Category: C

A malignant tumor of the prostate gland, which is part of the male reproductive system. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men, after skin cancer, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths among men, after lung cancer. The exact cause is not known, but age is a factor: prostate cancer…

Ingestion, inhalation, or absorption of toxic chemicals. The signs of poisoning from swallowed chemicals include burns around the lips and mouth, excessive salivation, and difficulty swallowing. When cleaning or petroleum products have been swallowed, the breath could have an odor resembling the offending chemical. Signs of chemical poisoning by inhalation include choking, coughing, and headache.…

A very rare cancer that affects mainly uncircumcised men older than 50. The most common form of the cancer begins as a persistent, painless, raised sore on the foreskin or the head (glans) of the penis. As the cancer invades, symptoms include pain, bleeding, discharge from the tumor, discomfort on urination, and enlarged lymph nodes…

Cancer originating in the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in the United States. Depending on which part of the pancreas is affected, symptoms may include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and jaundice (a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes). Pain…

Methods for controlling pain that continues after an injured tissue has healed. Chronic pain often begins as acute pain. It can be caused by diseases such as shingles, osteoarthritis, diabetes, or cancer; traumatic injury, such as from an automobile collision or a gunshot wound; or from surgery, such as the phantom limb pain following amputation.…

Cancer that begins in the ovaries. Ovarian cancer is the sixth most com¬ mon cancer in women. Because it is difficult to detect at an early stage, ovarian cancer is more likely to spread from the ovary and be fatal than is cancer of the cervix or endometrium (the lining of the uterus). Early stages…

A growth on the thyroid gland that does not absorb radioactive iodine during a diagnostic imaging procedure called radioactive iodine uptake because it is composed of nonfunctioning thyroid tissue. Nonfunctional nodules containing a gelatinous substance or consisting of cancer cells do not absorb radioactive iodine and are not detected on the thyroid scan.  

A disease in which malignant cells are found in the tissues of the nasopharynx. It occurs most commonly among people who are heavy cigarette smokers. Cancer of the nasopharynx usually occurs after the age of 50 and is more common in men than in women. One known risk factor for this cancer is infection by…

A physical event that occurs when air or gas collects in the chest cavity, exerting pressure on the lung and causing it to collapse. Collapsed lung is also referred to as pneumothorax.  

A cancer characterized by an abnormal increase in white blood cells arising from rapid, malignant growth of blood-forming cells in the bone marrow. Once it is detected, chronic myeloid leukemia tends to remain in a long-lasting (chronic) phase that may last up to several years, followed by a sudden acute attack known as a blast…