|
SOME CANCER FACTS
- Cancer can occur at any age, but mostly appears in people
middle-aged and older.
- Cancer causes more deaths in American children aged one to
14 years than any other disease.
- In the 1980s more than 4.5 million Americans died from
cancer.
- About 83 million people alive today--or one in three
Americans--will eventually get cancer.
- Cancer cost the United States roughly $104 billion in
1990--including medical expenses and loss of work productivity.
- Approximately 520,000 Americans die of cancer each year.
What Is Cancer?
The millions of cells that make up the body normally
reproduce in an orderly manner, replacing worn-out tissues and repairing injuries to
maintain health. However, certain cells may begin to reproduce abnormally, massing
together to form tumors.
If a tumor is benign, it will remain self-contained. A
malignant--or cancerous--tumor, on the other hand, will invade neighboring tissues, and
can spread through the blood and lymphatic systems to distant parts of the body in a
process called metastasis.
Cancer is not one disease, but rather many related
diseases. Cancer is typed according to the part of the body where it is located and the
kind of cells that comprise it. The most common types of cancer cells and their locations
are:
- Carcinomas originate in skin tissue or tissues that
line the body cavities and such internal organs as the lungs, breast, colon, and
intestines.
- Sarcomas grow in bones and connective tissues between
organs and skin, and sometimes spread into the blood or lymphatic system.
- Lymphomas are cancers of the lymphatic system,
usually occurring in the lymph nodes.
- Leukemias form in the blood or circulatory system,
particularly in the bone marrow, which is the site of blood cell production.
- Myelomas are tumors of bone marrow cells and
frequently form simultaneously in many sites, including the ribs, vertebrae, and pelvic
bones.
Goto:
Diagnosis and
Treatment
|
Cancer
