Cancer – What is It and How Can It Affect You?
Cancer is a disease that occurs when abnormal cells grow and divide without control, forming tumors and disrupting normal tissue functions. Cancer can spread to other parts of the body through the blood or lymph system in a process called metastasis. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, but research and treatment advances are helping to reduce the number of deaths from the disease.
A cancer diagnosis can be frightening, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. Your healthcare providers are here for you every step of the way to help you navigate your cancer journey.
While no two cancers are the same, all cancers start when some cells in the body become abnormal and start to grow and divide out of control. Cells are the basic building blocks of the body that make up tissues and organs.
Under normal circumstances, when a cell needs to grow or repair itself, it gets instructions from its DNA. These instructions are translated into the proteins that cells need to do their jobs. But when the genes that control this process are damaged or mutated, the instructions get distorted and the cell develops into a precancerous or cancerous cell.
Cancers can form in almost any part of the body and they can affect all the body’s tissues and organs. The development of a cancer is not instantaneous; it takes time for the mutations to accumulate and lead to the uncontrolled growth of cells that forms a tumor.
The genetic changes that cause cancer are usually inherited but can also happen when errors occur during cell division. They can be caused by certain environmental factors, such as radiation or chemicals, that damage cells or can be passed from parent to child during pregnancy. Most often, however, these mutations develop slowly over a person’s lifetime and increase the chance of developing cancer later in life.
These genetic changes can lead to different types of cancers, and they typically affect three main groups of genes: proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes. Together, these gene mutations allow cancer cells to grow and divide more rapidly than normal cells, and they can ignore signals that normally tell them to stop dividing or to die (a process known as programmed cell death, or apoptosis).
In addition, some types of cancer cells are able to break away from the original tumor and travel to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph system, where they exit the vessels and form new tumors. In these cases, the cancer is considered to be metastatic.
It’s estimated that between 30 and 50% of all cancers could be prevented by avoiding risk factors, getting regular screenings, and practicing healthy habits, such as eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active. The most common cancers — like colorectal and breast cancer — are often preventable by screening for them regularly.
Cancer is a disease that occurs when abnormal cells grow and divide without control, forming tumors and disrupting normal tissue functions. Cancer can spread to other parts of the body through the blood or lymph system in a process called metastasis. Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, but research and treatment advances are helping to reduce the number of deaths from the disease. A cancer diagnosis can be frightening, but it is important to remember that you are not alone. Your healthcare providers are here for you every step of the way to help you navigate your cancer journey. While no two cancers are the same, all cancers start when some cells in the body become abnormal and start to grow and divide out of control. Cells are the basic building blocks of the body that make up tissues and organs. Under normal circumstances, when a cell needs to grow or repair itself, it gets instructions from its DNA. These instructions are translated into the proteins that cells need to do their jobs. But when the genes that control this process are damaged or mutated, the instructions get distorted and the cell develops into a precancerous or cancerous cell. Cancers can form in almost any part of the body and they can affect all the body’s tissues and organs. The development of a cancer is not instantaneous; it takes time for the mutations to accumulate and lead to the uncontrolled growth of cells that forms a tumor. The genetic changes that cause cancer are usually inherited but can also happen when errors occur during cell division. They can be caused by certain environmental factors, such as radiation or chemicals, that damage cells or can be passed from parent to child during pregnancy. Most often, however, these mutations develop slowly over a person’s lifetime and increase the chance of developing cancer later in life. These genetic changes can lead to different types of cancers, and they typically affect three main groups of genes: proto-oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, and DNA repair genes. Together, these gene mutations allow cancer cells to grow and divide more rapidly than normal cells, and they can ignore signals that normally tell them to stop dividing or to die (a process known as programmed cell death, or apoptosis). In addition, some types of cancer cells are able to break away from the original tumor and travel to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph system, where they exit the vessels and form new tumors. In these cases, the cancer is considered to be metastatic. It’s estimated that between 30 and 50% of all cancers could be prevented by avoiding risk factors, getting regular screenings, and practicing healthy habits, such as eating a nutritious diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active. The most common cancers — like colorectal and breast cancer — are often preventable by screening for them regularly.