 *Requires Adobe Acrobat | Regents Point Community Service Program |  |
*Requires Adobe Acrobat | Regents Point Community Service Program | |
The term cancer is well-known, commonly used in health-oriented conversations, but not always understood. We tend to think of cancer as a single disease. In reality, it’s actually a category of diseases.
This category is divided into five subcategories. Cancers that are considered a sarcoma begin in cartilage, muscle, fat, bone, blood vessels, or other supportive or connective tissue. A carcinoma begins in the skin, or in tissues that line or cover internal organs. A leukemia begins in blood-forming tissue, such as bone marrow. There are two subcategories that begin in the immune system - lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
All these cancers grouped together create the second leading cause of death in the U.S. (Heart disease is first.) However, progress is being made in detection, treatment and survivability.
There are more than 100 different diseases that fit into the cancer category. Each one qualifies as a member of this dreaded club by exhibiting the following three characteristics.
Abnormality - Our bodies are made of trillions of cells that help us carry out the functions of life. When cells stop functioning or don’t behave as designed, they have become cancerous.
Uncontrollable - Cells reproduce themselves to supply growth, or replace other worn out or injured cells. In this fundamental process, the cell divides (becoming two cells) within a regulated, orderly system. When cells are cancerous, they divide in a disorderly way, typically piling up into a non-structured mass - a tumor.
Invasiveness - Cancer tumors are malignant in nature. That means they destroy the part of the body where they originate, then spread to other areas of the body, repeating the growth and destruction cycle.
With the help of education, the availability and utilization of early detection techniques, and the improvements in treatment, the possibility of surviving many forms of cancer has increased.
