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Cancer Information
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Cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal cells
divide without control. Cancer cells can invade nearby tissues
and can spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system
to other parts of the body. There are several main types of
cancer. Carcinoma is cancer that begins in the skin or
in tissues that line or cover internal organs. Sarcoma
is cancer that begins in bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood
vessels, or other connective or supportive tissue. Leukemia
is cancer that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone
marrow, and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to
be produced and enter the bloodstream. Lymphoma and multiple
myeloma are cancers that begin in the cells of the immune
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The risk of asbestos
cancer, or mesothelioma, increases with heavy exposure
to asbestos and long exposure time. However, some individuals
with only brief exposures to asbestos have developed mesothelioma
and other asbestos related diseases.
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The most common type of breast
cancer is ductal carcinoma, which begins in the cells
of the ducts. Cancer that begins in the lobes or lobules
is called lobular carcinoma and is more often found in
both breasts than are other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory
breast cancer is an uncommon type of breast cancer in
which the breast is warm, red, and swollen.
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Doctors can not always explain why one person gets cancer
and another does not. However, scientists have studied
general patterns of cancer in the population to learn
what things around us and what things we do in our lives
may increase our chance of developing cancer.
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When cancer occurs, cells in the body that are not normal
keep dividing and forming more cells without control.
Cancer
treatment, using anticancer drugs, destroys cancer
cells by stopping them from growing or multiplying. Harm
to healthy cells is what causes side effects. These cells
usually repair themselves after cancer treatment.
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Colon and rectum cancers, which are sometimes referred
to together as "colorectal cancer," arise from
the lining of the large intestine. When cancer arises
from the lining of an organ like the large intestine,
it is called a carcinoma. Other types of colon
cancer are rare, and include lymphoma, carcinoid tumors,
melanoma, and sarcomas.
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Leukemia
is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of
cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated.
Normally, the bone marrow produces stem cells (immature
cells) that develop into mature blood cells. There are
3 types of mature blood cells; Red blood cells, White
blood cells and Platelets.
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Some of the risk factors for lung
cancer can be avoided, but many can not. For example,
although you can choose to quit smoking, you can not choose
which genes you have inherited from your parents. Both
smoking and inheriting specific genes could be considered
risk factors for lung cancer, but only smoking can be
avoided.
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Skin cancer
can occur anywhere on the body, but it is most common
in skin that has been exposed to sunlight, such as the
face, neck, hands, and arms. There are several types of
cancer that start in the skin. The most common types are
basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which
are nonmelanoma skin cancers.
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