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Cancer

Cancer refers to diseases involving unregulated cell growth that form malignant tumors and invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. While some tumors are benign, cancerous tumors grow uncontrollably and spread. Genetic problems in cells prevent normal controls of cell division and growth, causing cancer. Factors like tobacco, infections, radiation, diet, obesity, and pollutants can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults to cause cancer. Cancer is detected through signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging, then diagnosed with a tissue sample and treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.

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43 views1 page

Cancer

Cancer refers to diseases involving unregulated cell growth that form malignant tumors and invade nearby tissues. Cancer cells can also spread to distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. While some tumors are benign, cancerous tumors grow uncontrollably and spread. Genetic problems in cells prevent normal controls of cell division and growth, causing cancer. Factors like tobacco, infections, radiation, diet, obesity, and pollutants can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults to cause cancer. Cancer is detected through signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging, then diagnosed with a tissue sample and treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery.

Uploaded by

Seed Faith Trc
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cancer /knsr/ (

listen),

known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a term for a large group

of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous.Benign tumors do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighbouring tissues, and do not spread throughout the body. Healthy cells control their own growth and will destroy themselves if they become unhealthy. Cell division is a complex process that is normally tightly regulated. Cancer occurs when problems in the genes of a cell prevent these controls from functioning properly. These problems may come from damage to the gene or may be inherited, and can be caused by various sources inside or outside of the cell. Faults in two types of genes are especially important: oncogenes, which drive the growth of cancer cells, and tumor suppressor genes, which prevent cancer from developing. Determining what causes cancer is complex, and it is often impossible to assign a specific cause for a specific cancer. Many things are known to increase the risk of cancer, including tobacco use, infection, radiation, lack of physical activity, poor diet and obesity, and environmental pollutants.[1] These can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults within cells to cause the disease.[2] A small percentage of cancers, approximately five to ten percent, are entirely hereditary. Cancer can be detected in a number of ways, including the presence of certain signs and symptoms, screening tests, or medical imaging. Once a possible cancer is detected it is diagnosed by microscopic examination of a tissue sample. Cancer is usually treated withchemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. The chances of surviving the disease vary greatly by the type and location of the cancer and the extent of disease at the start of treatment. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the risk of developing cancer generally increases with age. In 2007, cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths worldwide (7.9 million). Rates are rising as more people live to an old age and as mass lifestyle changes occur in the developing world.[3]

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