Iv - University of Salford Institutional Repository

ST III: (scientific)
DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT
Before turning to the cellular aspects of cancer, to make this
story complete, let's say a few words about diagnosis and treatment of
cancer.
Many tumours, if treated before they spread, are curable. Even
after spreading, treatment can cure many tumours. It is much more
difficult, however, to treat a tumour that has spread because instead
of dealing with only one tumour, one then must deal with numerous
secondary tumours of sites often distant from the original or primary
tumour. Thus, the problem of successful treatment of many cancers
boils down to one of diagnosing tumours early in their development.
Certain cancers are now almost always curable, even though they
weir major killers not too long ago. An example of a success story in
the cancer field is that of cervical cancer in human females. This
form of cancer was a major killer and now is often completely curable
because of early diagnosis made possible by development of the PAP
test. This simple test involves taking a smear of cervical cells and
examining them with a microscope. Cancer cells, precancerous cells,
and normal cells are easily observed. This test allows treatment of
this form of cancer, often before a real tumour develops, so the cancer
can be cured with freezing or surgery before any spread has occurred.
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