It seems like everyone knows at least one person who has suffered from cancer.
An estimated half a million people died from cancer in 2008.
The reason for cancer's prevalence is that it can hit almost any spot in your body, and then metastasize and spread to other parts of your body.
As you can see, it is necessary to understand cancer so that you can possibly detect it early.
Cancer actually comes in many different forms based on location, tumor growth, ability to spread, etc.
However, the unifying factor of these problems is the unregulated proliferation of your body's cells.
Normally, cells only grow and divide if it is necessary to replace other cells.
For instance, the cells lining the inside of the stomach are constantly degraded due to the strength of stomach acid.
Thus, there is constant turnover of these cells.
Additionally, cells grow if they need to repair the body, like closing up a wound.
However, sometimes the genetic information held in your cells can mutate.
Carcinogens such as asbestos and UV light can mess up the information stored in the DNA, causing unregulated cell growth that does not follow normal patterns of development.
This leads to masses of cells, called tumors.
There are two types of tumors, benign and malignant.
Benign tumors do not spread to the rest of your body, so they can be removed with little chance of them returning.
Malignant tumors, on the other hand, have the ability to break off into small pieces that travel around in the bloodstream before latching on to another tissue area in your body, proliferating and spreading cancer there.
Because cancer mainly grows in tumors, the main method for detecting this disease is looking for tumorous lumps or other strange growths.
While sometimes you may be able to see the tumor pushing itself at the surface of your skin, others may be deep inside of you.
You may notice a specific, constant pain in your chest or abdomen, which can mean that a tumor's growth is causing it to press against important organs.
Cancer can also cause weight loss, fatigue, night sweats, and blood in the urine, vomit, or stool.
Thus, if you are showing symptoms of cancer, you should speak to a doctor about your health.
He or she will probably ask you about a family history of cancer and whether or not you have been exposed to certain carcinogens.
Lastly, physicians rely on diagnostic imaging tools such as CT scans and x-rays to see if there is a tumor inside of your body.
Part of the key to treating cancer is early detection.
It is best to find a malignant, cancerous tumor before it spreads to the rest of your body.
When a doctor fails to detect your cancer, it can have fatal results because it allows cancer the time to spread to key organs in your body.