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Wetin to know about cancer, types, stages and signs to look out for
Cancer na one of di plenti diseases wey dey cut pipo life short anyhow. Bifor pipo bin dey see am as old pipo sickness but now even young pipo dey get am.
Di sickness wey get different types and stages don kpai plenti pipo over di years.
Di latest ontop di list of popular pipo wey cancer don kpai na Nigerian Yoruba entertainer, Taiwo Hassan wey dey popular as Ogogo.
Di health issue of di ogbonge Nollywood actor bin generate plenty conversations around cancer online and offline, as Nigerians bin pray for am to survive di sickness.
Im daughters bin enta social media wit tears to announce say dia papa dey battle cancer and make Nigerians recommend wia e fit get treatment as hospitals bin no gree give am chemotherapy.
Di announcement about Ogogo health challenge and death, come few months afta di death of Alexx Ekubo, anoda ogbonge actor wey also die from cancer related illness.
Wetin be cancer?
Cancer na disease wey dey make some cells for di grow uncontrollably and spread to oda parts of di body.
End of Di one wey oda users dey read well well
Na one leading cause of death worldwide, and e account for nearly 10 million deaths for 2024, or nearly one in six deaths, di World Health Organization tok.
Cancer fit start almost anywhere for di human body, wey dey made up of trillions of cells. Normally, human cells dey grow and multiply (through one process dem call cell division) to form new cells as di body need dem.
Wen di cells grow old or get issues, dem go die, and new cells go take dia place.
Sometimes, dis orderly process no dey follow, and abnormal or damaged cells go grow and multiply wen dem suppose die. These cells fit form tumours, wey be lumps of tissue.
Tumours (growth) fit dey cancerous or not cancerous (benign).
Cancerous tumours or malignant tumours dey spread into, or invade, nearby tissues and fit travel to distant places for di body to form new tumours.
Benign tumours no dey spread. Wen dem comot am e no dey grow back.
Di most common cancers na lung, breast, colon and rectum and prostate cancers.
Four stages of cancer and wetin dem mean?
Cancer research UK breakdown di stages of cancer - dis na now sabi pipo for health mata dey take describe di size of cancer and weda e don spread enta nearby lymph nodes wey be small organs of di immune system wey dey filter fluid and trap germs like bacteria and viruses, or to oda parts of di body.
E dey important becos e go help di team wey wan treat di pesin to know di kain treatment di pesin need.
If di cancer dey one place, for only one area of di body, doctor fit recommend local treatment wey fit be surgery or radiotherapy and e go remove di cancer finish.
But you fit need treatment wey go go round di whole body if di cancer don spread, na systematic treatment di pesin go kon need.
Dis na one of di simplest way to describe wetin stage 1 to 4 cancer mean.
Stage 1 - E mean say di cancer dey small and e dey inside di organ wia e start from.
Stage 2 - means say di tumour size big pass stage 1 but di cancer neva start to spread enta di surrounding tissues. Somtimes stage 2 fit mean say di cancer cells don spread enta di lymph nodes close to di tumour, but di one depends on di particular type of cancer.
Stage 3 - Di cancer dey big well-well and e fit don start to dey spread into surrounding tissues. E also mean say cancer cells don spread enta di lymph nodes wey dey nearby.
Stage 4 - E mean say di cancer don spread from wia e bin start to anoda organ for di body. For example e fit start from di liver and spread enta di lungs. Anoda name for am na secondary or metastatic cancer.
Shine your eyes for dis possible symptoms
As cancer dey type by type na so di symptoms dey different too, general symptoms dey plus some possible symptoms wey pesin fit lookout for according to di type of cancer wey you dey suspect.
According to NHS, di general symptoms include:
- New lump or swelling anywia for your body.
- If you dey sweat too much especially for night or your temperature dey high and e dey last well-well or e dey go dey come back.
- If you dey feel tired evritime more dan usual
- If you dey get unusual wound or you dey bleed (like bleeding from your nyash, blood dey inside your piss or you dey vomit blood)
- If evriwia for your body dey pain you and di pain no dey normal to you.
- If you dey lose weight wen you no dey do any weight loss programme or diet or hungry no dey catch you well-well like bifor.
- If you dey piss evritime wey dey unusual or sharp-sharp piss go just dey catch you or you dey feel pain wen you piss.
Oda possible smptoms for different types of cancer
Oda symptoms of cancer fit affect specific parts of di body.
Skin symptoms include:
If you see new mole for your skin, or changes to di mole wey dey anywia for your body.
If you see changes for your skin, like rashes or wound wey no dey gree go even wen you treat am.
If di whites part of your eyes or your skin dey look yellow (jaundice) – yellow skin fit dey hard to see for pipo wey get black or brown skin.
Digestion symptoms include:
- Heartburn or indigestion wey dey frequent, e dey painful or e dey worse evritime.
- Belle wey swell up (bloating) wey dey happun evritime or e dey lasts for long.
- If you poo-poo, (shit) dey change or you dey go toilet more or less times dan usual.
- Diarrhoea (purging) wey no dey worse or reduce or constipation wey no dey worse or reduce.
Mouth and throat symptoms fit include:
- To swallow sometin na wahala.
- You notice say your voice dey resemble frog own or e dey crack and e no dey worse or beta.
- Wound or ulcer for your mouth wey no dey beta.
- White or red patches dey inside your mouth.
Lung and breathing symptoms fit include:
- Cough wey no dey worse and e no dey reduce.
- Shortness of breath wey no dey worse or reduce.
- You dey cough out blood.
Vagina or penis symptoms fit include:
- Vaginal discharge wey no dey usual for your body.
- Usual vaginal bleeding, like bleeding between periods or afta sex, or bleeding afta menopause.
- If e dey hard you to get erection or for sex.
- If blood dey inside your semen.
Stage 4 cancer get treatment?
According to Cancer Centre, stage 4 cancer dey challenging to treat, but treatment options fit help control di cancer.
Systemic drug treatment like targeted therapy or chemotherapy, dey common for stage 4 cancers.
Sometimes, clinical trial fit be option, as e offer new treatments to help di patient fight stage 4 cancer.
Di centre also suggest say for cancer wey don spread beyond di breast and nearby lymph nodes, dem dey use systemic drug treatments and dem include:
- Hormone therapy
- Targeted drugs
- Chemotherapy
- Immunotherapy