Cancer risks

 Cancer is a broad term used to describe many different diseases. In general, cancer happens when abnormal cells in your body grow out of control and crowd out normal cells.

It can start almost anywhere. Cancer can stay in one spot, or it can metastasize — spread throughout your body. Some cancers grow slowly, while others grow quickly.

Most cancers are named for where they start in the body. For instance, “breast cancer” begins in your breast tissue.

Many cancers form solid tumors, which are growths of tissue. But blood cancers, such as leukemia, don’t generally grow as tumors; they stay in the form of individual cells. Tumors can be either malignant (cancerous) or benign (noncancerous).

Prevalence: Cancer Is a Common Disease

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 1.6 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year. About 597,690 people die from some form of the disease annually. (1)

Data also shows that more than 38 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with a form of cancer at some point in their lives. (2)

Common Questions & Answers

What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease of abnormal cell growth. Cells within the body lose the capacity to stop dividing, and proliferate to the point that they invade normal tissue and impede the function of organ systems. It can occur in many different organs and types of tissue.

What are some early signs of cancer?

Can cancer be cured?

How does cancer start?

How do you die from cancer?

Living with Cancer: Self Advocacy

There are more than 100 different types of cancer. Here's some of the many voices of those who are Living with Cancer on what you need to know about cancer signs, symptoms, and treatments.

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Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in this country, after heart disease. (3)

Anyone can get cancer, but the risk goes up as you get older. Nearly 9 out of 10 cancers are diagnosed in people 50 years of age or older. (4)

The good news is that survival rates are improving for many types of cancer because of advances in screening and treatment.

The Gene Factor: How Cancer Happens

Cancer is a genetic disease, which means it’s caused by changes in genes that control the way cells grow and divide in your body.

These gene alterations, sometimes called “mutations” cause a variety of changes that can make a cell cancerous. Some mutations accelerate the pace at which a cell duplicates itself, others prevent cells from knowing when to stop dividing, and still others keep them from dying off as normal cells are supposed to do. When a cell has acquired enough of these mutations to interfere with the “rules” by which normal cells behave, it has become cancerous.

Mutations can be inherited at birth or acquired during your lifetime. Exposure to harmful substances, such as tobacco smoke or radiation, can damage your DNA and cause gene changes to occur. Other lifestyle factors, such as extensive sun exposure, can also lead to mutations.

Just because you’re born with a certain mutation doesn’t always guarantee that you’ll develop cancer. Only 5 to 10 percent of cancers are a direct result of a mutation inherited from a parent. (5) Usually, inherited and acquired mutations work together to cause cancer. For example, you might inherit a gene from your parents that makes you more likely to develop a certain type of cancer when you’re exposed to tobacco smoke.