Cancer

The word “cancer” is used to describe the phenomenon in which cells uncontrollably divide, eventually spreading to other parts of the body. There are several different types (over 100) and categories including carcinoma (beginning in the skin or tissues that line internal organs), sarcoma (beginning in the bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, blood vessels, or tissues), leukemia (beginning in blood-forming tissue), lymphoma and myeloma (beginning in the immune system) and central nervous system cancers (beginning in the brain and spinal cord tissues) (National Cancer Institute, 2014).

Cancer is quite common, one of the leading causes of death in the United States, killing one in four Americans. Statistics show that the most common cancers are basal and squamous cell carcinoma, prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and colon and rectum cancer (Intellihealth, 2007).

Anyone at any age is susceptible to being diagnosed with cancer. However, the risk increases with age, starting at 55 years old, as the body starts to deteriorate. Occurrences are seen in every racial and ethnic group, but rates vary from group to group (American Cancer Society, 2014).

Many factors contribute to the cause of cancer, including daily activities (i.e. smoking, tanning), elements people are exposed to (i.e. radiation) and genetic s (i.e. almost 5-10% of all cancer cases are hereditary). However, it is not definitively known what exactly causes most cancers. Scientists can only assume while further studies are being made to pin point the exactly location of where cancers form and grow (American Cancer Society, 2014).

It is important to be educated in risk factors revolving cancer. Some of these cannot be changed, like age, race, or ethnicity. Others are linked to the environment, including agricultural contamination, radiation exposure, and infectious diseases. The major influences usually develop from daily activities or...