Cancer is not just one disease. There are over 200 kinds of different cancer variations. The development of cancer takes weeks, months, or years. It begins with the DNA damage of one cell which then divides. As the DNA is repeatedly damaged, it gets to the point it can’t repair the damage. These abnormal, DNA damaged cells then begin to divide and increase their numbers. How fast these cells increase depends on age, health, immune system function, hormone function, thyroid function and the type of cancer. Some cancers spread very slowly and some rapidly. Often there are no signs and symptoms in the beginning. There are cancer cells in all of us but our immune system destroys them. It’s when our immune system becomes disabled that we become victimized by the invading cancer cells.
These Are The 5 Major Types of Cancers:
Carcinomas: The most common type of cancer. They are a solid tumor that can be found anywhere in the body. They form in the epithelial cells, which are the cells that cover the body including the skin, mouth, nose, lungs, and wall of the stomach. They spread through the blood and lymph system.
The most common form of breast cancer is ductal carcinoma. Lobular breast cancer begins in the lobules and is often found in both breasts when discovered. Many women develop skin cancer from spending too much time in the sun without protection. Two of the most common kinds of skin cancer are basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcimomas. The third kind, Melanoma skin cancer is the most dangerous and rapidly growing.
Leukemias: This cancer forms in the blood and bone marrow and is not a solid mass. Leukemia cells are abnormal white blood cells that become damaged and spread. They replace the healthy white blood cells. White blood cells fight infection. They are an important part of our immune function. When these abnormal white blood cells take over, an important part of our immune system is compromised. They also force out the healthy red blood cells that carry oxygen and energy through the body. You then become exhausted and anemic. In this process, the platelets are displaced as well, so you will bleed more easily. Leukemia is responsible for 35 percent of all cancers in children. One child in 1000 will develop the disease by the time they are 19 years of age.
Lymphomas: Cancer found in your lymph glands and in the lymphatic nodes of your body. Lymph nodes are found all over the body but are concentrated in your neck, under your arms, in your breasts, around the intestines, and in the chest. They are a solid tumor made up of abnormal white cells. The lymph system filters out toxins from the body. It is a separate system from the blood system. Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are the most common kind of this form of cancer.
Myelomas: Tumors that form in the plasma cells. Plasma cells are antibody producing white blood cells that are found in bone marrow. Myelomas are increasing in number. I just ran into a young girl who grew up near steel mills. Her grandmother died of the cancer. She developed the same cancer not long after. She is only 22 and is in remission at this time. She has had this cancer twice. From one to four people per 100,000 will develop this form of cancer. It is more common in men than women. Its rate of development is double in blacks over whites.
Sarcomas: They are very uncommon but very difficult to treat. Sarcomas are solid tumors, that develop in the connective tissue of bone and muscles. You will also find them in the connective tissue of major organs like the bladder, kidneys, liver, lungs, and spleen.
Cancer cells become voracious in their appetite of nutrients, oxygen, and blood. They manage to keep multiplying under adverse conditions where nutrients and oxygen are minimal. They often change their cellular needs in the body to survive your immune system’s response to destroy them. They often become resistant to the cancer treatment. Some of these cancer cells develop a shell around them, making it difficult for the drug to penetrate. They have a huge appetite for healthy blood cells. That is why cancer drugs are used to stop the growth of new blood cells. They are trying to starve the cancer cell.
References:
http://www.ped-onc.org/diseases/leuk.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/multiple_myeloma/article.htm
http://www.carcinoma.com/
http://cancer.about.com/od/cancerlistaz/a/typesofcancers.htm
