Cancer Introduction

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, affecting millions of people every year. There are many different types of cancer and research brings about new findings and results every day. Although there is much still to be learned about cancer, scientists make discoveries every day about cancer causes and treatments. We do know what cancer is and how it affects the body. We also know cancer risk factors and ways to lower the risk of developing cancer. Follow cancer prevention tips and help avoid this deadly disease.

Cancer is caused by cells that develop incorrectly. All cancers start from bad cell growth, no matter the part of the body it is located. Every day, normal cells divide and grow in the body on a regular, healthy basis. Our cells do most of their dividing and growth from the time we are born through adulthood. At this point, cell division slows down and usually only occurs when old cells die or need repair due to injury.

Cancer cells, on the other hand, do not die off quickly and, instead, divide more rapidly. A process called metastasis begins where the cancer cells mass together to form a tumor or travel to other areas of the body and begin taking the place of normal cells. This is why most cancers take the form of a tumor. Cancers are named for the part of the body in which they originate. This fact is important during treatment of the cancer. Cancer cells are in the body because of DNA damage. DNA damage is not uncommon, but most of the time the DNA repairs itself and cancer does not result. DNA damage can happen due to a couple of factors. It can be inherited or it can occur from environmental factors.

Cancer cells react differently in different parts of the body. That is why cancer treatment is based upon where the cancer starts, even though it may have traveled elsewhere in the body. Depending on the part of the body where it originated, cancer cells will grow at different rates and respond to some treatments better than others. One mystery about cancer is why some parts of the body are more susceptible to cancer than others. The answer seems to lie with the amount of cell division within different areas of the body. Areas of the body that have more cell division seem to be more likely to develop cancer than areas of the body where cell division is slow.

There are many things we can do to attempt to lower our risk of developing cancer. We can adjust our lifestyle and diet to avoid things that raise our risk for developing cancer. There is no fool-proof way to avoid cancer, though. Since the medical community does not know everything about cancer, it is virtually impossible to avoid it completely. Lowering our risk, however, is possible and better than doing nothing at all. Research has shown that the fewer risk factors we have, the less likely we are to developing cancer.

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