Cancer is a very smart disease. Basically, Cancer is a growth that is able to survive in our bodies. Even though we have a tremendous immune system that would like to fight it, cancer is smart enough to get away from this fight and find a way to survive in our bodies and find a place for it. It can harm anywhere it goes.

When you talk about the warning signs of cancer, it really varies on whatever kind of tumor it is. 

Some cancers quietly exist, showing very minimal symptoms. 

The best way to evaluate your symptoms is to know you own body. 

Changes in any bodily function could indicate a problem and should be checked right away by a medical professional.

Many cancers have an extremely high survival rate when detected and treated early.

A benign growth is a tumor or tumors that are not cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.

Malignant tumers are cancerous and are made up of cells that grow out of control. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

Sometimes cells move away from the original (primary) cancer site and spread to other organs and bones where they can continue to grow and form another tumor at that site. This is known as metastasis or secondary cancer. Metastases (me·tas·ta·sis) keeps the name of the original cancer location. E.g., pancreatic cancer that has spread to the liver is still called pancreatic cancer.

Signs of lung cancer vary and It’s very difficult to know the early signs of lung cancer. However, coughing blood, losing weight ,very unusual chest x-ray , especially in smokers, people that have been exposed to fumes in the past.

You can get lung cancer whether you have been a smoker or exposed to second-hand smoke.

Mammography and self examination is key and should be done routinely, as well as having yearly breast exams by your doctor.

The science continues to evolve; however, early detection through self-examination is critical to a successful outcome. Know your body. Know your family history. Talk to your doctor.

The most common cancers are and be aware of breast cancer, Lung cancer and Colon Cancer. These are the most prevalent forms of cancer. 

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are conditions that occur when the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow are damaged. This damage leads to low numbers of one or more types of blood cells.

This is not a common cancer.

Men should have their yearly prostrate examinations. 

Some of the early warning signs are new and persistent symptoms of difficulty passing urine, dribbling of the urine,and blood in the urine. 

Know your body and talk to your doctor. Prostate Cancer is highly treatable with early detection.

Cancer treatment has changed dramatically over the years. Over time, we have several modtalities of treatment and drugs available that are tremendously effective, often with very few side effects. 

Many drugs called biologics are created from the DNA itself and are meant to fight cancer cells in a way that spares the stress on the human body as it produces less side effects and more effects on the tumor itself. 

Recent discoveries help us recognize the best ways that cancerous tumors are able to grow. Understanding this, we are able to deprive the tumors of the main modtalities of growth. Many drug treatments have been created to fight what we call an important biologic pathways that allow this cancer to survive. 

We continue with chemotherapy and all the classic treatments that are still working and still very important, as well as using biologics and other treatments as appropriate.

Small molecules of drugs have been found to  fight only the specific pathways that allow some cancers to grow. Recently there has been much discussion about the use of vaccines to fight cancer. 

We now have an approval for one of the drugs  to help fight prostate cancer in the later stage metastatic phase.

Currently, there are 2 types of vaccines that prevent cancer approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):

1) HPV vaccine. The vaccine protects against the human papillomavirus (HPV). If this virus stays in the body for a long time, it can cause some types of cancer. The FDA has approved HPV vaccines to prevent:

Cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers

Anal cancer

Genital warts

HPV can also cause other cancers the FDA has not approved the vaccine for, such as oral cancer.

2) Hepatitis B vaccine. This vaccine protects against the hepatitis B virus (HBV). This virus can cause liver cancer.

Nutrition is one of the main things that starts to effect the patient.  A cancer patient may start  eating poorly, due to loss of their appetite, which can affect the muscle mass. One thing we need to look at is how to continue to build the patients up during their treatment period. 

Losing weight is not healthy and should be monitored very closely. Dr. Salib and his staff will help educate and monitor your weight and encourage healthy eating and self-care during your treatments.

Vitamins are usually needed during treatment; however, Nothing over the counter should ever be taken without speaking with your oncologist first.

We encourage our patients to bring books, magazines, cell phones, ipads, snacks and beverages to pass the time. 

However, you may find yourself chatting, laughing and just engaging with other patients and our loving friendly staff.