Adenocarcinoma cancer is a specific type of cancer that occurs in cells lining internal organs. The most common area for adenocarcinoma cancer is the lungs, but it can show up in the colon, prostate, ovaries, stomach, pancreas, and other areas. Today, nearly half of all diagnosed lung cancers are adenocarcinomas.
Benign glandular tumors can sometimes later become cancerous, making them adenocarcinomas. Any type of benign tumor should be watched closely to ensure it doesn't turn cancerous, and if it does, it is removed at the earliest opportunity.
Since an adenocarcinoma cancer occurs by definition internally, there are often few or subtle signs in the early stages of the disease. For lung cancer, persistent cough, chest pain, or recurrent pneumonia may be symptoms, though they certainly are not the only ones.
For adenocarcinomas in other areas, pain in the area of the cancer, diarrhea or constipation (colon cancer) and acid reflux for cancer of the esophagus have been reported, but many cases were asymptomatic, or symptom-free, when the cancer was discovered.
As with many types of internal cancers, few if any symptoms present themselves until the cancer is well established. This makes treatment longer and more difficult, because there is much more backtracking to do than if the cancer had been discovered at Stage 1.
Of course, doing what you can to stay healthy, including getting regular physical exams, is the best way to prevent or avoid cancer treatments in the first place.
Cigarette smokers are thirteen times more likely to develop adenocarcinoma of the lungs than non-smokers, though this type of cancer is also the most common type of lung cancer among non-smokers. Still, your risk of getting any type of lung cancer skyrockets if you smoke. If you smoke, quit. If you don't smoke, don't start.
Treatment for adenocarcinoma cancer can vary widely depending on the patient's age and general health at the time the cancer is discovered, as well as other factors. Chemotherapy, radiation and surgery are traditional treatments, though these are best tolerated by otherwise healthy people.
Hormone therapy, biological therapy, and stem cell transplants are other options. Your doctor will discuss the treatment options that he or she feels will have the best chance of success, given your type and stage of cancer and your overall health.
When treating the cancer, it's important to eat healthy and get enough rest. Your body will be under strain not only from the cancer but from the treatments. Chemotherapy and radiation almost unavoidably kill some healthy cells along with the cancerous cells, so your body needs all the help it can get to recover as quickly as possible from the treatments.
While an adenocarcinoma cancer is serious, it's certainly no longer a death sentence. New treatments like Gamma Knife surgery show promising results and have fewer negative side effects than standard radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
While a diagnosis of any kind of cancer is never good news, the outlook for surviving adenocarcinoma cancer is much brighter than it was even five years ago.
About the Author
frank j vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.Colon-carcinoma.com Colon Carcinoma
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