What is Cancer?
Cancer may be defined as a disease caused by the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. In other words, a malignant growth or tumor resulting from an uncontrolled division of cells is known as Cancer. Thus, Cancer is a deviant multiplication of cells in any area of the body that spread and cause abnormalities.
The human body functions through a very logical natural design wherein cell multiplication and regeneration is judiciously controlled. Any deviant behavior of cells from this is harmful and toxic for the body. When cells grow old or become damaged they die and new cells take there place this orderly process breaks down during cancer they damage cells survive, and can divide without stopping to form a growth called a tumor. Many cancers form solid tumor while cancer of blood generally does not form a solid tumor. The cancerous tumor may be malignant which means they can spread into nearby tissues or maybe nonmalignant. Nonmalignant tumors are called Benign tumors which are sometimes quite large and when removed they usually don’t grow back. In all types of cancer, some of the body cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues. Moreover, cancer cells maliciously damage healthy cells and disrupt the organized process of the organ and systems.
Statistics on cancer prevalence in India are quite disturbing. As highlighted by the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), about 2.5 million are affected by cancer in the nation. Death due to cancer in India is estimated to be around 5.5 lakh annually which is estimated to shoot up to 8.8 lakh by the year 2020. The state of the world is no better. As per the factsheet of WHO, 2018, cancer is the second biggest cause of deaths worldwide among chronic diseases. Several surveys highlight the potential of diseases to strike human being and the vulnerability of human to fall prey to such diseases.
Causes of Cancer
Anything that may cause a normal body cell to develop abnormally potentially can cause cancer. Many things can cause cell abnormalities and have been linked to cancer development. Some causes of cancer are:-