Cancer
Even though there are 100 different types of cancer, each one begins in your cells, your body's basic building blocks. When the cell creation process goes awry, abnormal cells are produced that can grow uncontrollably and cause cancer. When excessive cells form, benign or malignant tumors can develop throughout your body.
While benign tumors aren't cancerous, malignant ones can invade healthy tissue and spread to other parts of the body, a process called metastasis.
Early detection and treatment is key to fighting cancer.
Recently Answered
- Q Do endocrine cancers run in families?
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It is not common, but some cases of endocrine cancer are linked to genetic defects and syndromes that are passed down through families. For example, your risk for adrenal cancer rises if you have certain genetic syndromes, such as Beckwith-Wiedemann... Full Answer
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- Q Do endocrine cancers affect children differently than adults?
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Endocrine cancers strike the body's endocrine (hormone-producing) glands. They can speed up or slow down hormone production, which can cause particular problems for growing children. For example, adrenal cancer can create a surplus of the male hormone... Full Answer
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- Q How do endocrine cancers affect the body?
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Different endocrine cancers affect the body in different ways, depending on the particular endocrine gland involved and what it normally does. For example, parathyroid glands regulate calcium in the body. Parathyroid cancer can cause too much calcium in... Full Answer
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- Q What is a VIPoma tumor?
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A pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor which secretes vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is called VIPoma. These rare tumors occur with a frequency of 1 per 10,000,000 per year. These tumors arise in the pancreas 90% of the time, but have also been... Full Answer
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- Q What is the role of autoantibodies in cancer?
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The immune system has been shown to play a role in cancer with the existence of autoantibodies to proteins related to the disease state. It appears that overexpression of tumor protein or the presence of mutant proteins leads to a response by the... Full Answer
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- Q What is adrenal cancer?
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Adrenal cancer forms in the tissues of the adrenal glands (two glands located just above the kidneys). The adrenal glands make hormones that control heart rate, blood pressure, and other important body functions. Adrenal cancer that starts in the outside... Full Answer
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- Q When was cancer discovered?
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Human beings have had cancer throughout recorded history. So it is no surprise that from the dawn of history people have written about cancer. Some of the earliest evidence of cancer is found among fossilized bone tumors, human mummies in ancient Egypt,... Full Answer
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- Q What is cancer?
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A term for diseases in which abnormal cells in the body divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymphatic system, which is a network of tissues that clears infections... Full Answer
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- Q What cancers are associated with tobacco use?
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Like cigarettes, other tobacco products contain a variety of toxins associated with cancer. Cancer-causing chemicals have been identified in smokeless tobacco products (snuff), which are known to cause cancers of the mouth, lip and tongue. Users... Full Answer
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- Q Can cancer cause hearing loss?
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Dr. David Vernick, OtolaryngologyAlthough far less common than the benign tumors, certain forms of cancer can impair hearing. These include cancers of the ear and the brain, as well as cancer in other parts of the body (such as the breast, lung, or kidney) that spreads to the temporal... Full Answer
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