We are not out of the cancerous woods

Growing the Voices of Our Future

The Westside Gazette Newspaper is honored to feature these editorial contributions made by local students.

By Layla Davidson

Cancer deaths in the United States have decreased by 33% since 1991, with an estimated 3.8 million lives saved. Cancer claimed the lives of 10 million people worldwide in 2020. Cancer, not Covid-19, was the leading cause of death in the world during the previous three years. Cancer symptoms can be difficult to distinguish from those of many other illnesses. Unusual weight loss or gain, swelling or lumps in the groin, neck, stomach, or underarms, and fever and night sweats are all symptoms. Changes in hearing and vision, seizures, headaches, and unusual bleeding or bruising may be symptoms of cancer in the bladder, bowel, skin, or neurological system. Because most cancers do not cause pain at first, you cannot rely on this as a warning sign. Rather than waiting for symptoms, the key to preventing cancer is prevention, along with screenings to detect the disease early. A startling number of new diagnoses are in people under the age of 50. Breast, colon, esophageal, gallbladder, kidney, liver, pancreas, prostate, stomach, and thyroid cancers have been on the rise in people aged 50, 40, and even 30 since the 1990s. Getting screenings done on time increases the likelihood of early detection and treatment, but it is still each person’s responsibility to be aware of their risk factors.