Canopy Cancer Care Explain What is Cancer

Cancer is a disease of the cells in the body. Everyone’s body is made up of millions of cells, and cells normally grow, divide and are renewed in a balanced and regular way. Cancer is caused when this process is disrupted and the cells grow in an uncontrolled way. A solid group of cells is called a tumour, growth or mass.

A tumour can be benign or malignant. Cells in benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body. Malignant tumours are cancerous tumours that can go on to invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

The place where the cancer starts is known as the primary site or primary cancer. If the cancer spreads to another new area then this is known as a secondary cancer or metastatic disease. Benign means that while the tumour may grow, it won’t spread into different parts of the body. Cancer isn’t contagious.

There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Each type is classified by the type of cell the cancer originates from - for example, a breast cell, a lung cell, etc. Each type of cancer generally falls into one of five categories:

Carcinomas are cancers that come from cells that line a body surface, or the lining of a gland - for example, the skin, or the lining of the gut, mouth, cervix, airways.

Sarcomas are cancers that arise from cells which make up the connective tissues such as bones or muscles. For example, an osteosarcoma is a cancer of bone tissue.

Leukaemia is a cancer that develops in the bone marrow affecting developing blood cells, predominantly the white blood cells·Lymphoma are cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. The tumours cause swelling in the lymph nodes and other parts of the body.

Myeloma are cancers that affect the plasma cells. These cells then multiply causing tumours commonly found in the bone marrow and on surfaces of different bones in the body.

For more information on cancer treatment, chemotherapy NZ and oncologists Auckland please go to http://www.canopycancercare.co.nz .