When people hear of arthritis, they immediately think of debilitating joint pain that impacts their entire lifestyle. What they don’t know is that that there are more than 100 different types of arthritis, each of them affecting patients differently. Arthritis refers to the inflammation of the joints and the surrounding tissues as well as other connective tissues. This inflammation often results in debilitating pain, joint stiffness, as well as reduced quality of life due to limited joint functionality. The good news, however, is that it is possible to prevent irreversible damage if diagnosed early enough. As noted earlier, there are over 100 types of arthritis. The most common however are as follows: 1. Osteoarthritis Also known as degenerative arthritis or OA, osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, affecting over 27 million people in the US alone. It often affects the knees, hips, lower back, hand joints, and even the neck. It develops when the protective cartilage found in your joints wears out, causing your bones to rub directly over each other. This repeated rubbing causes inflammation resulting in debilitating pain, swelling and even spur formation. In most cases, this type of arthritis comes with age but can also be as a result of obesity, as the excess weight tends to cause extra stress to your joints or previous injuries.

Being diagnosed with any blood cancer can be a scary state of affairs. However, the most important thing to always remember is that a bladder cancer diagnosis isn’t the end of life. It can be that turning point which can cause you to realize just how strong you are as a person. Moreover, with the right treatment, life goes back to being healthy. After a proper diagnosis, the next step is bladder cancer staging. The latter often determines the type of cancer one has as well as the variety of bladder cancer treatments they require. An estimated 90% of bladder cancer patients are over the age of 55-years old. However, that doesn’t mean anyone under that age bracket can’t be affected as 1 out of 27 men, and 1 out of 89 women is likely to develop bladder cancer. Here is an overview of the symptoms, stages, causes and types for bladder cancer: 1. Symptoms of bladder cancer One should take any cancer with the seriousness it deserves irrespective of its prevalence level. It is therefore essential for everyone to familiarize themselves with the tell-tale symptoms and visit their doctor as soon as they persist. These symptoms may include the following:

Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent women’s cancers in the world, although cases can also affect male patients as well. The most common symptoms for breast cancer are a lump in the breast, textural changes in the breast, and secretion of a bloody discharge from the nipple. The U.S. Breast Cancer Foundation indicates that roughly 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 62,930 cases of non-invasive (in situ) breast cancer will be diagnosed this year. However, breast cancer is very treatable if discovered early via these screening methods: 1. Mammography A mammogram is an X-ray photo of a breast. It can detect tumors in the breast that are too small to feel. It can also detect ductal carcinoma in situ, which are abnormal cells that line the breast duct. Women above the forty years are advised to have a mammogram annually. The process is painless but it can a little bit uncomfortable. The effectiveness of this method of screening depends on the size of the tumor, age, and weight of the patient, mass of the breast tissue and position of the tumor in the breast. It is not a perfect method of breast cancer screening. It can sometimes show faulty positive results, and this can cause a lot of anxiety and stress to the patients or negative results which delay the diagnosis and treatment process.

We as a society have made great strides in improving the effectiveness of cancer treatments that are available for patients today. Perhaps one of the most delicate subjects in modern medical practice would be the discussion of treatment options for cancer, no matter what type of cancer is being discussed between doctor and patient: 1. Chemotherapy One of the most common types of targeted therapy for cancer and the treatment type that most patients will have already been aware of. Chemotherapy utilizes certain drugs in order to kill cancer cells from the inside out. This therapy may cause temporary to longer-term side-effects, though most will disperse sometime after treatment is through.Common chemotherapy side-effects may include: Damage to the inside of the mouth and intestines Damage to hair cells, leading to hair loss Mouth sores Nausea and vomiting Anemia (low red blood cell counts) Constipation 2. Radiation therapy Another common treatment for many types of cancer. Radiation therapy uses concentrated doses of radiation on areas of the body affected, in order to kill off cancer cells from the outside of the patient. There are quite a few types of radiation therapy, which will differ depending on what type of cancer the patient is treating.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, describes multiple progressive lung diseases (i.e., chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and non-reversible asthma) that result in increasing breathlessness, which greatly impacts quality of life. COPD makes it difficult to breathe and obstructs airflow from the lungs. Those that have the disease often develop lung cancer and heart disease. However, many people don’t know they have COPD until lung damage is significant. Although it isn’t fatal, COPD can cause many health issues. Signs and symptoms mimic bronchitis or a severe asthma including symptoms of shortness of breath, tightness in the chest, excessive mucus in the lungs, lack of energy, and edema (or swelling in your lower body). Doctors do not usually diagnose patients until after the age of 40. Several contributing factors increase the risk of COPD development, such as: Smoking: COPD is most often caused by smoking tobacco. This is because the chemicals in cigarettes weaken the lungs which often causes infections, narrows the passages and breaks down the air sacs. Secondhand smoke can also be a factor. Air pollution Other causes include air pollution, especially in small, confined spaces, many times reported from workers after a long period working in unsafe conditions. Chemical exposure:

Hepatitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the liver that exists in different types. These hepatitis types include A, B and C. In the U.S. viral hepatitis is the most common type and accounts for roughly 50% of acute U.S. hepatitis cases, and results from contracting the hepatitis A virus (HAV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), or hepatitis C virus (HCV), leading to early warning symptoms of nausea, jaundice, abdominal pain, and chronic fatigue. Each hepatitis type has its cause, symptoms, and treatments that are determined through lab tests, as follows: 1. Contributing factors of hepatitis, A The cause of hepatitis A is usually a virus called hepatitis A virus (HAV) which is highly contagious. The virus affects the cells of the liver causing inflammation which affects the normal functioning of the liver. The contributing factor or the causes of hepatitis A include the following: Drinking water that is contaminated Sexual intercourse with a person infected with the virus Eating food that has been handled by a person infected with the virus Eating raw shellfish from water that is sewage polluted Hepatitis A vaccine is the hepatitis medication meant to prevent this particular type, which is why it’s often recommended prior to travel.

Any type of cancer is bad news, but cervical cancer comes with it additional consequences that many women find heartbreaking. Cervical cancer can determine your ability to conceive a child, which is why it’s important to regularly be screened and tested for cervical cancer. A Pap smear is used to screen for cervical cancer in combination with a pelvic exam, which may test for human papillomavirus (or HPV), a sexually transmitted infection that may cause cervical cancer. This article will discuss cervical cancer treatments and ways you can help lower your risk of developing cervical cancer: 1. Screening The first step you should take to prevent cervical cancer is to undergo regular cervical cancer screening. There are often two different methods for this. A Pap test and an HPV DNA test. In the first instance, cervical cells are collected by your doctor and then tested to determine their health. If something is abnormal, then you may be given an HPV DNA test next. For those who were also subjected to HPV, then you’ll need the DNA test to ensure that the virus isn’t causing your cells to turn cancerous. With these regular tests performed, you will know immediately if you need to take action to fight against cancer.

Hemophilia is a medical condition that causes reduced blood clotting. Therefore, the person suffering from the condition bleeds excessively because they lack the coagulation factor VIII, in most cases. A slight injury can cause excessive bleeds and may be life threatening. In most cases, hemophilia is hereditary, but in rare cases it can be due to spontaneous genetic mutation. Hemophilia types include the following; hemophilia type A, hemophilia type B, and hemophilia type C, as follows: 1. Hemophilia A Hemophilia A is transferred by X chromosome. The inheritance in women and men are different because the disorder is sex-linked. In women, the disease is only active when two hemophilia that are carrying X chromosomes are inherited while in men one active X chromosome can cause the disease. There are three stages of hemophilia that is the mild stage, moderate stage, and severe stage. Moderate hemophilia patients experience frequent bleeding than others. Treatments for hemophilia is done at centers that are hemophilia specialized. hemophilia medications for this type are prophylaxis 2. Hemophilia B This form is genetic, and it is inherited, but the protein that is missing or is defective in a patient body is called Factor IX clotting. In a few cases, it can also be due to genetic mutations that occur spontaneously.

For people who have Parkinson’s Disease, there are a host of complications that patients can have aside from the traditional symptom of Parkinson’s tremors. Understanding the long-term effects of Parkinson’s Disease as well as the symptoms can help patients learn how to be better prepared for them and control them. One of the symptoms that some people with Parkinson’s Disease must deal with is a symptom called, Dyskinesia. While not a problem that all people living with Parkinson’s Disease have, it does occur frequently. However, it is one of the known side effects for some long term sufferers of Parkinson’s Disease: 1. Symptoms of dyskinesia Dyskinesia symptoms can involve swaying, bobbing of the head, wriggling of a body part or upper or lower torso, which may all appear after years of no similar symptoms. Dyskinesia symptoms usually start to appear on the same side of the body that Parkinson’s Disease began. The symptoms may be mild at first and may stay mild and never become problematic. But for other patients, the symptoms can get in the way of job functioning and other tasks. 2. What is dyskinesia? Dyskinesia symptoms are a common side effect that some patients that have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease suffer from.

The leukemia diseases are cancers formed within the blood and bone, specifically in the white blood cells, either the “lymphoid” or “myeloid” cells. Leukemia is categorized by which of these blood cells is affected, and how quickly the disease progresses. Leukemia types are either acute or fast-growing and chronic or slow-growing, as such: 1. Acute myeloid leukemia Leukemia that is acute, is the result of immature and non-active blood cells in the marrow of the bone, which is known as acute myeloid leukemia. With this type, the cells reproduce and build up in the bone marrow impacting the production of healthy blood cells. Acute myeloid leukemia (or AML), is the more common form in adult patients. AML can develop in children, though it is considered rare. However, this form grows very fast and is also referred to as acute myelogenous leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, acute granulocytic leukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia. 2. Chronic myeloid leukemia Chronic myeloid (myelogenous) leukemia is referred to be a genetic abnormality. The chronic myeloid leukemia cancer occurs more in adults, but there are a few cases where children are affected. This cancer forms in the blood cells of the bone marrow. Chronic myeloid leukemia (or CML) goes through phases, and in time begins to spread via the blood system and then onto other parts of the body.