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Types of Terminal Illnesses
There are many types of Terminal Diseases such as the Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, Lung Cancer, Leukemia (a form of Blood Cancer, infecting the Blood cells), Pancreatic Cancer, Liver Cancer which includes Hepatitis B .
Listed below is their explanation of the signs and symptoms of each of the following diseases.
Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Pulmonary Fibrosis is a disease inflicting the lung. What happens is that the air sacs progressively begin to fill up with fibrotic tissue. With the progression of time the tissue becomes denser, and prevents the transfer of oxygen into the bloodstream. Among the American community, 40,000 of the people fall victims to this fatal disease. Symptoms of the disease are shortness of breath, feeling of discomfort in the chest, loss of appetite, exhaustion, weariness and a dry irritating cough. Presently there is no specific cure for this disease. Individuals suffering from the disease are usually in their forties and fifties. Victims of the disease also suffer a loss in weight. There is no specific treatment for the disease as the drugs are still in the experimental phase.
Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is termed as another terminal illness, claiming the lives of millions of people across the United States. The reason is because Lung Cancer, in contrast to other forms of Cancer, cannot be treated with chemotherapy. It has a tendency of being diagnosed in its later stages, rather than in its earlier stages. People suffering from the disease, have a small chance of high life expectancy. Causes of the disease can be varied, some of which include exposure to the radioactive element Radon, or the silicate referred to as asbestos. Workers in chemical factories are at higher risks in this respect. Probably the most important cause of this deadly disease is the habit of smoking. This can cause irreversible damage to the human lung. Common symptoms relating to Lung Cancer patients are frequent coughs, constant and unbearable chest pain, shortness of breath, weakness in physical strength, significant weight loss and a loss of appetite.
Patients in the advanced stages of lung cancer mean that the cancer cells were not able to confine themselves to the lung, and were able to spread to other parts of the body. Surgery in this respect would not solve the problem, especially if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of the body. Suitable treatment options could be presented to the patients, in order to relieve their discomforts. The treatments will not cure them of the disease but simply relieve them of the discomforts associated with the disease. For patients with lung cancer, that has spread, and is not treatable with surgery, there are also treatments available, such as external beam radiation, cryotherapy, laser therapy and brachytherapy, to help improve symptoms caused by the lung cancer. They, however, do not cure the cancer Patients diagnosed with Lung cancer has a few weeks to live from the time of their diagnosis.
Acute Leukemia
Acute Leukemia sometimes referred to as acute lymphocytic leukemia, is a different form of cancer originating in the blood and bone marrow. This is a disease that usually targets the immature blood cells rather than the immature ones. Additionally it also affects the white blood cells known as lymphocytes which are required to fight infection. As a result these infected blood cells tend to increase with time, and eventually they destroy the healthy blood cells in the person, resulting in him being more vulnerable to infectious sicknesses. Individuals suffering from the fatal disease suffer from symptoms which include loss of weight, fever, decreased appetites and fatigue. Acute Leukemia can result in a shortage of both red and white cells. In its early stages ALL can form lumps in the lymph nodes of the neck, underarm, and stomach. It can also cause headache, fatigue, dizziness, seizures, vomiting, and distorted vision. This type of sickness is mostly prevalent in children and adolescents.
Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer can be considered as one of the most fatal forms of cancer. It is one of the most serious of all cancers, which accounts for a vast amount of cancer deaths. This is a disease which forms when malignant cells form inside the pancreas. The pancreas is an organ which secretes enzymes which aid in the digestion of foods. The formation of a tumor within the pancreas prevents the release of the enzymes from the pancreas. This prevents the individual from digesting his or her food. With the result there would be a loss of weight in the individual and inevitably death, due to malnutrition. People suffering from pancreatic cancer suffer from symptoms, which include a very sharp pain in the upper part of the abdomen, which tends to possibly spread to the upper part of the neck and back. In addition they suffer a significant weight loss, a deep yellowish color of the skin and the whites of the eyes, and severe nausea and vomiting. Although there is some preventive treatment for this type of disease, victims of this disease have little hope of living, if the cancer is spread from the liver to other parts of the body.
Hepatitis B
Known as a disease which disrupts the function of the Liver, Hepatitis B is 100 more times more infectious as compared to the AIDS virus, and it destroys the liver for a permanent period of time, until inevitable death occurs. It is usually transmitted through the use of unhygienic medical syringes, or through the transmission of bodily fluids of infected individuals. The disease can prove fatal if the immune system cannot fight off the disease, and may result in the evolving of the more serious disease such as liver cancer or cirrhosis, and finally death of the individual. Most of the children in the US, suffer from this disease. Symptoms for the disease are nausea, vomiting, fatigue and severe unbearable pain circulating around the liver.
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