Cancer and its psicological effects

CANCER
This section examines what cancer is, looks at its prevalence and then assesses the role of psychology in understanding cancer in terms of the initiation and promotion of cancer, the psychological consequences of cancer, dealing with the symptoms of cancer, longevity and the promotion of a disease-free interval.
What is cancer?
Cancer is defined as an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells, which produces tumours called neoplasms. There are two types of tumours: benign tumours, which do not spread throughout the body, and malignant tumours, which show metastasis (the process of cells breaking off from the tumour and moving elsewhere). There are three types of cancer cells: carcinomas, which constitute 90 per cent of all cancer cells and which originate in tissue cells; sarcomas, which originate in connective tissue; and leukaemias, which originate in the blood.

The prevalence of cancer
In 1991, it was reported that there were 6 million new cases of cancer in the world every year, and that one-tenth of all deaths in the world are caused by cancer. In 1989, it was reported that cancers are the second leading cause of death in the UK and accounted for 24 per cent of all deaths in England and Wales in 1984 (Smith and
Jacobson 1989). The main causes of cancer mortality among men in England and Wales are lung cancer (36 per cent), colorectal cancer (11 per cent), prostate cancer (9 per cent); and among women are breast cancer (20 per cent), lung cancer (15 per cent), colorectal cancer (14 per cent), ovarian cancer (6 per cent), cervical cancer (3 per cent).
While the overall number of cancer deaths do not appear to be rising, the incidence of lung cancer deaths in women has risen over the past few years.
The role of psychology in cancer
A role for psychology in cancer was first suggested by Galen in  200–300, who argued for an association between melancholia and cancer, and also by Gedman in 1701, who suggested that cancer might be