Cancer Starts in the Cells That Make Up the Body
Cancer is a disease that happens when cells in the body grow and divide out of control. Cancer can affect almost any part of the body. But all cancers start in the cells that make up tissues and organs.
Cells are the basic building blocks of our bodies. They are constantly growing and dividing to make more cells, replacing old ones that die or becoming new types of cells. If a cell has a mistake in its DNA, it can’t get the right instructions to grow and divide normally. The mistakes (also called mutations) that cause cancer may come from many different sources. There are many kinds of cancer, and each type has a different set of genetic changes that cause it.
When cancer begins, a single abnormal cell can change into many different kinds of cancer cells. Each of these has a different set of genetic changes that give it a unique personality. Cancer cells may also develop features that help them survive and spread into other parts of the body. These features can include ways to hide from the immune system or ways to get more nutrients from the blood.
Unlike normal cells, cancer cells can grow without getting the signal that tells them to stop growing or to die (a process called programmed cell death, or apoptosis). This gives cancer cells an advantage over normal cells in the body because it allows them to keep multiplying. Cancer cells can also ignore the signals that tell other cells to surround them or occupy the same space. This helps them expand and take over the tissue in which they are growing.
Because of these advantages, cancer cells have a natural selection advantage over normal cells. This means that over time, the cancer cells with the best genes will become more common in the tumor, and the cancer cells with the worst genes will be less common. This is similar to the way that species in nature adapt to their environments.
The best treatment for you depends on the kind of cancer you have and how far it has spread in your body. You might need surgery to remove the cancer and some other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy. Sometimes you need stem cell transplants or other treatments to help reduce side effects from your treatment. You might also need palliative care to ease the pain and discomfort caused by cancer or its treatment.
Cancer is a disease that happens when cells in the body grow and divide out of control. Cancer can affect almost any part of the body. But all cancers start in the cells that make up tissues and organs. Cells are the basic building blocks of our bodies. They are constantly growing and dividing to make more cells, replacing old ones that die or becoming new types of cells. If a cell has a mistake in its DNA, it can’t get the right instructions to grow and divide normally. The mistakes (also called mutations) that cause cancer may come from many different sources. There are many kinds of cancer, and each type has a different set of genetic changes that cause it. When cancer begins, a single abnormal cell can change into many different kinds of cancer cells. Each of these has a different set of genetic changes that give it a unique personality. Cancer cells may also develop features that help them survive and spread into other parts of the body. These features can include ways to hide from the immune system or ways to get more nutrients from the blood. Unlike normal cells, cancer cells can grow without getting the signal that tells them to stop growing or to die (a process called programmed cell death, or apoptosis). This gives cancer cells an advantage over normal cells in the body because it allows them to keep multiplying. Cancer cells can also ignore the signals that tell other cells to surround them or occupy the same space. This helps them expand and take over the tissue in which they are growing. Because of these advantages, cancer cells have a natural selection advantage over normal cells. This means that over time, the cancer cells with the best genes will become more common in the tumor, and the cancer cells with the worst genes will be less common. This is similar to the way that species in nature adapt to their environments. The best treatment for you depends on the kind of cancer you have and how far it has spread in your body. You might need surgery to remove the cancer and some other treatments, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or hormone therapy. Sometimes you need stem cell transplants or other treatments to help reduce side effects from your treatment. You might also need palliative care to ease the pain and discomfort caused by cancer or its treatment.