What Is Cancer? Understanding Cancer in Simple Terms

Cancer is a word that can immediately create fear and uncertainty. But understanding what cancer actually is can make it a little less intimidating.

Our body is made up of trillions of cells. Normally, these cells grow, divide and die in a carefully controlled manner.

Cancer begins when some cells stop following these normal rules.

They may continue growing when they should stop, avoid the body's normal mechanisms for removing damaged cells, develop their own blood supply, evade the immune system, and invade surrounding tissues.

Scientists describe these abilities collectively as the hallmarks of cancer. These changes allow cancer cells to survive and multiply more successfully than normal cells.

Does every cancer form a tumour?

No. Many cancers form a lump or tumour as abnormal cells accumulate. However, blood cancers such as leukaemia may behave differently and may not form a typical solid tumour.

Cancer is therefore not one single disease. There are many different types of cancer, and even cancers arising in the same organ can behave very differently.

Can cancer spread?

Some cancer cells can acquire the ability to invade nearby tissues and enter the lymphatic system or bloodstream.

They may then travel to another part of the body and begin growing there. This is called metastasis.

For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, it remains breast cancer that has spread to the bone. It does not become bone cancer.

Importantly, not every cancer will spread. The likelihood depends on the type of cancer, its stage, its biological characteristics and several other factors.

Cancer does not always mean the worst

Cancer treatment has changed enormously over the years. Many cancers can be completely cured, while others can be controlled for long periods.

Treatment may involve surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targeted medicines, immunotherapy, or a combination of these.

With timely diagnosis and the right treatment, many patients with cancer can do very well — and many can be cured.

OncoDocArnav is an attempt to explain cancer and its treatment in simple, understandable language, one question at a time.

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Dr Arnav H. Tongaonkar | Medical & Hemato-Oncologist | OncoDocArnav

Thank you for reading.

If you have questions about cancer, chemotherapy, biopsy, staging, or any other cancer-related topic, feel free to leave a comment. Your question may become the topic of an upcoming OncoDocArnav post or video.

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