The title on the cancer study is intimidating but the content is more approachable than it may seem. (Science Daily: New software helps to identify course of cancer metastasis, tumor 'evolution')
The evolutionary context in this article isn't any grand scale but rather it describes how a cancer will evolve during the course of the disease. One of the most startling revelations is there's not just one cancer in any given tumor but possibly more and a biopsy will not necessarily locate all of them.
Do NOT fly into a panic with any thought your biopsy results are invalid as that's not true. The science in this report only applies to advanced cases involving significant metastasis.
- Science Daily
The illustration shows the original cell in its normal condition in grey. The revelation from the research is clones are cancerous but are not necessarily the same cancer. Keep in mind throughout, this is a seriously sick individual with multiple paths of metastasis. This is not representative of a first-level screen in which you have seen a bump and the surgeon wants to biopsy it. As always, don't let the fear of cancer scare you to death.
My own experience may be useful since I've spent much of the recent months going back and forth to the VA hospital in Dallas for biopsies. Some have come back positive for this type of cancer or that but the approach was the same for all of them. If the biopsy did not already remove all the cancerous tissue then define the margin around it and get it all. Due to the incredible intelligence of the skin layer of your body, the probability of metastasis is low from skin cancer unless you have a particularly virulent melanoma.
The types of surgery I have been experiencing are NOT the subject of the research since the reason for identifying the different cancers in complex cases is the doctor(s) need to come up with a reasoned plan of attack in devising a treatment protocol. The dermo doctors know exactly the protocol for my level and that's identify the cancer to remove all of it on the first shot. They have some 'advantage' over other types of oncology since they can see the tumors. The dermo doctors have done that seven or eight times now in the last five or six months and have been successful every time in my cases.
And, Lord, Lord, this is where we get to the sci fi. The science is real and has already or will soon be a significant part of a newer treatment protocol for advanced cancer. The sci fi part is computers are used to aid the analysis and that's still not really sci fi when they're doing it right now but the potential is unlimited.
I've sent out frequent reports and a few articles on radical changes in diagnostic procedures based on computer and robot technology. Most of those reports were revolving around diagnostic 'bots which do a better job of medical diagnostics than humans in terms of accuracy and comprehensive evaluation. There's a distinct possibility of human job displacement in medical diagnostics due to replacement by machines so the wise diagnostician would do well to keep an eye always on the technology because it runs toward the future as fast as Washington politicians run away from it.
There's a major difference between that type of diagnostic technique or procedure than this one for advanced cancer since this will not replace human engagement but rather augment it. The overall impact to us is substantial due to demonstrably improved diagnostic techniques and consequently better medicine in general.
Note: Science Daily wasn't too heavy on the 'gee whiz, that would sure be cool' articles today and these ones were chosen just to see if I could do it. Unknown if I succeeded.
My ol' Dad was wizard at taking complex things to make them approachable but he understood quite well the importance of visual aids so it might have been better to consider video. That may be worthwhile for a longer presentation but, at least for now, the scribes will make the attempt and we'll see what comes.
I'm not trying to copy him but what he was doing was a good idea and some emulation is respect for his thinking more than hero worship but there's always going to be some of the latter, he was my dad.
The evolutionary context in this article isn't any grand scale but rather it describes how a cancer will evolve during the course of the disease. One of the most startling revelations is there's not just one cancer in any given tumor but possibly more and a biopsy will not necessarily locate all of them.
Do NOT fly into a panic with any thought your biopsy results are invalid as that's not true. The science in this report only applies to advanced cases involving significant metastasis.
The illustration shows the original cell in its normal condition in grey. The revelation from the research is clones are cancerous but are not necessarily the same cancer. Keep in mind throughout, this is a seriously sick individual with multiple paths of metastasis. This is not representative of a first-level screen in which you have seen a bump and the surgeon wants to biopsy it. As always, don't let the fear of cancer scare you to death.
My own experience may be useful since I've spent much of the recent months going back and forth to the VA hospital in Dallas for biopsies. Some have come back positive for this type of cancer or that but the approach was the same for all of them. If the biopsy did not already remove all the cancerous tissue then define the margin around it and get it all. Due to the incredible intelligence of the skin layer of your body, the probability of metastasis is low from skin cancer unless you have a particularly virulent melanoma.
The types of surgery I have been experiencing are NOT the subject of the research since the reason for identifying the different cancers in complex cases is the doctor(s) need to come up with a reasoned plan of attack in devising a treatment protocol. The dermo doctors know exactly the protocol for my level and that's identify the cancer to remove all of it on the first shot. They have some 'advantage' over other types of oncology since they can see the tumors. The dermo doctors have done that seven or eight times now in the last five or six months and have been successful every time in my cases.
And, Lord, Lord, this is where we get to the sci fi. The science is real and has already or will soon be a significant part of a newer treatment protocol for advanced cancer. The sci fi part is computers are used to aid the analysis and that's still not really sci fi when they're doing it right now but the potential is unlimited.
I've sent out frequent reports and a few articles on radical changes in diagnostic procedures based on computer and robot technology. Most of those reports were revolving around diagnostic 'bots which do a better job of medical diagnostics than humans in terms of accuracy and comprehensive evaluation. There's a distinct possibility of human job displacement in medical diagnostics due to replacement by machines so the wise diagnostician would do well to keep an eye always on the technology because it runs toward the future as fast as Washington politicians run away from it.
There's a major difference between that type of diagnostic technique or procedure than this one for advanced cancer since this will not replace human engagement but rather augment it. The overall impact to us is substantial due to demonstrably improved diagnostic techniques and consequently better medicine in general.
Note: Science Daily wasn't too heavy on the 'gee whiz, that would sure be cool' articles today and these ones were chosen just to see if I could do it. Unknown if I succeeded.
My ol' Dad was wizard at taking complex things to make them approachable but he understood quite well the importance of visual aids so it might have been better to consider video. That may be worthwhile for a longer presentation but, at least for now, the scribes will make the attempt and we'll see what comes.
I'm not trying to copy him but what he was doing was a good idea and some emulation is respect for his thinking more than hero worship but there's always going to be some of the latter, he was my dad.
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