Disability & Life Insurance and ERISA Attorneys
Doing What’s Right For Greater Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region
Disability & Life Insurance and ERISA Attorneys
Doing What’s Right For Greater Colorado and the Rocky Mountain Region

Bladder Cancer (High-Grade Transitional Cell Carcinoma)

The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, the ureters, the bladder, and the urethra. The urinary tract is lined with transitional cell urothelium from the renal pelvis to the proximal urethra. Most cancers that form in these tissues are transitional cell carcinomas. Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder can be low-grade or high-grade:

Low-grade bladder cancer often recurs in the bladder after treatment but rarely invades the muscular wall of the bladder or spreads to other parts of the body. Patients rarely die from low-grade bladder cancer.

High-grade bladder cancer commonly recurs in the bladder and also has a strong tendency to invade the muscular wall of the bladder and spread to other parts of the body. High-grade bladder cancer is treated more aggressively than low-grade bladder cancer and is much more likely to result in death.

Bladder Cancer Treatment-Health Professional Version, National Cancer Institute (updated Apr. 12, 2018), https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/hp/bladder-treatment-pdq

Brain Tumor

A tumor is a mass of tissue that’s formed by an accumulation of abnormal cells. Normally, the cells in your body age, die, and are replaced by new cells. With cancer and other tumors, something disrupts this cycle. Tumor cells grow, even though the body does not need them, and unlike normal old cells, they don’t die. As this process goes on, the tumor continues to grow as more and more cells are added to the mass. Brain tumors emerge from the various cells that make up the brain and central nervous system and are named for the kind of cell in which they first form.

Symptoms of brain tumors vary according to the type of tumor and the location. Because different areas of the brain control different functions of the body, where the tumor lies affects the way symptoms are manifested. Some tumors have no symptoms until they are quite large and then cause a serious rapid decline in health. Other tumors may have symptoms that develop slowly. A common initial symptom of a brain tumor is headaches.

Breast Cancer

Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. The tumor is malignant (cancer) if the cells can grow into surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get breast cancer too.

Although many types of breast cancers can cause a lump in the breast, not all do. Many breast cancers are found on screening mammograms which can detect cancers at an earlier stage, often before they can be felt, and before the symptoms develop.

What is Breast Cancer? American Cancer Society (updated Sept. 21, 2017), https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/about/what-is-breast-cancer.html

Oligodendroglioma

Oligodendroglioma is a tumor that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. Oligodendroglioma forms from oligodendrocytes — cells in the brain and spinal cord that produce a substance that protects nerve cells.

Oligodendroglioma can occur at any age, but most often affects adults. Signs and symptoms can include seizures and headaches. Weakness or disability can occur in the part of the body that’s controlled by the nerve cells affected by the tumor.

Glioma. Mayo clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/oligodendroglioma/cdc-20350152

Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Papillary thyroid cancer occurs in the cells of the thyroid – a butterfly shaped gland located at the base of your neck, just below your Adam’s apple. The thyroid produces hormones that regulate heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and weight.

Mayoclinic.org

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC)

Papillary thyroid carcinoma is the most common type of cancer to affect your thyroid. Your thyroid is a butterfly shaped gland that sits just below your voice box. It’s only about as big as a quarter, but the hormones it makes help control how your body works, including your blood pressure, heart rate, and temperature.

Often, you will not have any symptoms for PTC. You might find out about it because of an imaging test for another problem, or during a routine physical. Symptoms can include a lump in your neck, hard time swallowing, sore throat, swollen lymph nodes in your neck, and trouble breathing.

What is Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma?, Web MD, https://www.webmd.com/cancer/papillary-thyroid-carcinoma-about#1

Throat Cancer (Tonsillar Squamous Cell Carcinoma)

Throat cancer is a general term that applies to cancer that develops in the throat or in the voice box. Throat cancer occurs when cells in your throat develop genetic mutations. These mutations cause cells to grow uncontrollably and continue living after healthy cells would normally die. The accumulating cells can form a tumor in your throat.

Symptoms of throat cancer include a cough, changes in your voice, difficulty swallowing, ear pain, a lump or sore that doesn’t heal, ear pain, a sore throat, and weight loss.

Throat Cancer, Mayo Clinic (Mar. 13, 2018), https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/throat-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20366462

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