Liver Cancer

LIVER CANCER


Symptoms:

• Weight loss (without trying)
• Loss of appetite
• Feeling very full after a small meal
• Nausea or vomiting
• An enlarged liver, felt as a mass under the ribs on the right side
• An enlarged spleen, felt as a mass under the ribs on the left side
• Pain in the abdomen or near the right shoulder blade
• Swelling or fluid build-up in the abdomen
• Itching
• Yellowing of the skin and eyes (jaundice)

Treatments:

• A surgeon: a doctor who treats diseases with surgery.
• A radiation oncologist: a doctor who treats cancer with radiation therapy.
• A medical oncologist: a doctor who treats cancer with medicines such as chemotherapy.
• A gastroenterologist: a doctor who specializes in treating diseases of the digestive system, including the liver.
• Surgery (partial hepatectomy or liver transplant)
• Tumor ablation
• Tumor embolization
• Radiation therapy
• Targeted therapy
• Chemotherapy

Prognosis:

Stage	5-year Relative Survival Rate
Localized	28%
Regional	7%
Distant	2%

Reference:http://www.cancer.org/cancer/livercancer/

Henrietta Chp 7-8

Chapter 7
1.Why do you think no one cared when HeLa cells were discovered?

2. Do you think because of Henrietta's race, the world neglected the information on her cells and ignored the news involving her?

3.With the information being released,do you think Henrietta's family feel more afraid or proud?

4. Why do you think people didn't believe cancer existed and related it to Nazism and racism?

5.If you were in Henrietta's shoes, will you hide from the public or approve of the media?

Chapter 8

1. Why do you think Henrietta kept the pain to herself until now?

2.Do you think the hospital is neglecting her help for pain due to her race?

3. With Henrietta's past, were you surprised that she told the doctor she was in pain? Why?

4.Do you think if Henrietta seek for help sooner, she would have open up more to her doctors and her family?

5.Why did it take so long for the hospital to treat Henrietta after they believed she was dying?

How does a tumor grow?

How does a tumor grow?

Tumors are formed from genetic mutation of normal cells. The cells that are mutated begins to multiply and spreading without stopping.There are 4 different stages of how a tumor grow. Oncogenes changes the normal cells to the cancer cells by alternating the dividing signals. During this process, suppressors would attempt to stop the spread of these cancer cells. However, the cancer cells will usually overtake the suppressors and continue to grow. Some cells can go through the process,apoptosis, which is the process where the cells "self-destruct". However, once the cells become a cancer cell, it is impossible for the cells to undergo apoptosis. Many scientists have developed drugs to resist the spread of tumors, but the cells that survive the drugs spreads new drug-resistant cells. 

Henrietta 5-6

Chapter 5-6

1.Why do you think Henrietta was hiding her pain from the radium treatment?

2. Do you think the radium treatments given to Henrietta safe?

3.Was is ethical that the doctors didn't tell Henrietta about her fertility loss?

4.Why did Day keep quiet when he say Henrietta's torso after the radium treatment?

5. During this chapter, does Day do a good job of being Henrietta's husband?

1. gynecology-studies of health maintenance and the diseases of females

2.autopsy-inspection/dissection  of a body for medical reasons

3. penicillin-an antibiotic that contains little amounts of toxic

4. gonorrhea-a STD that involves discharge from urethra or vagina

5. hysterectomy: a surgical operation to remove all or part of the uterus

Henrietta Chapter 3-4

Chapter 3-4

1. Telinde introduces a theory about carcinoma and claims it could save millions of cervical cancer patients, but wasn't successful.
2.Henrietta goes to Doctor Howard, and finds out she has epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix.
3.Henrietta is told that her cancer is infectious and is rapidly developing. However, Henrietta does not tell her family or anyone about her sickness.
4. Henrietta, by herself, went to hospital and gave them the consent for radium treatment.
5.Wharton cuts tissues of Henrietta's cervix and is sent to Grey's lab.
6.Margaret Gey hires his assistant Mary due to her set of hands and steadiness.
7.Mary cuts tissues into small pieces and puts it in "whirligig".
8.Henrietta claims the radium treatments has been helping with her sickness.
9. HeLa cells are turning to fried-egg shape and multiplies every 24 hours.
10. Gey is shocked and sends HeLa cells to his close scientists.

Henrietta Chapter 1-2

Chapter 1&2
"She led her through a door to a colored-only exam room" -This quote shows how Henrietta was segregated in the hospital. A hospital is suppose to give equal attention and medical care to everyone and not just a specific race. This explains why Henrietta didn't like going to hospital and probably why she always kept her problems to herself. She wants to avoid going to the hospital since she is seen as a different patient and doesn't want to feel even more segregated from society.

"No one could have guessed she'd spend the rest of her life with Day-first as a cousin growing up in their grandfather's home, then as his wife." -This quote reveals a lot about Henrietta's family and their lifestyle. Henrietta lived with her cousins during her childhood and didn't see marrying relatives was wrong. Henrietta ends up having a family with her cousin which can give mutations. 

"Either her doctors had missed it during her last exams--which seemed possible--or it had grown at a terrifying rate".-Henrietta's tumor is developing quickly which is very tragic. Her doctors could have not treated or seen it on purpose due to Henrietta's race. At that time, medical technology was not as advanced and maybe the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with Henrietta. Henrietta's cells soon became very important in the medical field. 

 "They agreed Henrietta would stay behind to care for the children and the tobacco."-Henrietta had to be a mother to her child and suffer from tumors. Henrietta had a hard life as a mother since she was left alone by Day and was suffering from sickness. Henrietta is shown as a strong independent woman due to her marriage with Day.

"When Crazy Joe found out Henrietta was going to marry Day, he stabbed himself in the chest with an old dull pocketknife."-This shows how much Joe loved Henrietta. Although all three of them were cousins, they didn't see anything wrong with having relationships with each other. This shows their lifestyle and their viewings on family. 

Review Questions:
1. Why do you think Henrietta don't want to go see the doctors?

2. Do you believe it was wrong for Henrietta to marry her cousin?

3.If you were in Henrietta's situation, would you have left Day with the children?

4.Do you think Henrietta feels threatened or intimidated when she enters the hospital?

5. During this time period, do you think Henrietta would ever get treated as if she was a white patient?