Cancer – What is It and How Can It Be Treated?
Cancer is a disease that starts when cells in the body start growing abnormally and out of control. These cancer cells can invade other tissues and even spread to distant areas of the body. Cancer can be caused by many things, including changes (mutations) in the genes, lifestyle choices, and exposure to certain chemicals. Cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation, and drugs. Newer treatments are being developed all the time.
When you get cancer, your health care team will treat it with a combination of these treatments. They may also use other ways to help prevent cancer from coming back after treatment. For example, doctors are working on medicines that block the blood supply that tumors need to grow; correct the genetic defects that lead to cancer; and help the body’s immune system find and kill cancer cells.
Some types of cancer develop because of mutations that are passed down through families. Other types of cancer develop because of things you do or don’t do, like smoking or sun exposure. These are called cancer risk factors.
The more often you do something that increases your chance of getting cancer, the more likely you are to get it. That’s why it’s important to avoid smoking, drink only small amounts of alcohol, and protect yourself from too much sun exposure.
It takes decades for cancer to develop. That’s why most people diagnosed with it are adults. But cancer can happen at any age. It’s most common in older people because of the lifestyle choices they make as they get older. These choices include smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, and unhealthy eating habits.
All kinds of cells in the body can become cancerous. But cancer cells usually start in a single tissue and then spread to other tissues. This happens when malignant (cancerous) cells break away from their original location in the body, travel through the blood or lymph system, and then grow and form more tumors in other parts of the body. These new tumors are called metastases.
When a person gets cancer, it is often diagnosed at a stage that describes how far the tumor has grown from where it started. The stages are 1 through 4. The higher the stage, the more likely it is that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
The most common treatment for cancer is surgery. This involves cutting out the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue. Sometimes doctors treat cancer with radiation or chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor or to kill any cancer cells that remain after surgery. They may also give you hormone therapy to change how the cancer cells grow. They may also give you other types of treatments that are specific to your type of cancer.
Cancer is a disease that starts when cells in the body start growing abnormally and out of control. These cancer cells can invade other tissues and even spread to distant areas of the body. Cancer can be caused by many things, including changes (mutations) in the genes, lifestyle choices, and exposure to certain chemicals. Cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation, and drugs. Newer treatments are being developed all the time. When you get cancer, your health care team will treat it with a combination of these treatments. They may also use other ways to help prevent cancer from coming back after treatment. For example, doctors are working on medicines that block the blood supply that tumors need to grow; correct the genetic defects that lead to cancer; and help the body’s immune system find and kill cancer cells. Some types of cancer develop because of mutations that are passed down through families. Other types of cancer develop because of things you do or don’t do, like smoking or sun exposure. These are called cancer risk factors. The more often you do something that increases your chance of getting cancer, the more likely you are to get it. That’s why it’s important to avoid smoking, drink only small amounts of alcohol, and protect yourself from too much sun exposure. It takes decades for cancer to develop. That’s why most people diagnosed with it are adults. But cancer can happen at any age. It’s most common in older people because of the lifestyle choices they make as they get older. These choices include smoking, excessive drinking of alcohol, and unhealthy eating habits. All kinds of cells in the body can become cancerous. But cancer cells usually start in a single tissue and then spread to other tissues. This happens when malignant (cancerous) cells break away from their original location in the body, travel through the blood or lymph system, and then grow and form more tumors in other parts of the body. These new tumors are called metastases. When a person gets cancer, it is often diagnosed at a stage that describes how far the tumor has grown from where it started. The stages are 1 through 4. The higher the stage, the more likely it is that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. The most common treatment for cancer is surgery. This involves cutting out the tumor and some of the surrounding tissue. Sometimes doctors treat cancer with radiation or chemotherapy before surgery to shrink the tumor or to kill any cancer cells that remain after surgery. They may also give you hormone therapy to change how the cancer cells grow. They may also give you other types of treatments that are specific to your type of cancer.