Question

What is cancer?

Answer 1

• Cancer can be described as the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body which destroys the body tissues.
• The old cells of the body do not die instead, they grow out of control forming new, abnormal cells.
• These abnormal cells form a mass of tissue called a tumor (exception leukemia- no tumour is formed).
  
• There are five main categories of cancer:-
  

1. Carcinomas - develop in the skin or epithelial tissues that line the internal organs.

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

3. Leukemia - develops in the blood and bone marrow.

4. Lymphomas- develop in the immune system.

5. Central nervous system cancers develop in the brain and spinal cord