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You hear about cancer, you've known people who have had it, you're afraid to get it - but what is cancer exactly? The following information on cancer will help you to know what the human race is battling against.  | | A cancer cell |
What is cancer exactly?
Cancer first begins when a cell's DNA is damaged or changed, causing mutations in the way a cell grows and divides. Damage to cell DNA is generally caused by outside factors in your surrounding environment. Sometimes the cause can be known, like smoking or exposure to radiation, and other times the cause is unknown.
Instead of cells dividing and then dying when they become old or damaged, mutated cells don't die when they should and continue to divide and grow out of control. This results in cancer and often causes the growth of a tumor.
Not all tumors are cancerous, your doctor will use the term benign or malignant when describing a tumor. Benign tumors are not cancerous, the cells do not spread throughout the body and can almost always be removed without complications or reoccurrence. Malignant tumors on the other hand are cancerous and metastasize, which is when the cancer reaches the blood stream or lymph vessels and spreads to other parts of the body.
What are the different types of cancer?
Cancer is named after the place in the body from which it first began to grow. Cancer that starts to grow in certain areas of the body grows and develops differently than cancer that starts in another part of the body. For example, breast cancer that spreads to the lungs is still called breast cancer. Breast cancer grows at different rates and responds to different types of treatments than lung cancer. You need cancer treatment that is aimed at the specific type of cancer that you have.
The main cancer definitions include:
- Carcinoma - cancer in the skin and lining of internal organs.
- Sarcoma- cancer in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels or other connecting and supporting tissue.
- Leukemia- cancer in bone marrow that causes abnormal blood cells to produce.
- Lymphoma and myeloma- cancer that actually beings in the lymph vessels and central areas of the immune system.
- Central nervous system cancers- cancer in the brain and spinal cord.
Where can I find information on specific types of cancer?
There is a lot of information available for certain types of cancer. Check out these resources to learn more about a specific type of cancer, its growth, treatment and prevention.
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