|
About Cancer
.................................................................................................................................................
Types
of Cancer
¢
Bladder Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Breast Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Bone Cancers
...............................................................
¢
Brain Tumors
...............................................................
¢
Cervical Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Children's Cancers
..............................................................
¢
Colorectal Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Esophageal Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Hodgkin's Disease
...............................................................
¢
Kidney Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Laryngeal Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Leukemias
...............................................................
¢
Liver Tumors
...............................................................
¢
Lung Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma
...............................................................
¢
Oral Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Ovarian Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Pancreatic Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Prostate Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Skin Cancer
..............................................................
¢
Stomach Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Testicular Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Thyroid Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Uterine Cancer
...............................................................
¢
Vaginal Cancer
...............................................................
¢ Vulvar
Cancer |
Cancer is a word used to describe more than 100
different diseases. Cancerous growth occurs when cells become abnormal and
keep dividing and forming more cells without control or order. All organs of
the body are made up of cells.
Normally, cells divide to produce more cells
only when the body needs them. This orderly process helps keep us healthy.
If cells keep dividing when new cells are not needed, a mass of tissue
forms. This mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumor, can be benign or
malignant.
Benign tumors are NOT cancer. They can
usually be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Most
importantly, cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the
body. Benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.
Malignant tumors ARE cancer. Cancer cells
can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Also, cancer cells can
break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or the lymphatic
system. This is how cancer spreads from the original (primary) tumor to form
new tumors in other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called
metastasis.
Most cancers are named for the type of cell
or the organ in which they begin. When cancer spreads, the new secondary
tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary
tumor. For example, if lung cancer spreads to the liver, the cancer cells in
the liver are lung cancer cells. The disease is called metastatic lung
cancer (not liver cancer).
|