Heart Cancer Research Paper

“Cancer”, its a disease that has claimed the lives of millions, its a disease that so far has no known cure, and its a disease that has many different forms. Cancer is defined as a malignant growth or tumor resulting from the division of abnormal cells. Heart cancer is one of the many different forms of cancer that affects us and luckily is one of the rarest cancers that we don’t see everyday. For example, one study reviewed more than twelve thousands of autopsies and found only seven cases of a primary cardiac tumor. Heart cancer (primary cardiac tumor) is cancer that arises in the heart. Cancerous (malignant) tumors that begin in the heart are most often sarcomas, a type of cancer that originates in the soft tissues of the body. The vast …show more content…
In other cases, symptoms can be mild or severe. Many symptoms of a heart tumor develop suddenly and resemble those of heart diseases. General symptoms of heart tumors like fever, cough, involuntary weight loss, joint pain, fingers that change color, nail curvature with enlargement of the finger’s soft tissues, swelling of legs, ankles, or abdomen mimic the symptoms of endocarditis, which is inflammation of the thin, smooth membrane that lines the inside of the chambers of the heart and forms the surface of the valves. Primary heart tumors symptoms include difficulty breathing when lying flat or when asleep, fainting, lightheadedness, dizziness, palpitations or rapid heartbeat, and chest pain or tightness in the chest. Primary heart tumor symptoms usually occur with a change of the body position. …show more content…
No matter how severe the cancer is there are special treatments. Even though it cannot completely cure the cancer, the therapy given can relieve the suffer faced by the patients. Chemotherapy, injections and drainage, radiation, heart transplant, and surgery are the treatments for heart cancer. Chemotherapy uses chemical agents to stop the growing of cancer cells. However, the chemotherapy drugs given in this treatment may worsen the situation and cause other types of heart problems. The needle of an injection may be inserted to help drain the fluid secreted by the tumour and remove the pressure which interferes the heart's ability to pump normally. Furthermore, medication that slows down the growth of tumour is injected to reduce the disease progression. In radiation therapy, a treatment involving high-energy rays or particles to destroy the cancer cells. Even though the radiation therapy cures the heart cancer, it may have a direct effect on the heart. Heart transplant can be only applied in the case that the heart cancer has not spread to other parts of the body. In heart transplant a procedure known as autotransplantation may be option. In this procedure, the patient's heart is removed so that the tumour can be extracted safely. After that, the patient's heart is replaced back to its own place and function normally. Surgery is done if the tumor is affecting blood flow. Surgeons will remove non cancerous heart tumor, which results