Posted on 7 December, 2011
As you're likely aware, cancer is a deadly disease which claims millions of lives each year and which, unfortunately, even with hundreds of organizations from places all over the world racing to find a cure, doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon. As you might suspect there are hundreds of websites offering information and advice about cancer, but rarely will you find the grounding information in an understandable and non-medical format. From learning about what cancer is to how you could get it, cancer is certainly a common topic. This article is an introduction to cancer in non-medical terms which will help you learn the basics about this horrific disease. What is Cancer? With so much written about cancer over the last couple of years we can easily get confused with the tricky medical terms and information overload. In the simplest terms cancer is any one of a very large number of diseases where your body's cells don't work the way they should. Normally the cells in your body have a complete life cycle: they are born, they grow and then they die to make way for new cells. With cancer your normal cells change and then grow in an uncontrolled way (i.e. they don't die like they are supposed to) then they clump together with other nearby cancerous cells to form tumors (pronounced: too-mers). Some of these tumors eventually are able to attack and destroy the normal cells around them thereby damaging your body's healthy tissues. And that in a nutshell is what cancer is, but how do we get cancer in the first place? What Are My Chances of Getting Cancer? First of all you should know that anyone can get cancer. It doesn't matter how old you are, your gender, what your ethnic background is or where you live. The truth is at this point doctors still don't know for sure why some people get cancer and others don't. Now lets dispel a myth: As far as we know you can't catch cancer from someone else, it's not contagious like a cold or flu bug. That being said, there are certain lifestyle choices and other factors that can increase your risk of getting cancer. Unhealthy habits like not eating healthily, drinking too much alcohol each day and smoking cigarettes or cigars could greatly increase your risk of getting certain types of cancer. And there are a number of other things that can lead to getting cancer as well: spending too much time in the sun without sufficient sun protection; repeatedly having severe sunburns; or just having a family history of cancer can put you at risk as well. In closing, cancer is actually a group of many related diseases that all have to do with abnormal growth in our cells. It's not contagious, but there are certain things, some that you can control and some that you can't, which could increase your risk of getting cancer. I hope this brief introductory article has helped you understand just what cancer is and some of the ways that you could be at risk of getting it. And finally I would just like to say my thoughts and prayers are with you if you are (or you know someone who is) suffering with one of these horrible diseases and I hope you find solace with the loved ones with you. |
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