7 Deadliest Types of Cancer

7 Deadliest Types of Cancer

Cancer is one of the most wide spread diseases on this planet and affects hundreds of millions of people each year. Cancer alone is responsible for 13% of all human deaths, which if you don't have a calculator means that more than 1 in 8 people will eventually die as a result of cancer.

If you are unfamiliar with cancer, it is a classifcation of diseases where cells display uncontrolled growth which wind up invading adjecent tissues and can occasionally spread to other areas in the body.

Cancer can either be the result of excessive carcinogens consumption resulting in mutated cells, or plain old genetic abnormalities. Cancer from carcinogens can be avoided by reducing your exposure to said carcinogens as well as by consuming plenty of foods containing antioxidants.

Skin Cancer

Malignant growths on the skin are something to watch out for. The most common skin cancers are melanoma (which you can get from being out in the sun's UV rays for extended periods of time), and basal cell cancer. Tumors are clearly visible on the skin, because it generally forms on the outer layer of skin. Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the most often treated. Only a small percentage of people die from this disease. With approximately 2,300 deaths per year, this deadly cancer is still nothing to joke about.

Brain Cancer

Brain cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer due to its sensitive area. Brain surgery might not always be effective, and in many cases is not. Brain cancer is responsible for approximately 13,000 Deaths per year in the United States, including young children. The symptoms are usually headaches and increased pressure on the head due to the swelling of tumors, other symptoms include naseau, vomiting, dilated pupils and even altered states of consciousness.

Pancreatic Cancer

Located in the pancreas, this gastrointestinal cancer is diagnosed in 42,470 individual people per year in the United States, and of that number, 35,240 die from it. Europeans aren't so lucky when it comes to this disease either, with more than 60,000 diagnosed each year. Symptoms of pancreatic cancer are very tough to diagnose because there are very little symptoms at all. It is known as the "silent killer". The most common sypmtoms are usually overlooked, like abdominal pain, back pain, weight loss, and even jaundice.

Leukemia

While most people think that Lukemia is a childhood disease, it is actually diagnosed 10 times more frequently in grown adults. Leukemia is a form of cancer that affects both the blood as well as bone marrow.

There are two main forms of Leukema; Acute Leukemia and Chronic Leukemia.

Acute Leukemia is when there is a rapid increase immature blood cells. All the extra immature blood cells causes crowding which prevents bone marrow from being able to create healthy blood cells. Acute Leukemia is the most common form of Leukemia in children.

Chronic Leukemia is when there is a build up of abnormal matgure white blood cells. Chornic Leukemia takes much longer to progress and is often monitored after discovering the cancer in an attempt to wait for the pefect time to treat the disease. Chronic Leukemia surfaces much more in older patients although younger patients are not immune to it.

Every year, 250,000 individuals are diagnosed with some form of Leukemia representing roughly 2.5% of all cancer cases.

Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of blood cancer that usually starts in the lymphocytes within the immune system. Lymph nodes are where they typically originate from, emerging as a tumor. Approximately 74,300 people in the United States were diagnosed with the disease in 2008. This type of blood cancer is deadly due to the impact on the immune system, and those with HIV are highly susceptible to contracting lymphoma cancer.

Lung Cancer

When cell growth in lung tissue is going at an uncontrolled rate, it is almost a garunteed sign that it is cancer spreading. Spreading through the lungs and even past them, these cancer cells are very tricky to detect at an early stage. Lung cancer is actually the most common "cancer related death" in men, and secondarily in women. This should come as no surprise however, many lung cancer diagnoses can be attributed to smoking cigarettes. Lung cancer is responsible for 1.3 million deaths worldwide, every year. Symptoms include shortness of breath, coughing (even coughing up blood), and weight loss. With treatment, your 5 year survival rate is only 14%. Maybe now would be a good time to quit smoking?

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer starts out in the cells of breasts, both male and female (but is 100 times more frequent in females). Symptoms of breast cancer often start out as lumps in the breast (which is why you should often check for lumps the correct way), but the lump can quickly move on to changing the shape of the breast, as well as color, and even single nipple discharge. Oh, and inverted nipples. Yikes! Breast cancer claims up to 500,000 lives per year, worldwide.