The 411 on the Different Types of Cancer

The body's tissues and organs consist of small building blocks known as cells. Cells within various body parts might work and look differently, but they mostly reproduce in the exact same way. Different types of cancer come about when these cells form diseases.

Cells constantly get old and die, producing brand new cells as their replacement. Usually, cells multiply in controlled and orderly ways. If these processes ever lose control for whatever reasons, the cells will keep multiplying and turn into lumps that are more commonly known as tumours.

Cancer refers to diseases where abnormal cells multiply uncontrollably and then invade various other tissues. These cancer cells then spread to other body parts via the lymph systems and the blood. There are various types of cancer that exist in today’s day and age, which we will talk about in this article.

Brain Cancer

Brain tumours come in clumps of cells that grow abnormally within the brain and are a very rare occurrence in children. Brain tumours usually start inside the brain, though they can also enter the brain from other body parts.

Ear Cancer

Outer ear cancer usually comes about when outer ears get exposed to direct sunlight over a long period of time. If it starts off as a painless and small ulcer covered by dry scabs that slowly grows and deepens, though, it might be skin cancer. This can be properly diagnosed by taking off small tissue bits and taking a look at them under microscopes.

Lung Cancer

This would be the world’s most common cancer in today’s day and age and is usually caused by cigarette smoking. Lung cancer forms inside the lung tissues and air passage cells. If people start smoking early or smoke a lot of cigarettes every day, the overall risk of getting lung cancer becomes greater. Other things that could increase this risk would include asbestos exposure, high pollution levels and radiation.

Neck and Head Cancer

Cancer that starts inside the neck or head tends to spread to the neck’s lymph nodes before anywhere else. Neck lumps that are consistent for several weeks need to be examined by physicians as quickly as possible. Naturally, not every lump means that cancer is imminent. However, neck lumps could be an initial sign of mouth cancer, throat cancer, larynx cancer, thyroid cancer, blood cancer or lymph node cancer. In general, these lumps do not hurt, but they do grow at a steady pace.

Skin Cancer

There are various types of cancer of the skin, all of which are very common. They may come in the form of squamous cell or basal cell cancer, which normally comes about in the arms, hands, neck, head and face. One other kind of skin cancer is called melanoma and, although less common, is more harmful. Skin cancers grow very fast and represent highly diagnosed malignancy – even more than other types of cancer, like lung cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.

The growth rate of cancer cells can be controlled through radiotherapy and surgery, though the overall treatment will differ depending on the patient’s age, gender, body structure, environmental conditions and daily activities. Only after finding out such factors can the process of treatment get defined.