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Carcinoma, Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcoma

Introduction

Despite a never-ending increase in efforts to better understand the disease, incidences of cancer continue to rise. In fact, cancer is second only to heart disease as the greatest killer in the Western World.

The word cancer is derived from the Latin word meaning "crab", as the outline of many cancerous tumours resembles a crab -- with the body being the primary cell mass and the claws being the invasive tumour margins. Cancer is an umbrella term describing an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells. This can result from a variety of influences, but cancerous growths are always traced back to errors in the process of cell division.

Cell Division

DNA, our genetic blueprint, is reproduced every time a cell divides. And although this is an extremely precise process, your body is home to an unimaginable amount of cells -- cells that are constantly duplicating. The process occurs at such a rate that mistakes in duplication are inevitable. In fact, they occur several times on a daily basis. However, not every mistake, or mutated cell, forms into a cancerous growth.

The human body is very adept at recognizing and riding itself of abnormalities. Your immune system will detect and destroy most unwanted cells. Some mutated cells avoid attacks by your immune system though, and grow, unchecked, much like any other cell mass. It multiplies again and again. Unlike normal tissue growth however, cancer cells do not obey the rules, often growing beyond the "off switch" that our bodies use to control the growth of normal tissue. It continues to grow until it forms a lump called a tumour.

 

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