1. Statistics (from the National Institutes of Health)
on average, in the US, people have a 2 in 5 lifetime risk of developing cancer
second leading cause of death in the US
heart disease is the leading cause of death
approximately 14.5 million Americans alive today have survived a cancer diagnosis

2. Risk Factors
many Americans have a higher than average chance of developing cancer
risk factors can be broken into two categories:
factors that you have control over
factors that you have no control over

3. Controllable Risk Factors
tobacco use
alcohol consumption
diet
obesity
sunlight
radiation
preventable/treatable infectious agents (HPV)

4. Uncontrollable Risk Factors
age
genetics (family history)
infectious agents (cannot completely avoid)
obesity (partially genetic)
radiation (cannot completely avoid)
sunlight (cannot completely avoid)

5. 5 Major Stages of Cancer Stage 0 Stage 1 Stage 2
small clump of pre-cancerous cells
Stage 1
localized tumor that is small and has not metastasized (spread) into nearby lymph nodes
Stage 2
larger tumor that has metastasized to nearby lymph nodes

6. 5 Major Stages of Cancer Stage 3 Stage 4
even larger tumor that has metastasized to more lymph nodes
Stage 4
cancer that has metastasized into other areas of the body using lymph or blood vessels forming new tumors

7. Types of Cancer
carcinoma
sarcoma
melanoma
lymphoma
leukemia

8. Carcinoma
start in tissues which either cover surfaces or line internal organs
most cancers are carcinomas

9. Sarcoma start in connective tissue
appears in bones, muscles, fat, cartilage, nerves, tendons, and joints

10. Melanoma begins in pigment-containing cells known as melanocytes
typically occur in the skin but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye

11. Lymphoma
cancers of the white blood cells of the lymphatic system

12. Leukemia
cancers of the blood

13. Cancer Treatments
treatment is often dependent on the stage, type, and the location of the cancer and are often these treatments are used in combination with each other another and not in isolation (especially in later stages)

14. 4 Major Treatment Options
Surgery
Radiation
Chemotherapy
Immunotherapy

15. Surgery removal of the affected tissue used often in early stages
sometimes used to control symptoms (i.e. pain)
when used in later stages, surgery is often referred to as de-bulking
removing some of the tumor, but not all
will then be followed by other types of treatments

16. Radiation using ionizing radiation on a localized tumor
ionizing radiation harms quickly-dividing cells more than “normal” cells
can target hard-to-reach tumors

17. Chemotherapy
treatment using chemicals that harm rapidly dividing cells
often applied intravenously (through the blood)
can reach cancer cells anywhere in the body its especially used in late stages
can also be used to treat cancers that don’t have a localized tumor
ex: leukemia (cancers of the blood)

18. Immunotherapy enhancing the body’s immune system to help fight cancer
our immune systems have trouble recognizing cancer cells because they start out as “our cells”
may help your own immune system to work harder and/or smarter to recognize and kill cancer cells
also may help by giving man-made immune system proteins