cancer
What is Cancer?
Greer has recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. Cancers involving malignant tumors are categorized in stages numbered 1-4 depending on their severity. Stage 1 generally means that the tumor is relatively small and has not spread throughout the body. Stage 2 indicates that the tumor is larger than in stage 1, but it still has not spread. Stage 3 cancer means that the tumor has spread to the surrounding tissue and lymph nodes. Stage 4 cancer, or metastatic cancer, is when the tumor has spread to different organs in the body. At this stage, the cancer is the hardest to treat and fully recover from. It is likely that Greer has gone through all these stages of cancer, was put into remission (cured) temporarily, but the cancer continued to relapse (reoccur).
Cancer is the uncontrolled division of cells in the body. These cells are abnormal and kill other working parts of the body. Cancer attacks the immune system as well, making it impossible for your body to fight off the disease by itself. Without treatment, or in cases of cancer that do not respond well to treatment, these cells can spread (metastasize) throughout the body and invade vital organs and tissues.
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Changes in the appearance of the skin on the breast
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Lump in one or both breasts (soft and/or hard)
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Swelling of breasts (only noticeable when cancer progresses)
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Discharge from nipple
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Pain in one or both breasts
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Fatigue
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Shortness of breath/wheezing and/or coughing
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Difficulty walking/bone pain (when cancer has metastasized)
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Symptoms:
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Enlarged Lymph Nodes
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Fever
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Sweating and chills
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Fatigue
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Swollen/aching abdomen
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Immediate feeling of fullness after eating any amount of food
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Chest pain/pressure
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Shortness of breath/wheezing and/or coughing
Experimental treatment is the use of newly developed drugs on cancer patients who have not responded well to standard treatment. These drugs have not yet been known to cure or treat cancer, but because nothing else has worked, it is often a patient’s last hope at survival. Patients are put on a clinical trial, and doctors note the patient’s progress or lack thereof, and sometimes write about it in medical journals. Despite the unknown nature of clinical trials, there are times when these treatments prove to be beneficial. Chemotherapy was a clinical trial at one point, as was radiation. Greer has undergone many clinical trials by the start of the play, and during the play, she is going through another one involving radioactive prions. Click to see an example of a clinical trial using prion therapy.
In cases of malignant tumors, surgery is a viable option for patients. Surgeons attempt to remove as much of the tumor as they can without damaging vital organs. The remnants of the tumor, and the inoperable parts of the tumor, are treated with chemotherapy and radiation.
Cancer is most commonly treated with chemotherapy, a chemical drug that is given to patients orally and through an I.V. Chemo wipes out most of the fast growing cells in the body, including the healthy ones. Though this type of treatment can be a double-edged sword in terms of its toxicity, it has put the majority of cancer patients into remission over the last thirty years.
Radiation is another common treatment used on cancer patients. Radiation uses high-energy particles to destroy cancer cells. Patients lay inside a tight metal tube for 5-15 minutes, while a beam of light radiates onto the malignant area or areas. If the cancer does not respond to any of these treatments, an oncologist may suggest moving on to experimental treatments.
In cases of malignant tumors, surgery is a viable option for patients. Surgeons attempt to remove as much of the tumor as they can without damaging vital organs. The remnants of the tumor, and the inoperable parts of the tumor, are treated with chemotherapy and radiation.
How is Cancer Treated?
This is an extremely new and experimental clinical trial that has barely been around for five years. Prions are infectious agents made entirely of protein. Though they are theorized to be responsible for mad cow disease, these agents are beginning to play a significant role in the treatments of cancer, by debilitating the protein growth in malignant tumors. In short, radioactive prions don’t destroy tumors the way chemotherapy and radiation does, but they stop the tumors from getting any larger.