Cancer

Cancer begins in cells, the building blocks that make up tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body. Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place. Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or tumor.

Some important factors for cancer are:

• Benign tumors are not cancer
• Benign tumors are generaly not life-threatening
• Generally, benign tumors can be removed, and they usually do not grow back
• Cells from benign tumors do not invade the tissues around them
• Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body
• Malignant tumors are cancer
• Malignant tumors are generally more serious than benign tumors. They may be life-threatening
• Malignant tumors usually can be removed, but sometimes they grow back.
• Cells from malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
• Cells from malignant tumors can spread to other parts of the body. The cells spread by breaking away from the original cancer (primary tumor) and entering the bloodstream or lymphatic system. They invade other organs, forming new tumors and damaging these organs. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

Carcinoma is another term known for Cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover body organs. For example, carcinoma can arise in the breast, colon, liver, lung, prostate, and stomach.

Sarcoma is another name for cancer that begins from other tissues like muscles, fascia, bone and soft tissues.

Cancer can arise in any part of the body of which most frequents are :

Lung Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both of the lungs. While normal lung tissues consist of cells programmed by nature to reproduce and develop into healthy, well formed lungs, these abnormal cells reproduce rapidly and disrupt this natural programming. Tumours are then formed those clog the lung making it difficult for the lung to function properly.

Lung Cancer mostly begins in one lung and then spreads to lymph nodes or other tissues of the other lung or part of chest. Lung Cancer can metastasize throughout the body, spreading from bones, brain, lever, or other organs. Cancer that spreads are still considered part of the original cancer.

Since the lungs are large, cancers can grow there for many years before they are detected. Lung Cancer can easily spread outside the lungs without causing any symptoms. Even when a major symptom appears, like persistent cough, it is often mistaken for a cold, bronchitis or allergies. For more details and Frequently asked questions, please click.

The Breast is a collection of glands and fatty tissue that lies between the skin and the chest wall. The glands inside the breast produce milk after a woman has a baby. Each gland is also called a lobule, and many lobules make up a lobe. There are 15 to 20 lobes in each breast. The milk gets to the nipple from the glands by way of tubes called ducts. The glands and ducts get bigger when a breast is filled with milk,

but the tissue that is most responsible for the size and shape the breast is the fatty tissue. There are also blood vessels and lymph vessels in the breast. Lymph is a clear liquid waste product that gets drained out of the breast into lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are small, pea-sized pieces of tissue that filter and clean the lymph. Most lymph nodes that drain the breast are under the arm in what is called the axilla.

Breast cancer happens when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control and can then invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Large collections of this out of control tissue are called tumors. However, some tumors are not really cancer because they cannot spread or threaten someone's life. These are called benign tumors. The tumors that can spread throughout the body or invade nearby tissues are considered cancer and are called malignant tumors. For more details and Frequently asked questions, please click.

Colorectal Cancer circumferences the Colon and Rectum. The colon and rectum are parts of the digestive system. They form a long, muscular tube called the large intestine (also called the large bowel). The colon is the first 4 to 5 feet of the large intestine, and the rectum is the last 4 to 5 inches. The part of the colon that joins to the rectum is the sigmoid colon. The part that joins to the small intestine is the cecum. Partly digested food

enters the colon from the small intestine. The colon removes water and nutrients from the food and stores the rest as waste. The waste passes from the colon into the rectum and then out of the body through the anus.

Cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer, and cancer that begins in the rectum is called rectal cancer. Cancers affecting either of these organs may also be called colorectal cancer.

When colorectal cancer spreads outside the colon or rectum, cancer cells are often found in nearby lymph nodes. If cancer cells have reached these nodes, they may also have spread to other lymph nodes, the liver, or other organs. For more details and Frequently asked questions, please click.

The mouth is an amazing machine for speech and eating, it actually starts the process of digestion. Normally good mouth hygiene ensures healthy teeth, and a lifetime of trouble free chewing (the muscles of the jaw are the strongest of the body). Occasionally people develop a cancer in the mouth.

From a cancer doctor perspective, the mouth is anything forward of the last molar, up to the lips. This includes the part of the tongue we see in the mirror, the hard palate, and the inside of the cheeks. Anything behind the last molar is called "oropharynx" and is a different area which includes the tonsils and base of tongue.

Cancer of the mouth, or "oral cavity", includes that extending back as far as behind the last molar ("wisdom tooth"). This would include the area behind the lips, gums, inside of the cheeks, palate, and front 2/3 of the tongue. The tonsils and back of the tongue are further back, and are located in the "oropharynx". Thus, cancers of areas behind the last molar are not considered "mouth cancer". Also, cancers of our 3 major salivary glands (parotid, submaxillary, sublingual) are considered separately, as well as those of the jaw bones and muscles. Therefore, it is important to identify the area the cancer arose from, even if it subsequently spread to other areas. It is this area it originally arose from which determines what type of cancer it is. For more details and Frequently asked questions, please click.

There are many different kinds of brain tumors. The first way to divide brain tumors is based on whether they are primary or secondary. Primary tumors are tumors that begin in the brain. Secondary tumors are tumors that started our elsewhere in the body and spread, or metastasized, to the brain. For example, secondary brain tumors could have begun as breast cancer or lung cancer. Primary brain tumors can be further divided based on what type of cell the tumor began as. Some types of primary

brain tumors are astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, meningiomas, medulloblastomas, neuronomas, ependymomas, craniopharingiomas, pineal tumors, germ cell tumors, and schwannomas. The name of a tumor depends on what kind of cell it comes from. Astrocytomas come from astrocytes, oligodendrogliomas from oligodendrocytes, meningiomas from meningeal cells, medulloblastomas from medulloblasts, etc. For more details and Frequently asked questions, please click.

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