The stage of the cancer is very important in choosing the best treatment for a person. Ask your doctor about your cancer's stage and what it means for you. When cancer cells break away from a tumor, they can travel to other areas of the body through either the bloodstream or the lymph system. Cancer cells can travel through the bloodstream to reach distant organs. If they travel through the lymph system, the cancer cells may end up in lymph nodes. Either way, most of the escaped cancer cells die or are killed before they can start growing somewhere else.
But one or two might settle in a new area, begin to grow, and form new tumors. This spread of cancer to a new part of the body is called metastasis. In order for cancer cells to spread to new parts of the body, they have to go through several changes.
They first have to become able to break away from the original tumor and then attach to the outside wall of a lymph vessel or blood vessel. Here are answers to some of the questions you may have. Some types of cancer run in certain families, but most cancers are not clearly linked to the genes we inherit from our parents.
Learn about the complex links between genes and cancer, as well as genetic testing and how it is used. 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.
The branch of medicine dedicated to diagnosing, treating and researching cancer is known as oncology, while a physician who works in the field is called an oncologist. Some oncologists focus solely on particular cancer types or treatments.
The field of oncology has three main specialties—medical, surgical and radiation—and numerous sub-specialties. A medical oncologist is a licensed physician typically in internal medicine trained in diagnosing, staging and treating cancer.
A medical oncologist is also the doctor a cancer patient will continue to see after treatment, for checkups over the long-term. A surgical oncologist is a surgeon who specializes in performing biopsies and removing cancerous tumors and surrounding tissue, as well as other cancer-related operations. A radiation oncologist specializes in treating cancer with radiation therapy to shrink or destroy cancer cells or to ease cancer-related symptoms.
Many cancer types are treated by an oncology sub-specialty. Gynecologic oncologists , for example, are trained to treat cancers of the female reproductive system such as those affecting the uterus, cervix, or ovaries, while hematologic oncologists specialize in diagnosing and treating blood cancers leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. A neuro-oncologist treats cancers of the brain, spine and peripheral nerves.
Genes make sure that cells grow and make copies reproduce in an orderly and controlled way. And are needed to keep the body healthy. Sometimes a change happens in the genes when a cell divides. This is a mutation. It means that a gene has been damaged or lost or copied too many times. Mutations can happen by chance when a cell is dividing. Some mutations mean that the cell no longer understands its instructions. It can start to grow out of control.
There have to be about 6 different mutations before a normal cell turns into a cancer cell. What is cancer and how does it start?
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