What is Cancer?

When I recently found out that my grandmother had lung cancer I had a feeling of helplessness. Like most people, I have a very limited knowledge of what cancer actually is. I've only known one person to die from cancer and being that I was a marketing major in college I never took enough biology classes to learn what the disease entailed. I did know that it's a bad thing involving cells that feast upon the human body and eats up all the resources until the host is no more. I found myself left with a lifetime worth of questions. What is cancer? How does it affect her body? With a 4-8 month life expectancy diagnosis from my grandmother's doctor, I decided to do more research and find out more for myself about the disease that is going to eventually take my grandmother's life. If you have a loved one that has been diagnosed with cancer, I hope you find this article informative so that when the doctor tries explaining the terms of the diagnosis you don't feel as ignorant as I did.

First off, there are several different types of cancer, but they all have one thing in common. It all starts with an abnormal growth of cells. Normally, our cells grow, divide, and die in routine fashion. When we are younger, however, these cells divide more rapidly and when we got older things change. Instead, our cells only divide to replace dying cells or repair injuries to our body.

The difference with cancer cells is that instead of growing, dividing, and dying, they in return outlive normal cells and continue to produce new abnormal cells that build up in one's body.

Once an area has had an overgrowth of cells, the cancer cells will travel to another part of body where the process is repeated. They will begin to grow and replace normal tissue. This process is often referred to as metastasis. Metastasis takes place when the cancer cells travel and get into our bloodstream or lymph vessels. However, if the cancer originated in the breast, for instance, and it travels to the lungs, it is still diagnosed as breast cancer. These scientific terms can be confusing, I know.

If you're wondering how cancer cells develop then the answer is simple. Cancer cells originate because of some type of damage to DNA. DNA is in every single cell in your body and is the base for all activities. If DNA becomes damaged it is normally repaired. With cancer, DNA is not repaired. Though damaged DNA can be inherited through birth, most of the time DNA is altered when it's exposed to harmful substances such as smoke or chemical pollution. These cells usually come in the form of a tumor, though some type of cancers instead get into the bloodstream and circulate through other tissues.
There is some good news. Not all tumors are cancerous. For instance, benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body, and are most of the time not life-threatening. And some types of cancer show different behavior patterns than others. Some grow at different rates and respond to different treatments like radiation or chemotherapy. Some treatments are better for some types of cancers than others. The sooner cancer is found and treatment beings, the better a chance you have for surviving, recovering, and living for many years.

Although there are over 200 types of cancer, they can be grouped into five main types. Carcinomas, which serve as 85% of cancers, start in cells that line internal and external surfaces. These types of cancer include lung, breast, and bowel. Sarcomas begin in supportive tissues such as muscle, bone, and fat. Leukaemias involve growth in the blood cells and bone marrow, and are found in the bloodstream. Lymphomas develop in the lymph nodes and the immune system. The last type, adenomas, are tumors that being in the glands, such as the thyroid. Most adenomas cancers are often benign.

You can reduced your chances of developing cancer in your lifetime by improving your lifestyle, whether it's eating better, exercising, or quitting habits that can affect your body.