Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Just What Is Cancer Anyway?

By Mark Alison

Unfortunately, cancer is a fact of life in our world. People die from it every day and there are more kinds than one would like to think about. It seems every time you turn on the news, you hear another item or habit causes this dreadful disease. But what is it really? Why are there so many variations and what is the cause of it?

In a nutshell, cancer is the disease that occurs when your cells go haywire. Usually your cells enjoy a normal life cycle. We all know that the life cycle consists of birth, life, and death. Cancerous cells do not have a normal cycle however. These strange cells grow and grow. A mutation occurs and cells turn into tumors. Our bodies' immune systems will fight these mutating invaders, but the assistance of radiation and other treatments is usually needed due to their rapid spread and the devastation usually caused.

If left untreated, the tissues will keep growing. If the growth is localized and not affecting any other areas, the tumor is benign and harmless. Most benign tumors are left alone unless they are blocking something or for cosmetics reasons. Most benign tumors are treated by removing the affected area.

A malignant tumor is what we generally think of when we hear cancer. Malignant tumors continue to grow and spread throughout the body. Infections and illness will spread throughout your blood stream.

There are three main treatments for cancer. They are the removal of the infected tissue, chemotherapy, and radiation. Chemotherapy and radiation are used mostly on non-operable forms of cancers such as bone marrow cancer. Scientists are continuing to develop and research new treatments all the time.

Unfortunately there is no real cure for cancer, when a patient does have the tumor removed or the cancer is in remission. The odds of it coming back are great. Some cancers do have vaccines, but most do not. The best way to prevent cancer is diet and reduction of high risk behavior.

Hundreds of websites, such as www.canceranswers.info, offer support, information, and research. This has been a boon to survivors and those concerned with the killer disease.

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