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Cancer
Cancer itself is not one disease but refers to any one of a many diseases characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and can infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue.
The word Cancer alone can be very scary. Luckily we are learning more everyday about how to prevent and treat the many different kinds of Cancer.
What causes cancer?
Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Damage to the DNA inside these cells causes them to go kind of haywire.
Throughout your life many of your cells develop damage to their DNA but they often can repair themselves and if they can't, they die. Cancer cells don't repair themselves and don't die.
Instead, they continue to grow abnormally and divide to make more cancer cells. They also live longer than normal cells.
The initial damage to the DNA, that starts the whole process, can be caused by many factors including genetics, certain health conditons, and environment.
Who gets cancer?
Anyone can get Cancer. Cancer doesn't discriminate when it comes to race, sex or age.
Half of all men and one third of all women in the United States will develop cancer during
their lifetimes. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States.
The risk of developing most types of cancer can be reduced by changes
in a person's lifestyle, for example, by quitting smoking and eating a better
diet.
What increases your risk of developing Cancer
By knowing what increases our risks of developing cancer, we can make changed to reduce some of those risks. Only about 10 percent of cancers are due to an inherited condition.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle choices that are known to increase your risk of cancer include: Smoking,
drinking more than one drink a day (for women) or two drinks a day (for men), excessive
exposure to the sun or frequent blistering sunburns, and having unsafe sex. These are things we have some control over
and can make changes to lessen our risks of developing Cancer.
Health Conditions
Chronic health conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, chronic heartburn, & asthma can increase your risk of developing certain kinds of cancer.
Environment
Chemicals in your home or work environment, such as asbestos and benzene, as well as certain pollutants in the air can increase your risk of developing cancer.
Cancer can affect any part of the body. Some of the more common cancers include: Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Skin Cancer, Leukemia,
Colon and Rectal Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Thyroid Cancer & Pancreatic Cancer. There are many available treatments, for all types of cancer, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy,
specific medications and more. The treatments are getting better every day & many more people are surviving cancer these days.
By taking good care of your body and making wise lifestyle choices, as well as getting regular check-ups and routine screenings, you can lessen your risks of developing cancer and
you'll feel alot better overall too!
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