Tumour and Cancer

Tumour

It is the uncontrolled growth and division that create a rapidly growing mass of cells forming a lump or tumour. It is triggered by a mutation, a random change in the DNA. There are two types of tumours:

-         Benign tumour: a tumour that does not affect surrounding tissues other than by physically crowding them. Cells in a benign tumour are not cancerous.

-         Malignant tumour: a tumour that interferes with the function of surrounding cells. Cells in a malignant tumour are cancerous.

Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases in which cells grow and divide out of control. It results from a change in the DNA that controls the cell cycle.

Metastasis

The process of cancer cells breaking away from the original malignant tumour and establishing another tumour elsewhere in the body.

Cancer Treatment

-         Surgery: physically removing the cancerous tissue.

-         Chemotherapy: it is a method using drugs that slow, stop, and kill the cancer cells from dividing and spreading the other parts.

-         Radiation: cancer cell are damaged by ionizing radiation because they divide rapidly.