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Understanding Cancer
Cancer begins in
cells, the building blocks that
make up
tissues. Tissues make up the organs of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When
cells grow old, they die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes, this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does
not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can
form a mass of tissue called a growth or
tumor.
Tumors can be
benign
or
malignant:
Benign tumors are not cancer:
-
Benign tumors are rarely life-threatening.
-
Generally, benign tumors can be removed, and they usually do not grow back.
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Cells from benign tumors do not invade the tissues around them.
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Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.
-
Polyps,
cysts,
and
genital warts
are types of benign growths on the cervix.
Malignant tumors are cancer:
-
Malignant tumors are generally more serious than benign tumors. They may be
life-threatening.
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Malignant tumors often can be removed. But sometimes they grow back.
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Cells from malignant tumors can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
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Cells from malignant tumors can spread
(metastasize)
to other parts of the
body. Cancer cells spread by breaking away from the original
(primary) tumor
and entering the bloodstream or
lymphatic system. The cells invade other organs
and form new tumors that damage these organs. The spread of cancer is called
metastasis.
When cancer spreads from its original place to another part of the body, the
new tumor has the same kind of abnormal cells and the same name as the primary
tumor. For example, if cervical cancer spreads to the lungs, the cancer cells
in the lungs are actually cervical cancer cells. The disease is metastatic
cervical cancer, not lung cancer. For that reason, it is treated as cervical
cancer, not lung cancer. Doctors call the new tumor "distant" or metastatic
disease.
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