Oncology

Oncology deals with the study and treatment of cancer. St. Clair Speciality Physicians Oncology Division provides care for solid tumor, malignant lymphomas and chronic leukemias. On-site facilities include chemotherapy administration, laboratory and x-ray services. Vascular access procedures can be done to allow safe and painless blood draws and chemotherapy administration.

What is cancer?

All organs of the body are made up of cells. Normally, cells divide to produce more cells only when the body needs them. If cells divide when new ones are not needed, they form a mass of excess tissue, called a tumor. Not all tumors are cancer – they can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer). The cells in malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissue and organs. Cancer cells can also break away from a malignant tumor and travel through the body to form tumors in other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

There are over 100 different types of cancer, but the most common are:

• Breast cancer
  
• Lung cancer
• Colorectal cancer
  

Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that has developed from cells of the breast. The disease occurs mostly in women. it is the most common cancer among women, excluding skin cancers. Men can also develop breast cancer in rare instances.

Risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Female gender
• Age over 40
• Previous history of breast cancer
• Family history of breast cancer
• Never having children, or first child after age 30
• First menstruation before the age 12
• Menopause after the age of 55
• Post-menopausal hormone therapy (combined estrogen and progesterone
• Alcohol use

Women should start having annual mammograms around the age 40. Women that have a family history of breast cancer should start having mammograms earlier. The American Cancer Society recommends having a baseline mammogram done at the age of 35.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers and is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States. Lung cancer usually develops slowly and undetected over many years. Cigarette smoking causes most lung cancers. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer.

Common symptoms of lung cancer include:

• A cough that doesn't get better over time
• Constant chest pain
• Coughing up blood
• Shortness of breath
• Hoarseness
• Repeated pneumonia or bronchitis
• Swelling of the face and neck
• Loss of appetite and weight loss

There are many types of lung cancer. Each type of lung cancer grows and spreads in different ways and is treated differently. Treatment also depends on the stage, or how advanced it is. Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Colorectal cancer includes cancerous growths in the colon, rectum and appendix. It is the third most common form of cancer and is responsible for an estimated 655,000 deaths worldwide annually.  The majority of the time, colon cancer is diagnosed through colonoscopy.

The treatment depends on the staging of the cancer. When colorectal cancer is caught at early stages (with little spread) it can be curable. However when it is detected at later stages (when distant metastases are present) it is less likely to be curable.

Surgery remains the primary treatment while chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy may be recommended depending on the individual patient's staging and other medical factors.

Special Feature - Cancer Screening by Eudoro Coello, MD, FRCP
Screening helps detect cancer early when it is treatable and curable.

Links of Interest - Online resources for patients.