Cancer. Most of us are conscious about maintaining a healthy metabolism and continuously worry about managing our weight gains and the stress we take while managing our metabolism.
But are we aware that taking care of one single gland in our body can help us manage both the metabolism and stress simultaneously.
At the top of our kidneys, the adrenal gland is a crucial gland capable of solving most of the problems one faces with weight gain, stress, and blood pressure.
It is the gland that helps in producing hormones in the body. If the gland fails to produce enough hormones in the body to cope with the usual problems that we face, this can lead to causing problems like excessive increases in weight gain and excessive stress.
Usually, one doesn’t take much care when facing these smaller issues, but what if these symptoms point to adrenal gland cancer.
Causes
While the specific origin of adrenal cancer is still unclear, the only aspect of the disease’s progression that enables doctors to pinpoint a cause is when an external trigger results in a mutation in the DNA of an adrenal gland cell.
Cancer may expand and spread to other bodily regions due to the dispersion of the malignant cells.
As a result, the cells in it continue growing uncontrollably even in situations where normal cells would die. This prompts an expansion of the aberrant cells to congregate, eventually forming a tumor.
Symptoms
The following are the main symptoms of adrenal gland cancer and are directly correlated to the hormonal imbalance in the system.
- Irregular Weight Gain
- Muscle weakness
- Pink or purple marks on the skin
- Hormone changes in women that result in excess facial hair and irregular periods
- Hormone changes in men that result in enlarged breast tissue and shrinking of testicles
- Nausea
- Fever
- Irregular appetite
Diagnosis
The following tests can help evaluate medical experts regarding cancer’s stage and the degree to which it has spread throughout the body.
- Imaging Tests such as X-Rays, Ultrasound, CT scans, and MRI
- Laparoscopy
- Biopsy
- Adrenal angiography or venography.
- Treatment
Surgery
The therapy that has the highest success rate in treating the patient successfully is surgery. The adrenal glands might be removed, either one or both depending on the growth of the tumor.
Parts of adjacent parts such as the kidney and liver may also be removed during surgery if the doctors discover indications that cancer has spread.
Medication
After the surgery, medical professionals must use additional therapies to stop cancer from reoccurring and the tumor from growing larger.
Doctors may also suggest medications that stop your adrenal gland from generating hormones, which aids in preventing cancer recurrence, based on the results of the post-surgery examination.
Radiation
The therapy uses high-powered energy beams, such as X-rays and protons, to destroy cancer cells. The use of radiation is entirely dependent on whether there are any potential leftover cells following the surgery process that require elimination.
Chemotherapy
