What is Cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases that results when your body’s cells grow out of control and begin to divide without stopping, crowding out the normal cells. It starts in one part of the body and then spreads to other parts by growing into tissues, spreading through lymph nodes or traveling through the bloodstream. The most common cancers are those that start in the breasts, lungs, skin and colon.
Cells are the building blocks of all your organs and tissues. The genes in each cell control when a cell grows and dies. When these genes change, a cell may become abnormal and begin to grow and divide out of control. It may also stop dying when it should, or it may not be able to produce the proteins that keep your organs and tissues healthy.
When this happens, the tissue that is formed may be either benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancerous). A mass of extra cells that forms when the body’s normal controls break down is called a tumor. A tumor may be just a single growth, or it can contain many cancer cells that form a large mass and grow faster than the surrounding tissue.
Most cancers develop when a gene that gives the cells instructions on how to grow and repair themselves becomes changed (mutated). This process is called carcinogenesis. Mutations can be caused by factors such as age, radiation exposure or chemicals in the environment. They can also be inherited or passed down through families.
Cancer treatments depend on the type of cancer you have, its stage and whether it has spread. Your doctor will decide what treatment is right for you.
Almost everyone knows that certain things can increase your chances of getting cancer, such as smoking and being overweight. But what is less well known is that a person’s genetics can also play a role in developing cancer. The genes in a person’s body are like blueprints that give the instructions on how cells should behave. When these genes mutate, the instructions that they give can be wrong.
There are more than 100 types of cancer, and most of them have a name based on the tissue or part of the body where they began. For example, cancer that starts in the skin is called skin cancer; cancer that starts in the lungs is called lung cancer; and so on. Cancers are also classified by their grade, which describes how different they look under a microscope compared with healthy cells. A low-grade cancer looks more like healthy cells and may grow and spread slowly, while a high-grade cancer looks very different from healthy cells and grows and spreads quickly.
Cancer is a group of diseases that results when your body’s cells grow out of control and begin to divide without stopping, crowding out the normal cells. It starts in one part of the body and then spreads to other parts by growing into tissues, spreading through lymph nodes or traveling through the bloodstream. The most common cancers are those that start in the breasts, lungs, skin and colon. Cells are the building blocks of all your organs and tissues. The genes in each cell control when a cell grows and dies. When these genes change, a cell may become abnormal and begin to grow and divide out of control. It may also stop dying when it should, or it may not be able to produce the proteins that keep your organs and tissues healthy. When this happens, the tissue that is formed may be either benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancerous). A mass of extra cells that forms when the body’s normal controls break down is called a tumor. A tumor may be just a single growth, or it can contain many cancer cells that form a large mass and grow faster than the surrounding tissue. Most cancers develop when a gene that gives the cells instructions on how to grow and repair themselves becomes changed (mutated). This process is called carcinogenesis. Mutations can be caused by factors such as age, radiation exposure or chemicals in the environment. They can also be inherited or passed down through families. Cancer treatments depend on the type of cancer you have, its stage and whether it has spread. Your doctor will decide what treatment is right for you. Almost everyone knows that certain things can increase your chances of getting cancer, such as smoking and being overweight. But what is less well known is that a person’s genetics can also play a role in developing cancer. The genes in a person’s body are like blueprints that give the instructions on how cells should behave. When these genes mutate, the instructions that they give can be wrong. There are more than 100 types of cancer, and most of them have a name based on the tissue or part of the body where they began. For example, cancer that starts in the skin is called skin cancer; cancer that starts in the lungs is called lung cancer; and so on. Cancers are also classified by their grade, which describes how different they look under a microscope compared with healthy cells. A low-grade cancer looks more like healthy cells and may grow and spread slowly, while a high-grade cancer looks very different from healthy cells and grows and spreads quickly.