What is Cancer?

Cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way. Cancer, also called malignancy, is an abnormal growth of cells. Some cancers may eventually spread to other tissues. There are more than 200 different types of cancer. Cancer develops when the body’s normal control mechanism stops working. Old cells do not die and instead grow out of control, forming new, abnormal cells. These extra cells may form a mass of tissue; called a tumor– the physical manifestation of the disease we call cancer.

Cancer is not just one disease but many diseases. Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Most treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Cancer may occur anywhere in the body. In women, breast cancer is one of the most common. In men, its prostate cancer, Lung cancer and colorectal cancer affect both men and women in high numbers.

There are five main categories of cancer:

Carcinomas begin in the skin or tissues that line the internal organs.

Sarcomas develop in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle or other connective tissues.

Leukemia begins in the blood and bone marrow.

Lymphomas start in the immune system.

Central nervous system cancers develop in the brain and spinal cord

Cancer Treatment options depend on the type of cancer, its stage if cancer has spread and your general health. The goal of treatment is to kill as many cancerous cells while reducing damage to normal cells nearby. Advances in technology make this possible.

The main treatments are:

Surgery: directly removing the tumor

Chemotherapy: using chemicals to kill cancer cells

Radiation therapy: using X-rays to kill cancer cells

Ayurvedic Medicine Therapy: this Therapy stop the growth of cancer cell and kill cancer cells

The same cancer type in one individual is very different from that cancer in another individual. Within a single type of cancer, such as breast cancer, researchers are discovering subtypes that each requires a different treatment approach.