At Fireflies we believe it can be very useful for people to empower themselves with knowledge. Knowledge is one of the superpowers that will support you through cancer.
Cancer is extremely complex. Here is some basic information that will be useful to know.
Cancer is a group of over 200 diseases caused by abnormal cells dividing in an uncontrolled way. This is as a result of changes in the genetic information of the cells.
All cancers start as a single cell that has lost control of its normal functions, growth and development. That cell will the grow and multiply too much possibly causing a growth called a tumour.
Is cancer genetic?
Surprisingly, only up to 5-10% of cancers are caused by inherited faulty genes. Most cancers involve the build up, over a person's lifetime, of changes or damage to the genetic material within cells.
What is primary cancer?
A primary tumour is the name for where a cancer starts. A primary cancer is curable.
What is secondary cancer?
Sometimes cancer can spread from the primary site to other parts of the body. This is a secondary cancer, also known as metastasis or metastatic cancer.
If the cancer spreads to the brain, lungs, liver or bone then this is treatable but not curable.
What are the 5 main cancer groups?
Carcinomas - in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs
Sarcomas - in connective or supportive tissues; blood vessels, bone, fat, muscle or cartilage
Leukaemia - cancer of the white blood cells
Lymphoma and myeloma - the immune system
Brain and spinal cord cancers - central nervous system
Carcinomas are the most common cancer making up around 85% of cancers.
Stages of cancer
The stage of a cancer means the size of the cancer and if it has spread from the primary site. Tests will be done to check whether it has spread to surrounding tissue or other parts of the body. It is important and is will be used when deciding on the treatment plan.
Cancer grading
Grading describes how abnormal the cells are compared to normal cells. This gives your medical team an idea of how your cancer may behave and can therefore be useful when deciding on your treatment plan.
We hope this is useful and we look forward to going into more detail in future posts.
Thank you to Cancer Research UK for the helpful images.
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