It's hard to imagine anyone who has not heard about this disease. Most people have been affected because they or their loved ones or friends are cancer survivors. Because cancer is so common, people have many questions about the biology, detection, diagnosis, possible causes and strategies for cancer prevention.
Different Types of Cancer - Cancer can originate almost anywhere in the body. Carcinomas, the most common types of cancer, arise from cells lining the outer and inner surfaces of the body. Lung cancers, breast (breast cancer) and colon are the most frequent cancers of this kind in the United States. Sarcomas are cancers arising from cells found in the supporting tissues of the body such as bone, cartilage, fat, connective tissue and muscle.
Lymphomas are cancers that originate in the lymph nodes and tissues of the body's immune system. Leukemias are cancers of the immature blood cells that grow in the bone marrow and have the tendency to accumulate in large amounts in the bloodstream.
A malignant tumor, a "cancer" is a more serious health problem that a benign tumor because cancer cells can spread to distant parts of the body. For example, a melanoma (a cancer of pigmented cells) arising in the skin can have cells that enter the bloodstream and spread to distant organs such as liver or brain. Cancer cells present in the liver are called metastatic melanoma, not liver cancer. Metastases share the name of the original tumor (“primary"). Melanoma cells growing in the brain or liver may alter the functions of these vital organs and thus to potentially life threatening.
Cancer is often perceived as a disease that strikes without reason. Although scientists still do not know all the reasons, many of the causes of cancer have been identified. In addition to intrinsic factors such as heredity, diet and hormones, scientific studies point to the existence of key extrinsic factors that contribute to cancer development: chemicals (e.g., smoking), radiation and viruses or bacteria .
Among the various factors that may cause cancer, smoking, snuff is the greatest danger to public health. Cigarette smoke contains more than two dozen different chemicals capable of causing cancer. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, and also contributes to many other cancers, including cancer of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, kidney and bladder. Recent data indicate that cigarette smoking is responsible for at least one in three cancer deaths, making it the largest single cause of cancer death. The other forms of snuff use can also cause cancer. For example, cigars, pipe smoke and snuff chewing can cause cancers of the mouth.
Scientists use a variety of technical names to distinguish the many different types of carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas and leukemia-s. In general, these names are created using different Latin prefixes that correspond to the location where the cancer started to grow uncontrolled. For example, the prefix "osteo" means bone, so that a cancer that originates in the bone is called osteosarcoma. Similarly, the prefix "adeno" means gland, so a glandular cell cancer known as adenocarcinoma - for example, a breast adenocarcinoma. There are several breast cancer awareness sites, if you need extra information on cancer. Some of the most popular breast cancer awareness sites are thebreastcancersite.com and nationalbreastcancer.org.