Today, I honor my mother, Eufemia F. Octaviano, who died of cancer on August 16, 2021. Mom was diagnosed with cancer when she was almost eighty (80) years old.
She was a non-smoker, yet, she had lung cancer. My father, Gil N. Octaviano, Jr.
also died of prostate cancer (which had spread) on October 25, 2021. He was diagnosed in 2007. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body.
Other terms used are malignant tumors and neoplasms. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs; the latter process is referred to as metastasis. Widespread metastases are the primary cause of death from cancer.
Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020. The most common in 2020 (in terms of new cases of cancer) were: breast (2.26 million cases); lung (2.
21 million cases); colon and rectum (1.93 million cases); prostate (1.41 million cases); skin (non-melanoma) (1.
20 million cases); and stomach (1.09 million cases). Many of us know someone who is diagnosed with the big C.
Like any medical condition, it can happen to anyone. Even children. WHO continues to share that Cancer risk can be reduced by: not using tobacco; maintaining a healthy body weight; eating a healthy diet, including fruit and vegetables; doing.