YOUR CANCER, YOUR LIFE – GETTING A SPECIMEN

We now know most of the ways of getting a direct or indirect look at the source of symptoms which might be due to cancer. Once the problem area is located, the next step is to obtain a sample for microscopic examination. This is always necessary. Even if the appearance on X-rays, say, is such that your doctor is perfectly sure it’s a cancer, it is still necessary to confirm this and to find out what type it is. Until this is done, no one can know what to expect Äî11Ìî bAst treat it or anything else. I cannot stress this too strongly — it is always Hiecessary to examine a specimen under the microscope. What are some of the ways of getting the specimen?

Some practitioners also claim to be able to diagnose cancer by testing your hair. This is not true. Like finger and toe nails, hair consists mainly of a substance called keratin. There are no cells in hair — it is not living tissue. It is not possible to diagnose cancer by analysing hair.

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LIVER METASTASES – ASCITES

When the liver is damaged, fluid tends to collect in the abdominal cavity. This is called ascites. One reason is that cancer or scarring in the liver can partly block the blood and lymph vessels. In addition, the liver normally produces a blood protein called albumin. If the liver doesn’t keep the albumin in the blood up to normal levels, fluid leaks out of the blood into the tissues. This can cause swelling in the legs or lower back as well as fluid in the abdominal cavity. Ascites in a person with cancer does not always mean the liver has secondary deposits in it. Cancer cells growing in the lining of the abdominal cavity (the peritoneum) also causes fluid to collect, just like the fluid on the lung when the pleura is affected. Of course, problems other than cancer can cause ascites too.

When checking for clues to the presence of cancer in the liver, your doctor would also be looking for yellow jaundice, which is seen most easily in the whites of the eyes.

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SCARLET FEVER – GENERAL INFORMATION (SYMPTOMS; TREATMENT)

The temperature and the rash often last for five to six days. Once the illness has subsided, the skin peels. There are many complications from scarlet fever, but these are not seen so often now.

Pneumonia and ear infection are common. Nephritis, or inflammation of the kidneys, and rheumatic fever, which may affect the heart are serious, rare complications.

The early use of antibiotics, particularly penicillin, in most cases of streptococcal infection, appears to have caused a reduction in a number of cases of scarlet fever and also in its severity.

The symptoms of scarlet fever, such as fever and headache, are of course treated as in all of these illnesses by the use of either aspirin or paracetamol. Bed-rest is essential. There is no vaccine to prevent scarlet fever.

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