Cancer treatment is as much about pain relief and comfort as it is about killing off cancer itself. Unfortunately, most cancer treatment methods involve more pain, feelings of sickness - or long procedures and schedules for treatment itself. In today's medical world, women are dealing with many types of cancers - and as a result - many different types of cancer treatment as well.According to the National Cancer Institute's (NCI), cancer trend report for 2009-10, for women, lung cancer incidence rates continue to rise, but not as rapidly as before. Also, the rise in skin cancers is being attributed to the increase in indoor tanning use.The report indicates cancer treatment spending continues to rise along with total health care spending.Dr. Vikas Malhotra, MD, board certified in internal medicine, hematology and oncology, practicing at Florida Cancer Institute-New Hope in Brooksville said, "Effective screenings have reduced the risk of deaths related to breast and cervical cancers."However, notably for women, 50"64, going for screenings for breast and cervical cancer have been decreasing, it is being "monitored to see whether this trend continues", according to NCI.Breast, cervical and rectal cancers have stabilized over the past 10 years, whereas colon cancer has been significantly declining since the early 1990's for women, as colonoscopies have proven to be effective in biopsies for polyps.According to the NCI trend, an average of 700,000 new cases of breast cancer is reported annually. Cervical cancer averages about 80,000 cases, and rectal cancer averages 200,000 new cases each year.A lower rate of diagnosis at late stages is an early sign of the effectiveness of cancer screening efforts, advises NCI. These lower rates can be expected to occur before decreases in death rates are seen.NCI does report that survivor rates for all cancers reported are rising, which does coincide with predictions based from better early detection screening efforts.People who do not have regular, recommended cancer screening tests and/or experience a delay in following up on an abnormal screening test finding are at highest risk of being diagnosed with late-stage cancer, advises NCI.Breast cancer Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the U.S., not including skin cancer. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related death, after lung cancer, according to the ACS.The ACS estimates for 2010, almost 40,000 women will die from breast cancer. Most breast lumps are benign; however, a malignant or cancer tumor can develop from cells of the breast. It is found mostly in women, but men can also get breast cancer.Benign breast tumors are abnormal growths, do not spread outside of the breast and are not life-threatening. Some benign breast lumps can increase a woman's risk of getting breast cancer, adds the ACS.There are several types of breast cancer. Invasive and noninvasive ductal carcinomas are the most common for women and affects the ducts and tissue of the breast. Invasive and noninvasive lobular carcinomas affect the milk-producing glands of the breast. Inflammatory breast cancer is the least common, averaging one to three percent of all breast cancers. All invasive cancers can metastasize and spread to other parts of the body.Colorectal cancers Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer found in men and women in this country, not including skin cancers.The risk for women having colorectal cancer in their lifetime is about 1 in 20, according to the ACS. There are fewer cases, thanks to colorectal cancer screening, polyps can be found and removed before they turn into cancer. Colorectal cancer can also be found earlier when it is easier to cure.Treatments have improved, too.In these different areas, the cancer may cause different symptoms. Colon cancer and rectal cancer can have many things in common.Generally, colorectal cancers develop slowly over many years, and most of these cancers start as a polyp. The tissue may or may not be cancer, however, a polyp known as an adenoma can become cancer. Removing a polyp early may keep it from becoming cancer.More than 95 percent of colon and rectal cancers are adeno-carcinomas. It starts in the cells that line the inside of the colon and rectum.Cervical cancers Cervical cancer is most common in women between the ages of 20 and 50. More than 4,000 deaths from cervical cancer are estimated for 2010, according to the ACS.It is important for women to get regular Pap tests, recommends the ACS, as this test is a preventative tool for early detection at its most curable stage."Cervical cancer begins in the lining of the cervix. It is now known that cervical cancer is caused by infection of HPV (human papilloma virus)," said Malhotra, "It forms slowly, first, some cells begin to change from normal to pre-cancer and then to cancer."The changes may be called dysplasia and can take many years to develop, but sometimes happens sooner, he added. "These changes can be found by a Pap test, can be treated to prevent cancer."Lung cancers Lung cancer (both small cell and nonsmall cell) is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, according to the ACS. There is small cell, nonsmall cell and carcinoid lung cancers."More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Lung cancer is rare in people under the age of 45," according to the ACS.The average lifetime chance a woman will develop lung cancer is about 1 in 16. These numbers includes smokers and nonsmokers, the risk is higher for smokers while nonsmokers are lower.Lung cancer most commonly starts in the lining of the bronchi, but can start in other areas of the lung, and often takes many years to develop.There may be areas of pre-cancerous changes in the lung and are not a mass or tumor, as they are not visible in an x-ray, and have no symptoms.The pre-cancerous areas, over time, can become cancer, where it makes chemicals causing new blood vessels to form nearby, which feed the cancer cells and allow a tumor to form. With time, the tumor develops large enough to be seen in an X-ray.According to the ACS, the cancer cells could "break away" to spread in the body, or metastasize. Lung cancer is life-threatening as it often spreads before being found.Skin cancer Skin cancer (including melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer) is the most common of all cancers and the exact number of basal and squamous cell cancers is not known for certain because they are not reported to cancer registries, according to the ACS.Over 2 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are found each year each year and most are basal cell cancers, as squamous cell cancer is less common.According to the ACS it is rare to die from skin cancers, however, an estimated 2,000 people die of non-melanoma skin cancer each year in the United States."However, melanomas are an aggressive cancer which left untreated can metastasize and cause death," adds Malhotra.Most people who die from skin cancer are older, others are likely to die of skin cancer are those with immune systems that are not working well, such are someone who had an organ transplant.
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