cancer that develops from melanocytes--the pigment cells that give the skin its natural color. Most patients with metastatic melanoma develop abnormal mole growths of cancer cells, that can eventually...
Tongue cancer is typically grouped with other head and neck cancers. Depending on where the cancer is located on the tongue, it can be either an oral cavity cancer or a throat cancer. This cancer is very curable, according to the Mayo Clinic, when...
For many cancer survivors, the end of treatment can be a very scary time. On one hand, you are told that you are "cured," but you are still left with the feeling of, " what now?" It can be a time of confusion, anxiety and loneliness. In addition,...
