INFORMATION ON CANCER

Cancer is a class of diseases in which uncontrolled cell division invades other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue by migration of cells to distant sites. This unregulated growth is caused by a series of acquired or inherited mutations to DNA within cells, damaging genetic information that define the cell functions and removing normal control of cell division. Cancer usually develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Though there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

TYPES OF CANCER

Common types of cancer are:
1. Bladder Cancer.
2. Breast Cancer.
3. Colon and Rectal Cancer.
4. Endometrial Cancer.
5. Kidney (Renal Cell) Cancer.
6. Leukemia.
7. Lung Cancer.
8. Melanoma.
9. Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
10. Pancreatic Cancer.
11. Prostate Cancer.
12. Skin Cancer.
13. Thyroid Cancer.

CAUSES OF CANCER

Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion. But cancer cells continue to grow and divide; they are different from normal cells. Instead of dying, they outlive normal cells and continue to form new abnormal cells. Cancer usually forms as a tumor though some cancers, like leukemia, do not form tumors. Instead, these cancer cells involve the blood and blood-forming organs and circulate through other tissues where they grow. Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body and, with very rare exceptions, are not life threatening.

TREATMENT OF CANCER

There are different methods for cancer treatment by which various cancers are usually treated.

Some of them are :-

• Surgery.
• Radiotherapy.
• Chemotherapy.
• Other drugs - The cancer can also be treated by other treatments other than surgery, radiotherappy and chemotherapy Vaccines are used to stimulate the immune system of the body to recognize cancer cells and destroy them. Vaccines usually contain proteins found on or produced by cancer cells.