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Show CANCER AnsweAline American Cancer Society 8 A regular feature, prepared by the American Cancer Society, to help save your life from cancer. A hardware store salesman explains: "A lot of my customers cus-tomers keep telling me to quit- smoking, but nobody tells me how. It's a tough habit to shake!" ANSWERIine: A quick call or visit to your American Cancer Society Unit will provide pro-vide you with "how to" information and perhaps an invitation to a smoking withdrawal with-drawal program. For the moment, how about these ideas? Pick a Q (Quit) day and just quit. If you can't, smoke one less cigarette a day. Make each cigarette you smoke a special decision and put off making the decision. Tell your friends, customers and family that you are quitting because a public commitment bolsters willpower. will-power. Did you know that your food will taste better? Every time you are inclined to smoke ask yourself: lung cancer? heart disease? emphysema? Are cigarettes worth lung cancer or heart disease or emphysema? A Sunbelt resident asks: "Is too much sun the only cause of skin cancer? ANSWERIine: While excessive exces-sive sun exposure is the major-and preventable-cause preventable-cause of much skin cancer, some cases are caused by exposure ex-posure to other kinds of radiation. Cancer-causing chemicals, e.g., arsenic, bums, and a genetic predisposition can also act in the development develop-ment of skin cancer. Fortunately, Fortun-ately, most skin cancers, because be-cause they are so highly visible, are detected while the disease is in an early stage anc are therefore highly curable Because of your place of resi dence, you should be especially careful about sur exposure. A day care center worke asks: "How accurate is thi Pap test?" ANSWERIine: The Pap test is a quick and painless procedure during which a sample of vaginal fluid and cells scraped from the surface of the cervix are collected for later microscopic examination. examina-tion. It is almost 100 percent accurate in detecting cancer of the uterine cervix (the neck of the womb). The test can actually detect cancer before the onset of symptoms. symp-toms. There is, however, another kind of uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, which begins in the lining of the womb. The Pap test is only about 60 percent effective effec-tive in detecting this kind of uterine cancer. There are other techniques that are used to detect endometrial cancer and they can also be performed in a physician's office or clinic. Nonetheless, Pap tests are important for women from the time they become sexually active throughout life. To safeguard safe-guard her health, each woman should have routine pelvic examinations including a Pap test and whatever other tests her physician suggests. This is important because when uterine cancer is detected in an early stage, the chances of cure are excellent. A computer programmer asks: "What is thermography?" ANSWERIine: Thermography is a way of recording the heat patterns of the skin. While it is not as reliable as other methods (such as breast x-rays and physical examination), examina-tion), thermography is used in conjunction with them' to detect possible breast cancer. Abnormalities within the breast raise the temperature of the affected area and it is ' this change that thermo-1 thermo-1 graphy is able to register. A house painter asks: "Who is a cancer specialist?" r ANSWERIine: Because can-: can-: cer can occur in many different dif-ferent forms, there is no one professional who is expert in dealing with all varieties of the disease. All physicians are trained to detect and diagnose diag-nose cancer. Many physicians are capable of treating some forms of cancer. A "cancer specialist" or oncologist is a physician whose practice consists con-sists mainly of cancer diagnosis diagno-sis and treatment. An oncologist can, for example, be a surgeon who specializes in the surgical treatment of .cancer, or an' internist skilled in the use of cancer drugs. The treatment of cancer today often involves a team effort using the expertise of many medical specialities. Oncologists are an important addition to the medical "team." |