“Great advancements have been made, but cancer is still the leading cause of death for people under the age of 85. In the United States, one in every four people die from cancer.” – BioDigital System’s Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon

Shocking isn’t it? It’s about 25% of the people in the United States dies from cancer. So, what causes cancer anyway? Well, the uncontrolled growth of cells and for it to not die is the main culprit of such disease, called cancer. Supposedly, a cell is programmed to grow and die and when these cells don’t die and continue to grow, it flows through the blood destroying the healthy tissues.

Carcinogens can alter the metabolism of a cell and can damage DNA. It escalates the growth of cancer cells. Tobacco, asbestos, arsenic, gamma and x-rays, the sun, and fumes exhaust from cars are all examples of carcinogens. Even the simple grilling of meats is an example of carcinogen. Burning of meat at a high temperature produces the same carcinogen as cigarette has. Cigarette has thousands of compounds that can be carcinogenic or if not, noxious. Also, overheating or frying of carbohydrates may be carcinogenic such as potato chips, French fries, etc.

There are many ways to prevent cancer. One can choose not to smoke, or if you’re a smoker, quitting can still be effective to prevent the risk of having it. Viruses like Hepatitis B may lead to liver cancer and can be prevented by vaccines. Some vaccines for women also prevent cervical cancer. Moreover, to protect our skin from cancerous radiation emitted by the sun which can cause skin cancer, sunscreens, and staying in shaded areas can help. Proper diet also helps since some foods are associated with carcinogens. Fresh fruits and low-fat food are recommended. There are also cancers, which are caused by obesity and lack of exercise that can be easily avoided by every individual with just proper discipline.

Prostate cancer will develop when cells within the prostate grow uncontrollably, creating small abnormal cells called tumors. The so called “cancer” is a condition in which the regulation of cell growth is lost and cells grow uncontrollably.

.           According to an article on BBC, regular masturbation can reduce the risk of acquiring prostate cancer. Researchers say that cancer-causing chemicals that could build up in the prostate can be lessened when men ejaculate regularly.

Researchers from Australia interviewed over 1000 men who had developed prostate cancer and 1250 that had not about their sexual habits.

Men, who ejaculated frequently between their 20’s and 50’s, were the least likely to develop prostate cancer. The greatest protection rate for men is where they were in their 20’s.  And those who masturbate 5 times a week were 33% less likely to develop the dangerous cancer in their later life.

Carcinogens present in the prostate can be reduced from accumulation through ejaculations.

The prostate provides a fluid into semen during ejaculation that activates sperm and prevents them sticking together. The fluid has high concentrations of substances including potassium, zinc, fructose and citric acid, which are drawn from the bloodstream. But animal studies have shown carcinogens such as 3-methylchloranthrene, found in cigarette smoke, are also concentrated in the prostate.

Fewer ejaculations, said Dr. Giles, may mean there will be building up of carcinogens. He says that, “it’s a prostatic stagnation hypothesis. The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them.”

There is also a theory by researchers is that ejaculation may induce glands to mature fully, making them less prone to carcinogens.

Dr Chris Hiley, head of policy and research at the UK’s Prostate Cancer Charity, told BBC News Online: “This is a plausible theory.”

Anthony Smith, deputy director of the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society at La Trobe University in Melbourne, said that research could affect the kind of lifestyle advice doctors give to patients.

“Masturbation is part of people’s sexual repertoire.”

Even though there is a widespread of different kinds of cancer, most of them when diagnosed at the early stage can still be treated.

One of the most common forms of treatment is chemotherapy. This method of treatment uses medicine to destroy and weaken the cells that have cancer in the body, which includes cells that are at the main site of the cancer and any other cancer cells that might have reached other parts of the body. This is a systemic form of therapy because it mainly affects the entire body part by part going all through the bloodstream.

After a certain extent, there are small numbers of chemotherapy medicines. A lot of cases in the chemotherapy treatment only use a mixture of two of the medicines for breast cancer.

This form of treatment is used to take care of the early-stage of breast cancer to take away whatever cancer cells that might have been left behind after a finished surgery and to lessen the threat of the cancer in coming back. It is also used in the advanced-stage of breast cancer to damage or destroy the cancer cells as much as it possibly can. There are cases that chemotherapy is prearranged before surgery to reduce the size of the cancer.

Other forms of treatment also include radiotherapy and surgery. Radiotherapy is most commonly used in malignant tumors, and it is used as the main therapy. Radiotherapy is also commonly combined with other treatments such as hormone therapy or a combination of the three. For the most part, radiotherapy can treat common types of cancer in several ways. The exact treatment objective will actually depend on the actual type of the tumor, site, phase and the patients’ general health.

There are other types of treatment nowadays for cancer. Modern technology has indeed paved a way to help those who suffer from this form of disease.