Cancer is a non- communicable disease characterized by the presence of abnormal cells/ tissues that are malignant, grow quickly uncontrollably and can spread to other places in the patient’s body.
Cancer cells are malignant and can invade and damage the function of these tissues. The spread (metastasis) of cancer cells can be through blood vessels or lymph vessels.
Cancer cells can come from all the elements that make up an organ, in the course of further growth and multiplication to form a tumor mass. Indonesia is ranked 8th in Southeast Asia based on Globocan 2020 data. In 2020, there were 396,914 new cases of cancer in Indonesia, with 234,511 deaths from cancer. Deaths from cancer are expected to continue to increase to more than 13.1 million in 2030 if not immediately anticipated from now on.
The main cause of cancer is a change (mutation) in the gene in the cell. However, the process is not always perfect. When cells divide themselves, there is a risk that new cells from the division will contain damaged genes or too many copies will occur. Symptoms of cancer are very diverse. In fact, sometimes cancer only causes mild initial symptoms, so sufferers consider these symptoms to be ordinary health problems. Cancer symptoms:
1. Pain throughout the body
2. Drastic weight loss
3. Changes in skin color
4. Unusual bleeding
5. Fever
Without treatment, cancer cells can spread (metastasize) and impair the function of surrounding tissues. Well, now there are various ways to treat cancer, including:
1. Chemotherapy
2. Radiotherapy
3. Biological therapy
4. Hormone therapy
5. Cancer surgery
6. Therapy radionuclides
Lifestyle strategies to prevent cancer, there are many ways to prevent cancer:
1. Maintain an ideal weight
2. Reduce salt consumption
3. Reduce consumption of sugary drinks
4. Avoid foods that are smoked or burned.
Cancer can indeed be treated in several ways, such as surgery, chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, to hormone therapy. With all these types of treatment, the term cured for people with cancer will be still different.