Every cancer is a malignant disease that can affect any organ or tissue of the body. It arises from an error that occurs in the division of the body cells, which gives rise to abnormal cells, but can be treated with good chances of cure, especially when it is discovered in its initial stage, through surgery, immunotherapy, radiation therapy or chemotherapy, depending on the type of tumor that the person presents.
Generally, the healthy cells of the human organism live, divide and die, but the cancer cells, which are those that are altered and that cause the cancer, divide in an uncontrolled way, giving rise to a neoplasia, which is usually called a tumor that is always malignant.
How Cancer Works
In a healthy organism, the cells multiply, and normally the "daughter" cells must always be exactly the same as the "mother" cells, without changes. However, when a "daughter" cell becomes different from the "mother" cell, it means that a genetic mutation has occurred, which indicates the onset of cancer.
These malignant cells multiply uncontrollably, leading to the formation of malignant tumors, which can spread and reach other areas of the body, a condition called metastasis.
Cancer forms slowly and goes through different phases:
- Stage of initiation: is the first stage of cancer, where cells undergo the effect of carcinogens, causing modifications in some of their genes, however, it is not yet possible to identify malignant cells;
- Stage of promotion: cells gradually transform into malignant cells through constant contact with the causative agent, forming a tumor that begins to increase in size;
- Stage of progression: it is the phase in which the uncontrolled multiplication of the altered cells takes place, until the appearance of the symptoms. Check out a complete list of Symptoms that can indicate cancer.
The factors that can cause cancer are those that cause changes in healthy cells and when the exposure is prolonged there is a greater chance of developing cancer. However, most of the time it is not possible to identify what gave rise to the 1st cell mutation that gave rise to the cancer in the person.
How is the diagnosis of cancer made?
The doctor may suspect that the person has cancer by the symptoms that it presents, and depending on the result of blood and imaging tests, such as ultrasound and resonance. However, it is only possible to know if a nodule is really malignant through the biopsy examination, where small pieces of the nodular tissue are removed, which, when observed in the laboratory, show cellular changes that are malignant.
Not every nodule or cyst is cancer, because some formations are benign, so it is important to biopsy if suspected. Who makes the diagnosis of cancer is the doctor based on the exams, but some words that may be in the result of exams, and which may indicate that it is cancer are:
- Malignant nodule;
- Malignant tumor;
- Carcinoma;
- Malignant neoplasm;
- Malignant neoplasm;
- Adenocarcinoma;
- Cancer;
- Sarcoma.
Some words that may be present in the laboratory report that do not indicate cancer are: Benign changes and nodular hyperplasia, for example.
Possible Causes of Cancer
Genetic mutations can be caused by internal reasons, such as diseases, or by external reasons, such as the environment. Thus, cancer can arise due to:
- Intense radiation : through sun exposure, magnetic resonance imaging or a solarium, for example, which can lead to skin cancer;
- Chronic inflammation : inflammation of an organ, such as the intestine, may occur, with a higher chance of developing cancer;
- Smoking: the cigarette, for example is a source that potentiates lung cancer;
- Viruses: such as hepatitis B or C or human papilloma, are in some cases responsible for cancer of the uterus or liver, for example.
In many cases the cause of the cancer is still unknown and the disease can develop in any tissue or organ spreading to other regions of the body through the blood. Thus, each type of cancer receives the name of the place where it is.
Cancer can also develop in children and even babies, a change in genes that begins even during the development of the body, and in children it tends to be more serious because at this stage of life cells proliferate faster, of intense and constant form, which leads to the rapid increase of malignant cells. Read more in: Childhood Cancer.
