Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsCausesHow Cancer Starts and SpreadsTypes of CancerCommon SymptomsDiagnosisTreatmentStagingPrevention and ScreeningOutlookNext in Cancer GuideTypes of Cancer and How They Differ
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Causes
How Cancer Starts and Spreads
Types of Cancer
Common Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Staging
Prevention and Screening
Outlook
Next in Cancer Guide
With cancer, abnormal cells grow out of control. These cells were damaged and don’t go through the typical steps of dividing in an orderly manner. Instead, they may multiply out of control and sometimes clump together, forming tumors.
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Causes: How Do You Get Cancer?
Thegenesinside a cell control cell growth. They make proteins that instruct cells how to function. But if genes become altered (mutate), this process is put in jeopardy. Some of these changes may allow the cells to grow out of control.
Genes are constantly being damaged. In many cases, cells can repair this damage. However, if there is too much damage, such repair may not be possible. The cells may begin to grow out of control. What’s more, once these cells begin to grow fast, they’re prone to picking up more mutations, and the chance of repair begins to wane.
Risk factors are things that make it more likely that a mutation will occur. These can come from within the cell or from outside it. Here are some risk factors to be aware of:
Causes and Risk Factors of Cancer
How Cancer Cells Start and Spread
In some cases, such as if you haveskin cancer, you may notice a sore that doesn’t heal or that oozes, a shiny bump, or a pigmented lesion with uneven borders. By the time you see such signs, the cancer has likely been brewing for a while.
How does this process get going? You have trillions of cells in your body, and cancer can start in any one of them. The difference between cancer cells and noncancerous cells is that normal, healthy cells only grow when they are instructed to, but cancerous ones ignore some signals, such as ones that tell them to stop growing or to die (apoptosis) if they are no longer healthy.
But if genes become damaged, cancerous cells don’t follow the normal rules. While the immune system can sometimes get rid of the damaged genes, in some cases, the flawed cells are able to evade this, and the cancerous cells can grow and form tumors.
From there, a cancerous cell may break away and spread through the blood or thelymph systemto other parts of the body. It may leave the vessels and settle into a new site, causing more tumors to grow. The process may then repeat itself.
While cancer can, unfortunately, strike any part of the body, some areas are more vulnerable than others. Nonmelanoma skin cancer (primarilybasal cell carcinomaandsquamous cell carcinoma) is the most common type of cancer.These cancers are less likely to invade other tissues or result in death.
The estimated number of other U.S. cancer diagnoses for 2023, from most diagnosed down, were:
Common Symptoms of Cancer
The symptoms you experience due to cancer will likely vary depending on where in the body it occurs. Commonsymptoms of cancerinclude the following:
How Is Cancer Diagnosed?
Tests will be required to make a diagnosis. Here are some of the methods that may be needed:
What Is Stage 3 Cancer?
Cancer Treatment
Depending on the type of cancer, your oncologist will design a treatment plan specifically for you, which may include one of the following or a combination of approaches.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy can be used as a first-line treatment to try to cure the cancer, or it may be used to shrink tumors before giving other treatments. It can also be used after treatments such as surgery or radiation to try to clean up any lingering cancer cells.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is given to over half of those with cancer.It sometimes is the only treatment or it can be combined with other approaches, such as chemotherapy. It can be given on its own, to shrink tumors before surgery, or to mop up lingering cells after surgery.
Surgery
Surgery is a staple of cancer treatment for many. It can be used on its own to treat cancer or with other approaches. Whether you will be a candidate for surgery depends on the type of cancer you have, where it is located, how large a tumor it is, and the general state of your health.
Surgery can only be used for solid tumors and not for something like leukemia, where cells are dispersed throughout the body. Likewise, if the cancer has metastasized (spread to distant areas of the body) already, surgery may not be the recommended approach. Instead, your oncologist will likely recommend a systemwide treatment.
Targeted Therapy
Other targeted approaches may include preventing blood vessels needed for tumor growth from attaching to a mass of cancer cells. Or, these treatments may interfere with signals that allow cancer cells to divide and grow.
Immunotherapy
With immunotherapy, also known as biological therapy, the body’s own immune system is used to fight cancer. The idea is to enhance the way the immune system works so that cancer cells can’t evade it any longer.
There are several strategies that can be used, such as:
Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
The idea of complementary and alternative medicine is to augment standard therapy. This can range from helping to ease stress to working to relieve treatment side effects. Approaches here can include the following:
Palliative Care
Palliative care is meant to improve the quality of life rather than cure a condition. It aims to lessen symptoms and side effects that may arise from the cancer itself or from a treatment. It may range from managing physical problems such as nausea and shortness of breath to emotional and spiritual ones.
Cancer Staging
Determining what stage your cancer has progressed to is pivotal in fighting this condition. It helps your oncologist to determine the best treatment for you and whether you are eligible for upcoming clinical trials that are studying new approaches.
Your oncologist may describe your cancer in the following ways:
They may also use more specific staging terminology. The “TNM” system stands for “tumor,” “node,” and “metastasis,” as follows:
Staging ranges from 1 to 4 and general includes the following information:
As staging definitions may be different for the type of cancer you have, your oncologist can explain in detail what the stage of cancer means for your treatment plan and prognosis.
Can You Prevent Cancer?
Cancer can occur in any person, even when you have tried to eliminate risk factors that are under your control.
Healthy life choices may lower the risk of developing some types of cancer. These include healthy eating, avoiding smoking, wearing sunscreen, keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum, and taking other protective steps, such asHPV vaccination.
Detecting cancer early with the aid of regularscreening testsfor breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer can improve treatment outcomes.See a healthcare provider regularly to ensure you get appropriate screenings and have any early symptoms of cancer addressed.
How to Find an Oncologist
Another possibility is to search theAmerican Society for Clinical Oncology database. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides asearch tool for an oncologist who takes Medicare.
No two cases of cancer are necessarily alike. Some types of cancer have a favorable outlook, especially when caught at an early stage.
The outlook in your particular case will depend on the type of cancer you have been diagnosed with its stage, and the type of treatment available. Other factors that influence prognosis include the following:
If you are looking for support, the American Cancer Society has a helpline(800-227-2345)andonline chatto connect to an information specialist who can help answer your questions.
Othersupport servicesyou can search for on the American Cancer Society website include:
Finding a CaretakerPeople seeking a caregiver can contact a home healthcare agency that will provide a screened and supervised caregiver. To find such an agency near you, use thishome health agency locator. While it is a Medicare-related service, you do not have to be a part of the program to use this locater.
Finding a Caretaker
People seeking a caregiver can contact a home healthcare agency that will provide a screened and supervised caregiver. To find such an agency near you, use thishome health agency locator. While it is a Medicare-related service, you do not have to be a part of the program to use this locater.
Summary
Cancer starts on the cellular level, with genetic changes allowing a cancerous cell to multiply out of control. Symptoms arise as cancer growth begins to affect the tissues and organs in which it starts. It may eventually spread elsewhere in the body.
The symptoms you experience will be unique to you and the type of cancer you have. Likewise, your oncologist will design a treatment plan just for you. How you fare will depend on the specifics of your cancer, how aggressive it is, the available treatment options, and your unique makeup.
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Cancer Research UK.Types of cancer.
National Cancer Institute.How genetic changes lead to cancer.
Cancer Research UK.Together we will beat cancer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Risk factors and cancer.
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National Cancer Institute.Common cancer types.
National Cancer Institute.Common stat facts: Common cancer sites.
Cancer Research UK.Signs and symptoms of cancer.
Stanford Medicine.How is cancer diagnosed?
National Cancer Institute.Chemotherapy to treat cancer.
American Cancer Society.How radiation is used to treat cancer.
Cancer Research UK.What is cancer surgery?
National Cancer Institute.Targeted therapy to treat cancer.
National Cancer Institute.Immunotherapy to treat cancer.
National Cancer Institute.Complementary and alternative medicine.
National Cancer Institute.Palliative care in cancer.
National Cancer Institute:Cancer staging.
Cancer Research UK.What cancer staging is.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.How to prevent cancer or find it early.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Cancer screening tests.
American Society of Clinical Oncology.Choosing a doctor for your cancer care.
National Cancer Institute.Understanding cancer prognosis.
American Cancer Society.ACS patient programs and services.
American Society of Clinical Oncology.How to find a caregiver when you have cancer.
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