What is cancer?

Cancer is a type of illness where some of the body’s cells grow too quickly.

What are cells?

Our bodies are made up of billions of cells. They are tiny and can only be seen with a microscope. Cells are grouped together to make up parts of our bodies, such as skin, brain and muscle.

Cells in different parts of the body have different jobs, for example, a cell in the eye helps us see, and a cell in the heart helps pump blood around our body.

Cells make copies of themselves

Our bodies can grow and repair themselves because cells can make copies of themselves. One cell become two cells, two cells become four cells, then 8 and so on.

Cells have instructions inside

Each cell has something called a nucleus inside which contains DNA. DNA is basically a load of instructions that tell the cell what to do.

What are cancer cells?

Sometimes these instructions can become damaged or get lost and the cell starts to misbehave and not listen to the body.

They can make too many copies of themselves and don’t stop when the body tells them to. These cells are cancer cells.

Cancer cells carry on making copies of themselves until they form a lump called a tumour.

Cancer cells do not like sticking together with their neighbouring cells so can float off around the body to find another place to settle and start to make more copies of themselves.

There are over 200 different types of cancer because there are over 200 different types of cells in our body, and cancer happens when a cell starts to misbehave.

10 questions about cancer

 

  • There are a number of reasons why cells become cancer cells. Most cancers happen by chance, which means nothing could have stopped the person getting cancer. Sometimes things in the environment helped cause the cancer (for example, too much time in the hot sun, an unhealthy diet, or cigarette smoke).

  • The lymphatic system is a part of the immune system. The immune system helps to keep our bodies healthy by fighting diseases and is found all over our body. Cancer cells can travel in the lymphatic system until they get stuck in little places called lymph nodes.

  • Cancer cells move around the body in three main ways:

    1) growing directly into nearby parts of the body

    2) through the bloodstream

    3) through the lymphatic system

  • Primary cancer refers to the place in the body where the cancer begins. Secondary cancer occurs when the cancer cells float off from the primary cancer, and travel to another place in the body and start to grow there.

  • If somebody has incurable or terminal cancer it means that their cancer can no longer be treated so the cancer will not go away. It means their illness is not getting better with the treatment they have been given.

  • There are over 200 different types of cancer and unfortunately one treatment can not cure all of these types.

  • It depends were the cancer is in the body. If the cancer tumour is big enough to press on parts of the body it may be painful or make a person dizzy or make the person not want to eat. It can make people feel very tired and also can make them feel sad, angry or scared.

  • No. Cancer is a disease that begins inside the cells and cannot be caught like chicken pox or flu. You can be near, touch and cuddle a person with cancer.

  • No. Nothing that anyone does, say or thinks can cause cancer in someone else.

  • Sadly wishing a cancer gone won’t make your mum or dad better.