Few diseases have received as much attention both inside and outside the medical community as that of cancer (the medical term for it is malignant neoplasm). Actually, it is a class of diseases – but a lot of people know damn well that is life-threatening.

So what really happens to you if you have cancer? Technically, what happens is that a group of cells shows uncontrolled growth (division beyond normal parameters), invasion (intrusion on and the destruction of neighbouring tissues) and in some cases metastasis (whereby there is a spread to other locations within the body, by lymph or blood). These three negative properties of cancers characterise them as different from benign tumours – those are self-limited; and they do not invade or metastasize. A lot of cancers develop tumours but not all of them do (leukamia is one of them). Oncology is the name given to all cancer-related studies and research pertaining to cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

There is no single cause of cancer. One of them is chemical carcinogens, linked to DNA mutations which impact cell growth and metastasis. Substances that cause DNA mutations are referred to as mutagens; and those which cause cancer are called carcinogens.

Then there is ionizing radiation – some gases, like radon, can cause cancer. Also, overexposure to UV radiation can cause melanomas and other skin problems.

Another is viral / bacterial infection – viruses that have been linked to human cancers include human papillomavirus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, the Epstein-Barr virus and human T-lymphotropic virus.

Another thing on the list is hormonal imbalances – some hormones may act in a manner similar to that of non-mutagenic carcinogens, thereby stimulating excessive cell growth. One well-established example is how hyperestrogenic states promote endometrial cancer.

Immune system dysfunction has also been connected to cancer. HIV has been associated with many malignancies – among them Kaposi’s sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and HPV-related malignancies such as anal cancer and cervical cancer. Illnesses associated with AIDS have often included such diagnoses.

Heredity has also been listed as a form of cancer. In practice, a lot of cancer forms are sporadic i.e. the cause of the cancer is not inherited. But there have been identified a number of recognised syndromes for which there is an inherited predisposition to cancer – it is commonly thanks to a defect in a gene which protects against the formation of tumours.Famous examples include Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Turcot syndrome, Lynch syndrome and retinoblastoma to name a few.

People have established a number of cancer prevention means. Avoid carcinogens; change your lifestyle or diet which alters the factors that cause cancer and / or medical intervention. Drinking too much alcohol has been known to promote the risk of alcohol.

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