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What is cancer?

Have you ever wondered what exactly cancer is?

By Emily FosterPublished 5 years ago 3 min read

Cancer Basics

“Cancer may have started the fight, but we will finish it” is what hundreds to thousands of people say and hope to do each year. Fight cancer and live. Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases all over the world. Thousands of people are diagnosed every year with one of the hundreds of types of cancers. For example, in 2018 there were 9.6 million deaths accounted for just from cancer. Now that's a lot lives. There are just a few questions below that I would like to answer to help you understand cancer better.

So what exactly is cancer?

Cancer is a term for a disease in which abnormal cells divide uncontrollably and can invade nearby tissues. There are over 200 different types of cancer. Many of these cancers have found cures or treatments to help prevent it, but not all of them and not always. Cancer is a continuous growing disease, not a single disease, which is why finding a single cure for it is almost impossible. A lot of these cancers are tumors, but not all of the tumors are cancerous. Cancer can also spread to many parts of the body including blood and lymph cells. So what are some of these cancers? Let me tell you below...

Some major types of cancers include:

Carcinoma, Sarcoma, Melanoma, Lymphoma, and Leukemia cancers. Here are some details on each.

Carcinoma cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer. It can grow in the skin, lungs, breasts, pancreas, and other organs and glands. Sarcoma cancer is in the bones, muscles, fat, blood vessels, cartilage, and other soft, connective tissues. The most uncommon cancer is the Melanoma cancer because it is in the cells that make the pigment in the skin. Lymphomas is a cancer of lymphocytes: an immune cell that is made in the bone marrow and lymph tissue. Leukemia cancer is a cancer of the blood and it does not usually form into a solid tumor. Lung, colorectal, stomach, liver, and breast cancers cause the most deaths per year. Now there are four main stages of cancer. These stages tell you how bad your cancer is or how much you have and how it has spread.

What are these four stages?

You must know that stage 1 and 2 are not as bad as 3 and 4. Let me briefly explain why. Stage 1 cancer means your cancer is a small cancer or tumor that has not grown deeply into nearby tissues and has not spread into lymph nodes or other parts of the body. Stage 2 cancer refers to larger tumors or cancers that have grown more deeply into nearby tissues. Now, stage 3 cancer is a lot more serious. The tumor may have grown to a specific size that could consist of multiple tumors, and may have spread to lymph nodes, organs, and tissues. It requires expert care. Stage 4 cancer is even more of a serious disease that requires immediate and expert care. In this stage the cancer has spread from its origin to many other parts of the body. As you may see the stages of cancer got worse as time went on.

Is there any way cancer can be prevented ?

Cancer cannot be fully prevented but there are things you can do to reduce you chances of getting it, such as eating certain foods. Cancer fighting foods can include broccoli, carrots, beans, cinnamon, nuts, olive oil, and turmeric.

Just to give you an idea I will explain a few of these foods and how they help. Broccoli contains sulforaphane( which gives you many health benefits) A test showed that sulphaphane reduced the size and number of breast cancer cells up to 75% along with a few other cancers. Beans are high in fiber and some studies have found that they may help protect against colorectal cancer. Also, using turmeric in your cooking can provide many health benefits, and it can help fight bad cancer cells. These are just a few foods that could reduce(not prevent) your chances of cancer.

What is one of the main causes of cancers?

One of the main cause of cancer is tobacco use. It is one of the most important risk causing factors that cause over 20% of global cancer deaths.

Conclusion

All in all I hope you are still not wondering what cancer is. Even after all we know about cancer we still have a lot to learn. We do know that cancer is a huge burden on a lot of people. Families have lost loved ones, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents, friends. So, if you know a loved one who is suffering from cancer or who has just been diagnosed fight with them and never give up. As I said at the beginning " Cancer has started the fight, but we will finish it."

self care

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