Cancer develops in a particular part of the body when cells begin to grow out of control. All types of cancer start through the out of control growth of abnormal cells. These abnormal and cancerous cells develop because of damage to DNA that cannot be repaired. Sometimes the cancer is inherited through the DNA but more often the damage to the DNA is caused by exposure to something in the environment.
Although cancer is usually formed as a tumor, there are some cancer cells like leukemia that involve the blood and blood forming organs and which circulate through the tissue. It is not unusual for the cancer cells to travel to other parts of the body and begin to grow and replace normal cells and tissue (called metastasis). Even if the cancer has spread to other places, it is always named for the place it began.
There are tumors, however, that are not cancerous. Benign tumors do not move to other parts of the body (they do not metastasize) and, with very few exceptions, are not life threatening.
There are many different types of cancer and each one behaves differently. The tumors and cancer cells will spread and grow at different rates and they will respond to different treatments. For these reasons, those that are diagnosed with cancer will be treated for their particular kind of cancer.
Cancer is a deadly disease in the United States with it being the second leading cause of death. Nearly half of all men and over one third of all women will develop cancer during their lifetime. It is not always a killer, however, as millions of people are able to live with cancer and survive its attack on their body. The risk of cancer can be reduced by making certain life changes but sometimes this is not possible because the cancerous DNA can be inherited. Therefore, it is important to have regular physicals so that any cancer can be detected early and treated to allow for a better survival rate.
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