cancer1234
Introduction
Cancer is responsible for nearly one in six deaths globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It occurs when abnormal cells divide and grow uncontrollably and crowd out healthy cells. Cancer can develop anywhere in the body, although it most often forms in the skin, breasts, lung, colon, rectum, or prostate. Many types of cancer can be cured when diagnosed and treated its earliest stages.
Explore the warni… signs and symptoms of cancer, why it occurs, how to lower your risk, and which treatments might help.
What is cancer?
Cancer isn’t a single disease. It refers to many diseases in which abnormal cells in one part of the body rapidly divide and grow instead of dying off at the end of their lifespan, potentially invading nearby healthy tissues and spreading (metastasizing) to other areas of the body. According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), around 39.5 percent of adults in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetimes. The condition is typically described based on where it begins. For instance, cancer that originates in a lung is called lung cancer.
Cancer ranks second among the leading causes of death worldwide, but innovations in cancer treatment and screening are steadily improving outcomes for many people with the condition.
What is the difference between cancer cells and normal cells?
The human body contains trillions of cells. Healthy cells ultimately die (in a process called apoptosis, or programmed cell death) when they become old or damaged. Then new cells grow to take their place.
Cancer cells, on the other hand, ignore the body’s cues to die off and begin to multiply at a rapid rate. These cells may eventually accumulate and bind together to form a lump of tissue called a tumor.
Unlike a healthy cell, a cancer cell can dodge the workings of the immune system. The immune system is the intricate network of organs, proteins, and cells that protect the body from substances like viruses that may harm the body. For example, while the immune system may work to get rid of a flu virus, it’s largely ineffective against cancer cells.
A cancer cell is also capable of infiltrating tissues made up of other types of cells, whereas a healthy cell stops growing when it encounters another type of cell.
