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What is Cancer?

Posted: March 1, 2006

Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, exceeded only by heart disease. Every year, cancer is diagnosed in more than a million people. Adopting healthier lifestyles – for example, avoiding tobacco use, increasing physical activity, achieving optimal weight, improving nutrition, and avoiding sun exposure – can significantly reduce a person’s risk for cancer. Cancers that can be prevented or detected earlier by screening account for about one-half of all cancer cases in the United States.

There are several main types of cancer:
Carcinoma is cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs.
Sarcoma is cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue.
Leukemia is cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and enter the bloodstream.
Lymphoma and multiple myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system.

Doctors cannot always explain why one person gets cancer and another does not. However, scientists have studied general patterns of cancer in the population to learn what things around us and what things we do in our lives may increase our chance of developing cancer.

Understanding risk factors
Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor; anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a protective factor.

Some of the risk factors for cancer can be avoided, but many cannot. For example, although you can choose to quit smoking, you cannot choose which genes you have inherited from your parents. Both smoking and inheriting specific genes could be considered risk factors for certain kinds of cancer, but only smoking can be avoided.

Prevention means avoiding the risk factors and increasing the protective factors that can be controlled so that the chance of developing cancer decreases.

Although many risk factors can be avoided, it is important to keep in mind that avoiding risk factors does not guarantee that you will not get cancer. Also, most people with a particular risk factor for cancer do not actually get the disease. Some people are more sensitive than others are to factors that can cause cancer. You can talk to your doctor about methods of preventing cancer that might be effective for you.

Source: National Cancer Institute

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