What is cancer?
Cancer is
...the uncontrolled growth and spread of cells that may affect almost any tissue of the body.
~ WHO
Although often referred to as one disease, it can be dichotomized into a numer of different
types of cancer. Even within a category such as leukemias, there are subtle differences that can
mean the difference between success and failure in treatment. What is most important to remember is that at its basis,
cancer is a genetic disease.
Normally, there is an equilibrium of cell division and cell death in the body. When a cell becomes abnormal through
mutation, this equilibrium is disturbed. The abnormal cell (and its daughter cells) divide rapidly, without the appropriate
amount of apoptosis (programmed cell death) to maintain the balance. This results in a tumor, which is also called a neoplasm.
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