Essay: How does cancer and cancer treatments affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems?

The cardiovascular system transports substances, such as oxygen and nutrients, throughout the body and removes waste from tissues (Miller, Levine, 1990, p. 948). It is partially made up of arteries, veins, and capillaries. Arteries carry blood from the heart to the body’s tissues. The pulmonary artery is the only artery that does not carry oxygenated blood. Arteries have thick elastic walls so as to withstand the intense amount of pressure that the heart produces when it contracts and pumps blood. The smallest blood vessels are called the capillaries. Oxygen and nutrients from blood are able to diffuse through the extremely thin walls and into the tissues. Waste products from the tissues, such as carbon dioxide, are also able to move into the capillaries. After it has passed through the capillaries, the blood returns to the heart through the veins. These veins contain valves, and in order to make sure blood flows in one direction, the valve that is furthest from the heart closes. The heart is made of many parts. The superior and inferior vena cava bring the deoxygenated blood to the right atrium. From there, it travels through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. From the right ventricle, the blood flows through the pulmonic valve and pulmonary arteries. After traveling through the pulmonary arteries, the blood goes to the lungs where it picks up oxygen, and the pulmonary veins bring the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium. After the blood flows through the left atrium, it goes to the bicuspid valve, also known as the mitral valve, and then into the left ventricle. The blood then travels through the aortic valve and into the aorta. From the aorta, the blood is distributed to the entire body (Miller, Levine, 1990, p. 949-953).
The cardiovascular system allows the human body to have blood flowing through it, rich with life. The nervous system gathers information, processes it and reacts to that information. The nervous system has two parts. It has the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. These accomplish the functions of the nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is made of nerves and supporting cells, while the central nervous system is made up of the brain and spinal cord; data about the body’s external and internal environment is collected through the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system reads the information, analyzes it, and then creates a reaction, which is delivered through the peripheral nervous system. (Miller, Levine, 1990, p. 896) Part of the nervous system is a neuron. A neuron is a cell that transmits electrochemical signals called impulses. There are different classifications of neurons, depending on which direction the impulse travels. The neurons that carry impulses from the sense organs, such as eyes, to the spinal cord and brain are called sensory neurons. Motor neurons carry impulses from the brain and spinal cord to the muscles and glands. Interneurons process information from sensory neurons and send a reaction to motor neurons or other interneurons. Even though there are several types of neurons, neurons all have structures that are the same. The cell body is the largest part of the neuron and inside is the nucleus and most of the cytoplasm. The dendrites extend from the cell body. They receive the impulses from other neurons and carry those impulses to the cell body. Connected to the cell body is the axon, a long fiber ending in axon terminals. The axon carries impulses away from the cell body. Surrounding the axon is the myelin sheath. It has multiple gaps, called nodes, exposing the axon membrane. Impulses jumps from one node to the next, increasing the speed of travel. Without a myelin sheath, impulses would not travel as quickly as they do with a myelin sheath. (Miller, Levine, 1990, p. 897)
Cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer are all able to be genetically tested for. The results of these tests can influence the mentality of the patient. Several studies were done to record the influence that the genetic testing had on the patients and how it influenced them. Depression and anxiety were two of the common factors and were also effects of certain studies. Certain records were contradicting in the cancer portion of the studies and research, however there was a majority. Each subject was carefully considered, recorded, and analyzed in their individual studies. Diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Huntington’s disease were researched for the neurodegenerative portion. Cancers such as breast cancer and pancreatic cancer were researched, and cardiovascular disease was researched. Cardiovascular diseases and nervous system diseases are often fatal. 422.7 million cardiovascular disease cases worldwide were fatal in 2015 (Oliveri, Ferrari, Manfrinati, Pravettoni., 2018). 213,000 deaths caused by nervous system diseases, including Alzheimer’s, were reported by the Directorate-General of the European Commission in 2015. Also in 2015, 8.8 million cancer deaths occurred worldwide.
Testing was done to evaluate the impact of genetic testing for risk relating to cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington disease and Alzheimer’s, and cancer. Apolipoprotein E, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease, a neurological disease, as well as cardiovascular disease, was evaluated and it was found that genetic information combined with personal health status affected levels of anxiety, as well as further short-term depletion of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. It was discovered that patients with neurological impairments or manifesting Huntington disease symptoms experienced depression at a higher level, and a lower level of quality of life. Conflicting results were found pertaining to cancer. One study reported that there were no levels of distress and anxiety based on the presence or absence of a disease within the family history. However, another two studies found higher levels of distress in people who have already experienced a diagnosis or a cancer. Coping strategies were enacted more by women with a personal cancer history more than women without experience with cancer. Receiving results increased the cognizance of risk, as well as increased screenings and checkups. These studies assisted in understanding how psycho-behavioral reactions could lead to better ways of organizing personal care plans (Oliveri, Ferrari, Manfrinati, Pravettoni, 2018).
The research done for the genetic testing of cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer allows researchers to better understand how users’ perceptions of developing these diseases affect their lifestyle and psychological well-being. The studies allowed researchers to explore how the application of genetic testing can affect how personal care plans are organized, as well as influence patients in their lifestyle and choosing appropriate situations for their health. Cancer affects the human body in many ways. The cardiovascular and nervous system are both heavily affected by cancer. They are both extremely important systems in the human body and are susceptible to diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease for the nervous system and cardiovascular disease for the cardiovascular system. Cancer survivors are at a higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality that is disease related (Adams, Schondorf, Benoit, Kilgour, 2015). The treatments for cancer can affect the body as well. Antibodies, such as trastuzumab, can be related to cardiomyopathy in breast cancer patients when it is used with additive and helpful chemotherapy (Jancin, 2008). A leading cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer survivors has become chemotherapy related cardiotoxicity (Pradeep, et al., 2018).
The question asked was: How does cancer and cancer treatments affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems? The most common cancerous growths in central nervous system include gliomas and meningiomas. Cases that have been reported have concluded that childhood cancer survivors who received cranial radiation therapy are at an increased risk for succeeding central nervous system neoplasms (Ahmed, Krishnamurthy, Kakkar, Julka, Rath, 2014). Another form of cancer treatment has affected the body. Five percent to ten percent of women treated with trastuzumab experience left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and one percent develop heart failure (Jancin, 2008). 152 consecutive women received trastuzumab with the helpful chemotherapy for breast cancer, 36 of them experienced trastuzumab-mediated cardiomyopathy. Certain chemotherapeutic agents can be cardiotoxic. This can place cancer survivors at risk for developing heart failure (Shah, Sachin, Anji Nohria, 2015). These cancer survivors with advanced heart failure would typically be considered for advanced therapies, such as mechanical circulatory support and transplantation. Patients with restrictive cardiomyopathy due to radiation have a worse prognosis after transplantation, while the majority of outcomes afterwards are similar in cancer survivors compared to the causes of heart failure. Cardiotoxicity from cancer chemotherapy has increased, and has become a leading cause for mortality in cancer survivors (Pradeep et al., 2018). It is most commonly defined as 10% reduction in asymptomatic patients in left ventricular ejection fraction from baseline to a left ventricular ejection fraction less than 55%. Cancer therapeutics-related cardiac dysfunction can be caused by antineoplastic drugs, which can be classified into Type I and Type II agents. Type I is caused by doxorubicin, non anthracyclines, and alkylating agents where irremediable cardiac dysfunction happens because of reactive oxygen species generation. Type II is caused by human epidermal receptor growth factor receptor 2 and vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors were reversible cardiac dysfunction happens. Cell damage is not directly caused by these agents in a cumulative dose-dependent way. Cancer and its treatments affect the human body, but especially the cardiovascular system and the nervous system. The cardiovascular system and nervous system are both affected by cancer and its treatments. The medications and adjuvant chemotherapy can weaken the systems, making them more susceptible to diseases and can decrease the quality of life for the patient. Psychological diseases also are potentially increased, such as depression. Chemotherapy can also affect your blood cells because the treatment can affect the bone marrow. Thus, one would not have enough healthy bone marrow to make blood cells, and then not enough oxygen circulating in the body due to the lack of red blood cells. Cancer and its treatments affect the body negatively. Cancer treatments can cause heart failure, they can affect the nervous system immensely, especially when the cancer is in the brain or spinal cord. It can also cause nerve damage in the body if the tumor or tumors press on peripheral nerves. Cancer and its treatments all affect the human body in some way, but the effects of treatments and cancer on the nervous and cardiovascular systems affect the body the most.
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