Cancer touches so many lives in so many different ways. We read about it, hear about it, and worry about it.
Spending time on the Internet and reading the information cancer-fighting organizations post can be a real eye opener. For example, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer World Cancer Report, cancer is responsible for one in eight deaths worldwide. In fact, cancer causes more deaths than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined, according to cancer.org.
With numbers like this, it’s small wonder that we find ourselves surrounded by disease. And it’s also important that we educate ourselves about cancer. Understanding the disease is the best defense we can have against rumors and fear. Here are some important facts:
Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start – for example, cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma.
All cancers begin in cells, the body’s basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it’s helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.
The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.
However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.
Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.
• Benign tumors aren’t cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
• Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis.
Some cancers do not form tumors. For example, leukemia is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. Read more at www.cancer.gov
