The Genetic Mutation-Cancer by Christa Pullins

Christa Pullins Date: 03/25/08
Period: 6/7 Biology Class

Genetic Mutation -- Cancer

The word cancer actually refers to many diseases, not one. There are more than 100 types of diseases known collectively as cancer. What they are, are an overgrowth of cells. Cancer malignancy, occurs when cells begin to grow and multiply in an uncontrolled way. Normal body cells grow and divide over a period of time until they eventually die. But cancer cells continue to grow and divide and grow and divide. Eventually, they gather to form tumors. Tumors are lumps that can interfere with the body's normal processes. Sometimes cells from a tumor break away and travel to a different tissue or organ. This is called metastasis. But most cancers can be treated and controlled, and many people with cancer get better and lead normal lives. No one really knows why cancer grows in certain people. Scientists and researchers are working to discover why some people get cancer and others do not. This will help them to learn whether cancer can be prevented or not. Doctors do have some ideas about why people may get cancer, though. The main reasons are genetics and certain environmental or behavioral triggers. The tendency to develop some types of cancer is believed to be inherited from parent to child, (the genes you were born with might carry an allel for cancer). For example, if a close relative has had cancer of the breast or the heart, you may be more likely to inherit those type of cancers, even though you may never actually get them. Some behavioral and environmental triggers can cause changes in the body's cells that push them into a cancerous state. For example, cigarettes are known to increase the risk of lung cancer. Too much exposure to the sun can increase the risk of skin cancer. These types of triggers act on the body slowly over time, so the cancers that may result from them don't show up until a person is an adult. That's one reason why teens don't get the same types of cancers as adults do. Doctors do know for sure that cancer itself is not contagious, so you don't have to worry about catching it from someone else or spreading it to another person (but people with certain infectious diseases such as AIDS or hepatitis are more vulnerable to certain cancers). Cancer is also never a person's fault. It's simply not true that a person may have done something wrong to get the disease. This is what I learned about the mutation cancer.
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Types of cancer:
*Bone Cancer
*Brain Cancer
*Breast Cancer
*Endocrine Cancer
*Gastrointestinal Cancer
*Gynecologic Cancer
*Head & Neck Cancer
*Leukemia
*Lung Cancer
*Lymphoma
*Multiple Myeloma
*Prostate Cancer
*Skin Cancer
*Soft Tissue Sarcoma