EQ: What can go wrong with the immune system?

Here are just a few problems that could occur in your lifetime.

AllergiesAn OVERREACTION of

the immune systemOccurs after 2nd

exposureAllergen attaches to

mast cell’s antibodies.Mast cell then

releases histamine.Result: Itchiness,

mucus production, sneezing, watery eyes etc.

Anaphylaxis – life threatening reaction to allergen

AsthmaNarrowing of the

air passages by the spasm contractions of the smooth muscle.

Chronic diseaseReaction to

antigens or stress related.

Other DiseasesAutoimmune

DisordersYour own immune

system is attacking you!

Production of “antiself” antibodies.

Ex: Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Lupus, Celiac disease

ImmunodeficientDiseases

Failure of the immune system to develop normally.

Pathogen could be destroying WBC’s.

Ex: AIDS, Boy in the Bubble

Type of Cancer Estimated New Cases

Estimated Deaths

Skin (nonmelanoma) >1,000,000 <1,000

Lung 215,020 161,840

Prostate 186,320 28,660

Breast (female) 182,460 40,480

Colon/Rectal 148,810 49,960

Bladder 68,810 14,100

Melanoma 62,480 8,420

Kidney 46,232 11,059

Leukemia (all forms) 44,270 21,710

Pancreatic 37,680 34,290

Breast (male) 1,990 450

Type of Cancer

Age when you should first get

screenedType of Exam

Cervical21 or 3 years after becoming sexually

activePap Smear

Breast 40 Mammogram

Prostate 45 if at higher risk, 50 for everyone else

Blood test and rectal exam

Melanoma Ongoing, wear sunscreen

Spot check by yourself and a dermatologist

Colon 50 Colonoscopy

It’s easy to SPOT A SPOT: The ABCD’s of Melanoma

ASSYMETRY:-If you were to fold it in half, the two sides

wouldn’t match up.

BORDER IRREGULARITY:-Jagged or blurred edges rather than smooth,

continuous line.

COLOR VARIATION or CHANGE: -Two or more different colors are present.-A mole has been changing in any way.

DIAMETER: -Any sudden or continuing growth

-Any mole larger than 6mm (pencil-top eraser)

(Images and text borrowed with permission from the American Academy of Dermatology6)

Risk Factorsfor Skin Cancer

• Living in California• Having fair skin, eyes, or hair, or

skin that sunburns easily (although anyone can get melanoma)

• 1 or more blistering sunburn in life• Having had a lot of sun exposure• Having >50 moles on your body• Having a family member who has

had skin cancer

Stages of CancerStage 0: in situ the

cells are forming a small tumor but are self-contained and labeled benign at this stage

Stage 1: the cancer is no longer self contained and begins to affect neighboring tissue

Stage 2: the cancer forms a blood supply

Stage 3: the cancer attacks lymph tissue and begins shedding cells to spread to distant parts of the body

Stage 4: the cancer has spread to and become established in various parts of the body

Further information is available on the American Cancer Society’s website:

www.cancer.org

Cancer Stage 0 'in situ' "A cell that becomes a cancer cell usually

does so in the company of other similar cells. Often, but not always, it can produce a tumour right there in that tissue, in a way that poses little or no threat to life. This is called in situ cancer; that is, cancer in the position where it started. It is probable that some cancers never go beyond this early stage."

Stage 1: localised cancer "At the next stage, the cancer cells gain the

ability to pass through the 'basement membrane', that is the thin, fibrous boundary to the tissue in which the cancer began, and to invade neighbouring tissue. This invasion is a serious step, because it indicates that the growing cancer cells may threaten life.

"While the cancer remains a single lump, partly in the tissue where it began and partly in a neighbouring tissue, it is said to be in the localised stage."

Stages 2 and 3: regional spread "Once a cancer cell has invaded, a common next step

is for one of its daughter cells to invade through a lymph vessel (a vessel like a blood vessel that carries the clear fluid called lymph, which is all the time exuding into tissue from our blood capillaries (the smallest blood vessels), back to the blood stream).

"On the way to the blood stream, the cancer cell can get caught in a lymph node, one of the powerhouses of the body's immune system. There it might provoke an immune response against it, which can go on to destroy it and the other cancer cells. Wonderful!

"Sometimes, though, it divides and forms a lump in the lymph node. This stage is often referred to as regional spread. That is, the cancer has spread within the general region in which it first began but not to other parts of the body."

Stage 4: distant spread "The next step can be quite varied. Cells from the

lump in the lymph node may spread further through lymph vessels to more distant lymph nodes or on into the blood stream. Or cells from the original lump may invade a capillary and enter the blood stream that way.

"Either way, once in the blood stream, the cancer cells can go just about anywhere in the body, form new colonies and spread further. This is the stage of distant spread."