Diagnosis, Staging , and Three Complications of Cancer

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Cancer is a prevalent disease in the twenty first century and it affects people across all demographics. A multidisciplinary approach is necessary in diagnosis, staging, treatment and management of the disease. Cancer treatment results in complications and side effects that may be life threatening and thus patients require various types of support. Family, friends, support groups, psychologists, counselors, and medical practitioners all have a pertinent role in supporting patients through their care and recovery.
Diagnosis and staging of cancer seeks to establish two main factors namely where it may be located and to what extent it affects the body. Diagnosis often includes a laboratory tests. During diagnosis, a tissue in the affected area is assessed under a microscope. The tissue for examination is obtained through either an endoscopy, surgical or needle biopsy. Biopsy allows doctors to determine whether or not the suspicious tumor is cancerous, the type and the aggressiveness. Before initiating treatment, doctors stage it to ascertain the extent of its spread in the body. They use different tests such as imaging and blood tests to ascertain the position of the cancer cells and the extent of their spread to other areas.
There are four different kinds of staging that can be performed on a cancer patient. The first one is clinical staging, which involves physical examination; the second is pathologic staging which combines the clinical staging results with the results of surgical evaluation. The other two types are performed either after a patient goes through full therapy or if the cancer relapses after treatment. All the types of staging are necessary in informing the prognosis and the most effective treatment plan (California Cancer Registry, 2013).
To stage, doctors may use other methods such as computed tomography, bone marrow biopsy x-rays or blood tests. Staging is primarily done using the TNM system. The system involves evaluating the tumor in terms of its size and how extensive it may be. It also evaluates whether it affects lymph nodes and finally an assessment of distant metastasis (California Cancer Registry, 2013). Cancer may be classified as cancer in situ, localized or one that has spread to other areas either by direct extension, by involvement of lymph nodes or by evidence of distant metastatic. In the zero stage, the cancer is situated on the organ of genesis but does not affect adjacent tissues. In the first stage it slightly affects the adjacent tissues, in the second stage two it is spread to the adjacent tissues such as the lymph nodes, in stage three, the cancer extensively affects the main organ, lymph nodes and surrounding tissues and in stage four it affects other organs and systems of the body (Coburn, et al., 2008).
Cancer may create complications in the gastrointestinal system. Such complications arise from reasons such as stress, depression, immobility and its associated constipation. It is common for patients to experience diarrhea particularly when their cancer affects their colon. Radiation on the abdomen section of the body may also cause enteritis. Diarrhea may also result in dehydration and a patient’s dietary appetite. Ot...