Basics of Cancer

What is cancer?

A lot of things are spoken about cancer but then cancer basically is the rapid growth of cells or a rapid multiplication of body cells. Though there is a normal division of cells in the body for the healthy living of a person this rapid unchecked division of the cells can lead to a number of complications.

The division of the cells in the body starts right from the time the embryo is fertilized graduating into the birth of a living being and this growth is more till adulthood and then there is a gradual slowing down of the growth and slowly these old cells start dying.  

On the other hand a cancer cell grows rapidly and does not die quickly. The mass of cells form a tumor which travels all through the body attacking the normal cell growth which is termed as metastasis. 

Do all types of tumors lead to cancer?

In most of the cases most of the tumors lead to cancer. And cancers are named according to part it affects as the mode of treatment is associated to the part from where the cancer originated from. 

DNA or Deoxyribonucleic acid is known to repair all the damage in the cell tissues thus preventing cancer. The mode of treatment varies according to the growth of cancer cells and sometimes the growth of these cancerous cells depends upon its origin. The response to the various drugs and mode of treatment also depends upon the part of origin. 

Though there are certain parts of the body that are more susceptible to cancer than other parts and this is mainly due to the cell division of that area in the body. Researchers have found that the area where there is more cell division is more susceptible to cancer than those areas where cell division is comparatively less or slower. 

Cancer can be prevented if you take certain things into consideration and research has proved that if you change your lifestyle and change your dietary habits than you are at a lower risk of developing cancer.  

Which are the body parts that are more susceptible to cancer?

Body parts that are more susceptible to cancer are the breast, colon, Prostrate, lungs, blood (leukemia), kidney etc.  

What are causes and risk factors leading to cancer?

There are many reasons for developing cancer and they include certain chemicals like exposure to benzene, asbestos etc. Excessive intake of alcohol, chewing of tobacco, chain smoking, exposure to excessive sunrays, genetic disorder, obesity, exposure to radiation, certain viruses are also known to cause cancer and environmental toxins etc.  

What are the types of cancer treatment?

If detected in the initial level cancer can be treated using drugs and injections, surgical removal of the cancerous part also helps reduce the further growth of the cancer apart from this chemotherapy, radiation therapy and drug induced are all modes of cancer treatment. Cancer if detected in the initial stages is curable and the pain and sufferings are also less compared to the later stage and mode of treatment. But all modes of treatment have side effects some temporary and some permanent depending upon the drug or mode of treatment.