What is cancer?
Cancer is a group of different diseases characterized by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue (invasion) or by migration of cells to distant sites (metastasis). Cancer begins with damage (mutations) in your DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid).
Your DNA is a set of instructions for your cells, telling them how to grow, how to divide and when to die. Normal cells often develop mutations in their DNA, but they have the ability to repair most of these mutations. Or, if they can’t make the repairs, these cells die. If the mutations aren’t repaired the cells will grow and become cancerous. Mutations also cause cancer cells to live beyond a normal cell life span. The initial genetic mutation is just the beginning of the process by which cancer develops.
Your genetic makeup, forces within your body, your lifestyle choices and your environment can all set the stage for cancer or help complete the process once it’s started. For instance, if you’ve inherited a genetic mutation that predisposes you to cancer, you may be more likely than other people to develop cancer when exposed to a certain cancer-causing substance. The genetic mutation begins the cancer process, and the cancer-causing substance could play a role in further cancer development.
Cancer doesn’t discriminate when it comes to race, sex or age — anyone can get cancer. The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that half the men and one-third of the women in the United States will develop cancer in their lifetimes.
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