Cancer the Modern Day Killer
Uploaded by mbaldwin22 on Nov 09, 2011
Cancer
Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer kills one in four Americans and is the leading cause of death for women aged 40 to 79 and men aged 60 to 79.There is 1.4 million new cases of cancer diagnosed each year in this country, and about 570,000 Americans will die of this disease. However what is cancer? How does it start? And what types of treatments is there?
Cancer is many diseases that characterize the cells that grow unruly. Numerous types of cancer can construct into a tumor which is a mass of tissue formed by growth of cancerous cells. Cells from a tumor can separate and move to another place in the body where then it lives and multiplies which is a process called metastasis. Not all cancer cells become life threatening and spread. There are a few that do not form masses for example leukemia which affects the blood.
The cells of the body constantly reproduce themselves. As new cells become present, old cells release so that the body could remain healthy. Matching this process are the genes that hold the nucleus of all cells. These genes contain DNA strands, which acts like molecular plans, providing instructions on everything from hair color to metabolism. They also produce a protein which tells the body when to grow or not. Consistent cell death is the process known as apoptosis. When this process is functioning normal it helps the body continue to balance new and old cells.
Cancer is falsification of this process. What was once well-ordered became disordered and uncontrolled. Normal cells reproduce at a steady pace where cancer cells reproduce much quicker. Normal cells will keep balance between new and old cells but cancer cells will never die. Many cells eventually will produce so that the body will form tumors, and while normal cells will stay cancer cells will travel.
The complication begins with the DNA; the genetic material contained within normal cells will suffer from permanent change or mutation. A genetic mutation is responsible for inheriting the series of events that cannot be slowed or prevented which can lead to cancer.
Cancer sometimes can run in certain families, but most cancers are not noticeably linked to genes of inherits. Cancer is a common disease...