Cancer – What is It and How Does It Affect You?
Cancer is a disease that begins when cells in the body start dividing without control or order. These abnormal cells can then grow and eventually spread to other parts of the body. The most common types of cancer are breast, lung, skin and colorectal cancers. Other types include sarcomas, brain tumors and lymphomas. Cancers are classified by the type of cell they begin in and by what part of the body they affect.
The cells that make up your body are essential for all the things you do, from breathing and digesting to thinking and walking. Almost every cell in your body can become cancerous if it develops a genetic mutation that makes the cell grow and divide more than it should. There are many different kinds of mutations that can turn healthy cells into precancerous cells and then into cancer, and the time it takes for a person to get cancer varies.
Normally, the cells in your body form new cells as they are needed and old or damaged cells die so that new cells can replace them. In cancer, this process goes awry: cancerous cells begin growing and multiplying out of control and the tumors that result can invade other tissues and organs. Cancer can be divided into stages, describing the progression of the disease. Stage 0 is when the cancer begins in the place where it starts (also called localized cancer). Stage 1 is when the cancer has begun to spread beyond its original site, usually to nearby tissue or nearby lymph nodes. Stage 2 is when the cancer has grown deeper into nearby tissue or lymph nodes, but has not yet spread to distant organs.
The exact cause of cancer is not known, but experts know that certain characteristics, called risk factors, can increase the chance of getting the disease. These factors include smoking, sun exposure and inherited genes. Some cancers are caused by chemical changes in DNA that can occur in the normal course of aging, but most are triggered by events outside the body.
The most common types of cancer start in cells that line blood vessels, tissues that cover internal or external surfaces and in glands that produce hormones or other substances. There are more than 100 kinds of cancer, and they can be divided into groups based on where they start in the body, for example, bone cancers, lung cancers and breast cancers. Some are also grouped according to what they look like, for example basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and melanomas. Other cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, start in blood-forming cells. These are often referred to as haematological cancers. Other cancers start in other parts of the body, and are referred to as solid tumours or haematological tumours. These cancers are less common but still serious. They may affect the bones, lungs and other organs, or they can spread to them from other parts of the body. They can be hard to treat because they can grow quickly and spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body.
Cancer is a disease that begins when cells in the body start dividing without control or order. These abnormal cells can then grow and eventually spread to other parts of the body. The most common types of cancer are breast, lung, skin and colorectal cancers. Other types include sarcomas, brain tumors and lymphomas. Cancers are classified by the type of cell they begin in and by what part of the body they affect. The cells that make up your body are essential for all the things you do, from breathing and digesting to thinking and walking. Almost every cell in your body can become cancerous if it develops a genetic mutation that makes the cell grow and divide more than it should. There are many different kinds of mutations that can turn healthy cells into precancerous cells and then into cancer, and the time it takes for a person to get cancer varies. Normally, the cells in your body form new cells as they are needed and old or damaged cells die so that new cells can replace them. In cancer, this process goes awry: cancerous cells begin growing and multiplying out of control and the tumors that result can invade other tissues and organs. Cancer can be divided into stages, describing the progression of the disease. Stage 0 is when the cancer begins in the place where it starts (also called localized cancer). Stage 1 is when the cancer has begun to spread beyond its original site, usually to nearby tissue or nearby lymph nodes. Stage 2 is when the cancer has grown deeper into nearby tissue or lymph nodes, but has not yet spread to distant organs. The exact cause of cancer is not known, but experts know that certain characteristics, called risk factors, can increase the chance of getting the disease. These factors include smoking, sun exposure and inherited genes. Some cancers are caused by chemical changes in DNA that can occur in the normal course of aging, but most are triggered by events outside the body. The most common types of cancer start in cells that line blood vessels, tissues that cover internal or external surfaces and in glands that produce hormones or other substances. There are more than 100 kinds of cancer, and they can be divided into groups based on where they start in the body, for example, bone cancers, lung cancers and breast cancers. Some are also grouped according to what they look like, for example basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas and melanomas. Other cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, start in blood-forming cells. These are often referred to as haematological cancers. Other cancers start in other parts of the body, and are referred to as solid tumours or haematological tumours. These cancers are less common but still serious. They may affect the bones, lungs and other organs, or they can spread to them from other parts of the body. They can be hard to treat because they can grow quickly and spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body.