Most cancer cells invade and destroy surrounding tissue by building up into a mass of cells. This mass is called either a growth, tumor or neoplasm (new growth).
Not all tumors, however, are cancerous. Benign tumors, while still abnormal, do not differ much from normal cells and do not threaten life. They do not grow wildly or rapidly. Nor do they destroy normal cells or spread to other places.
Malignant or cancerous cells, on the other hand, are dangerous because they deprive normal cells of nourishment and space. They divide rapidly and look much different from other cells. Unlike benign tumors, malignant cells have the ability to spread throughout the body and destroy other tissues.
"More than 200 types of cancer have been identified. There are three basic categories of cancer: carcinoma (cancer of the epithelial cells, which line organs and secrete mucus), sarcoma (cancer of connective tissue, such as bone, fat, and muscle), and fluid cancer (for example, leukemia). Some cancers may fall into more than one category," said the editors of Consumer Guide's "Family Health & Medical Guide."
How do normal cells become cancerous? What makes them run wild? One possible answer lies in the rearrangement in the chromosomes in the cell - a phenomenon brought about by oncogenes.
Oncogene comes from the Greek term "oncos" which means a mass or tumor. These special genes apparently cause normal cells to divide abnormally, leading to cancer.
All of us carry the normal form of oncogenes which are called proto-oncogenes. Proto-oncogenes are found in all of our cells and play many useful roles. They regulate cell division, organ development, and control the growth of cells needed to repair injured tissue.
But years of exposure to cancer-causing agents or carcinogens can affect the way proto-oncogenes work and transform them to oncogenes. This is how cancer begins.
"Most cancer researchers believe that somehow, usually over a period of years, cancer-causing agents repeatedly brought into the body, finally damage a critical piece of a cell's genetic code. The damage causes the cell to send out abnormal messages related to some aspect of cell growth," explained Marrion Morra, assistant director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center of Yale University School of Medicine in Connecticut, and Eve Potts in "Choices: Realistic Alternatives in Cancer Treatment."
"As new cells spring from the old, the misled cell leads an onslaught of others that result in runaway growth. The altered genes - oncogenes - take charge," they said. (Next: Cancer risk factors.)
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Sharon Bell is an avid health and fitness enthusiast and published author. Many of her insightful articles can be found at the premier online news magazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com
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