In layman’s terms, what is cancer?
Cancer is an abnormal, uncontrolled growth of the body’s own cells. Our body’s cells have a regular life cycle, but cancer cells don’t have that life cycle. They’re “on” all the time, unregulated. There are more than 100 different cancers. Each cancer is named from the part of the body where it started and the type of cell it started in. For example, breast cancer cells that have spread to another organ will still look like cancerous breast cells under the microscope. Cancer is not an infectious disease. You can’t “catch it” from someone. Q: How does cancer affect the human body’s cells, organs? Cancer forms into masses of cells or tumors that can compress on the organs, causing obstructions, in the colon or airway, for example. The tumors also cause inflammation or swelling, or crowd out and take over the functions of the organ. Q: How are cancers linked to lifestyle issues? Some people have increased genetic risks for certain types of cancers; it “runs in the family.” But everyone ca
