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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1979-03-29, Page 43Dr. Bruce Thompson, medical advisor to the Goderich branch of the Cancer Society, discusses the importance of continuing research with unit vice -treasurer, Eugene Bender and second vice- president, Harold Chase. This year the Goderich branch has set a goal of $11,000 while the goal of the HuronUnit is'$45,000. (photo by Dave Sykes) Colorectal cancer .. . • from page 8 chemotherapeutic drugs., Chemotherapy has proved useful for patients• with colorectal cancer when their disease cannot be treated surgically. A chemical known as 5 - fluorouracil, or 5 -FU can reduce the size of a tumor and can relieve "pain, occasionally for long periods of time. Most chemotherapy is given in the doctor's office or the outpatient department of hospitals. For some patients, however, short periods of hospitalization may be necessary to monitor treatment. During. the treatment there are certain com- �uaa : s4am CAN CANCER BE BEATEN? Your BET YOUR LIFE IT CAN. mon side effects. They include nausea and vomitting; diarrhea, hair loss, anaemia, reduced blood -clotting ability, susceptibility to in- fections and mouth sores. Individuals tolerate drugs differently, and when treatment ' is stopped, side• effects disappear; hair grows back, for example or anaemia is corrected. An unexpected side effect should be reported -to the physician. ' PROGNOSIS' Almost two out of three patients can be saved if the disease. is found••early and treated promptly. When the colorectal cancer is treated early, it. is regarded as highly curable. Even when the cancer is advanced, prospects may still be good if prbper surgery is done. Because of advances in surgical techniques and nursing care, surgery is now possible for persons who were once con- sidered too old, or whose disease was.. thought to be too advanced for this treatment. Approximately 70 percent of patients un- -dergoing surgery for early colorectal • cancer live at least five years after diagnosis and treatment and many of them much longer and may be considered cured. Thousands •of people from all walks of life - businessmen, doctors, lawyers, housewives, teachers, laborers, ac- tors, ,nurses - have had colostomies and > have returned to normal, useful, socially ac- ceptable lives. Recognizing that stoma patients often find the change in body habits overwhelming at first, both physically and psychologically, many American Cancer Society Divisions ,.sp.ousor students and fund schools for training enterostomal therapists - a new kind of allied health professional. Enterostomal therapists, or ETs, have a nursing orsimilar background and are given an intensive six- week course of in- struction,' becoming experts on every phase of stomal care. They sometimes confer with surgeons prior to the operation on the best location for the opening, and afterwards teach the patient methods of daily care. Also through its local Units and Divisions, the ACS supports a volunteer visitation program under which an individual who has had a colostomy works • with a new colostomy patient. With the approval of the attending physician, these carefully selected and trained volunteers provide invaluable help - someone for the patient to see and talk to who has successfully coped with the same surgery. These former patients demonstrate that having a colostomy does not preclude a career, marriage, sexual relations, travelling or engaging in sports or other forms of recreation. The real hope for the future is in earlier detection. . Cancer specialists all over the world are improving diagnostic techniques, learning more about the nature of "early" or "minimal" cancer and developing more ef- fective combinations of treatments. The public and medical profession must be alerted to the need for earlier detection by better identification of those people at high risk of developing colorectal cancer. Huron goal $45,000 Won't you help us raise it? Page 9 The voice box The larynx vulnerable Here are the facts about cancer of the larynx - signs and symptoms, progress in diagnosis and treatment, prognosis, rehabilitation and hope for the future. Cancer of the larynx strikes approximately 9,000 persons in the United States each year and causes about 3;000 deaths. It is primarily a disease of white males in their 50s and 60s; it rarely occurs before the age of 40 and levels off after age 65. The ratio .of male to female patients is about 7 to 1. "Ther'e has been an increase in the oc- currence of this type of cancer in recent years, especially among blacks. The larynx, or voice box, is a structure of bone, cartilage and soft tissue located at the upper end of thetrachea, or windpipe. It is responsible for the sounds we make in tajking, humming and singing since it, contains vocal cords whichare vibrated by the exhaled air to create sounds. The cords are genera+ily smaller in women than in men, which accounts for the difference in voice pitch between the sexes. Cancer is a disease characterized by un- controlled growth and spread of abnormal cells. Noir ally, the cells that make up all parts of the body • reproduce them- selves in an orderly manner so that growth occurs, worn-out tissues are replaced and injuries repaired. Occasionally, certain cells grow into a mass of tissue called a tumor. Some tumors are benign, others are malignant (cancer). Benign tumors may interfere with body function and require surgical treatment but they do not invade neigh- boring tissue and seldom threaten life. However, malignant tumors invade and destroy • normal tissue. By a process called metastasis, cells break away from a malignant tumor and spread, through the blood and lymphatic systems to other parts of the body where • they form new cancers. So-metimes This informative publication is brought to you with the kind co-operation of the following ED & BILL STILES STILES FUNERAL HOME RIECK PHARMACY 14 THE SQUARE cow GODERICH 524-7241 cancer grows and spreads rapidly; sometimes the process may take years. Several invironmental and occupational factors have been linked to laryngeal cancer: habitual smoking and drinking are chief among these. Although the incidence of laryngeal cancer has not risen as sharply in recent years as that of lung cancer (a rise at- tributed ' directly - to smoking), case histories show that the vast - majority of men who develop cancer of the larynx have a history of heavy smoking and -or drinking. And the Surgeon General's Report • on Smoking and Health -- pointed clearly to "cigarette smoking as a significant factor in the causation of laryngeal cancer in the male." The disease has been • • found to occur more_. frequently among city dwellers than among persons living in rural areas. Voice strain, as ex- perienced by singers, actors, and ministers, _ has _occasionalL}�__heen.. associated with cancer. of 'the larynx. Other en- virohmental factors include exposure to wood and metal dusts, and repeated inhalation of some chemical sub'- stances. ubstances. The disease, keratosis, which produces wart -like growths•on the larynx, is believed to be a precancerous condition - and anyone with the condition should be examined regularly by a physician. SIGNS, SYMPTOMS The most frequent and important sign of laryngeal cancer is persistent and progressive. hoarseness. - This hoaresness is a direct result of a tumor on the vocal cords, the most common early site. of the disease. However, ' early growths can occur elsewhere on "the Larynx causing. such 'signs or symptoms as change in voice pitch, lump in the throat, coughing, dif- Turn to page 10 • SH EAER EATON • TEXTRON --- __ - Sheaffer Eaton Division of Textron Canada Ltd.