• Question: how many cancers are there???

    Asked by jameskaren to Uday on 16 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: Uday Bangavadi

      Uday Bangavadi answered on 16 Nov 2015:

      Cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way. Some cancers may eventually spread into other tissues.
      There are more than 100 types of cancer, characterized by abnormal cell growth. There are many different causes, ranging from radiation to chemicals to viruses; an individual has varying degrees of control over exposure to cancer-causing agents.

Comments

  • Photo: Chloe

    Chloe commented on :

    I think there may be even more than 200 different types of cancer (nobody really knows the exact number) but cancers can be grouped into 5 main types of cancer depending on the kind of cell they started in.

    Carcinoma… Is cancer that begins in the skin or in tissues that line or cover internal organs. There are a number of subtypes, including adenocarcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and transitional cell carcinoma.

    Sarcoma… Is cancer that begins in the connective or supportive tissues such as bone, cartilage, fat, muscle, or blood vessels

    Leukaemia… Is cancer that starts in blood forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of abnormal blood cells to be produced and go into the blood.

    Lymphoma and myeloma – cancers that begin in the cells of the immune system, and finally

    Brain and spinal cord cancers.. these are known as central nervous system cancers.
    Cancers can also be classified according to where they start in the body, such as breast cancer or lung cancer.