what+is+cancer?


 * CANCER... WHAT IS IT?**

- the American Cancer Society has reported that less people died from cancer in 2004 than in 2003 (which marks the second year in a row in which cancer deaths have declined in the US) - better cancer detection and more effective treatments are now available - cancer is a group of diseases - this disease is characterized by the development of abnormal cells the divide uncontrollably - these cells have the ability to destroy the normal tissue- they are invasive- they invade and destroy surrounding tissue - cancer has the ability to spread throughout the body - knowing what is going on when you have cancer will allow the patient to have more control over the disease - cancer doesnt "discriminate" against race, sex or age - anyone and everyone can get cancer - cancer can affect people at all ages (even fetuses)... risk increases with age - genetic abnormalties found in cancer usually affect two general types of genes (oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes) - 1/2 men and 1/3 of women in the US will develop cancer - cancer is identified by the tissue that it came from and the normal cell type the cancer cells resemble - the ACS has estimated that about 1.4 million new cases of cancer are expected in 2007 and about 560,000 people will die from the disease - most cancers can be treated and some even cured... depending on the type, location, and stage of cancer - most cancer is treated with a combination of different treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy) - with the advancements coming from research treatments are becoming more specific for different types of cancer
 * **Cancer in general**
 * **look below for other links for more information about cancer**

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click here to know more about cancer in general click here to know what causes cancer click here to know what increases your risk of getting cancer click here to know what cancer looks like


 * the information above was found on wikipedia**