Cancer

     The way how cancer cells are different from normal body cells is that cancer cells have small cytoplasm, multiple nuclei, has multiple and large nuclei, and coarse chromatin. Normal cells have large cytoplasm, single nucleus, single nucleolus, and fine chromatin. Also cancer cells have a more irregular shape than normal body cells. Cancer cells are abnormal cells that divide continuously and they can attack other surrounding tissue. Normal body cells, on the other hand, continue to divide until they make contact with each other and then the cell stops dividing. Cancer cells have lost the ability to know when to stop dividing that is why they divide without stop. Normal body cells have a
specific function in the body, but cancer cells have no specific function in the body because they are all occupied by continuously dividing.

The possible causes of cancers are: growing older, tobacco, sunlight, ionizing radiation, certain chemicals/substances, certain viruses/bacteria, certain hormones, family history of cancer, alcohol, lack of physical activity, and being overweight. Cancer’s seven danger signals are: lump or thickening of breast or testicles, change in a mole or wart, skin sore or sore throat that does not go away, difference in bowel or bladder, prolonged coughing, coughing blood, and respiratory problems. The eleven frequent sites of cancer are:  lungs, bones, liver, brain, colon, breast, lymph nodes, blood cells, prostate, stomach, and colorectal.

Benign tumors are abnormal cells that are self-contained, they grow fairly slow, and these abnormal cells increase in diameter. Benign tumors may stop growing for a while once it has reached a certain size. This type of tumor can be dangerous when the tumor compresses the tissues in the surroundings. Malignant tumors are cancer cells that are not self-contained, they are capable of rapid growth, and the cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. This type of tumor is especially dangerous since the cancer cells can travel through the blood stream and can grow tumors in other parts of the body. Metastasis is the process when cancer cells shed and spread to other parts of the body. When this happens, it is much harder to surgically remove it once the cancer has shed and gone to other parts of the body. Radiation is a method that is used to destroy cancerous cells by radiating them. Cancer patients are given nuclear medicine that contains radioactive substances. Chemotherapy is medicine that contains extremely strong chemicals that is given orally or can be injected directly to the site of the tumor. Carcinogens are agents that have the ability to produce cancer. Carcinogens can be a substance or radiation that causes cancer. Oncology is the study of cancer and their development, treatment, and structure. Oncogenes are genes that, when mutated, can become cancer cells under certain conditions.

I think that the areas of research that will most probably lead to finding remedies/cures for cancer are genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. In these areas, people are most likely to find the way how cancer starts and when that is found; these areas will open up ways that can completely eliminate the causes of cancer. Some cancers start in an individual because of family history and a deeper study of genetics and molecular biology can find a way to stop that problem. All the processes that a cell goes through to become a cancer cell can be researched through biochemistry and it might even provide ways to reverse cancer cells back to normal cells.

There are certain treatments available that can treat cancer. If the cancer is a benign tumor it can be surgically removed if it is located in an area of the body that is not difficult to reach. But if it is a difficult place to reach in the body, then radiation will be used to destroy cancerous cells. Chemotherapy can also be used aside from radiation. Another type of surgery is called cryosurgery, which uses liquid-nitrogen to freeze the tumor.

The different types of cancer that affect children are: leukemia, brain tumors, soft tissue sarcoma, and lymphoma. The most common cancers among children are leukemia(abnormal white blood cells) and lymphoma(abnormal lymphatic tissues). For each of these cancers, the survival rate is based upon how long has the cancer been dwelling in the body and doing damage. The survival rate for each of these cancers in children are fairly high depending on how long has the cancer been there in the body. The warning signs of cancer in children are: unexplained weight loss, headache, vomiting, swelling or pain in bones, bleeding, paleness, sudden vision changes, and unexplained recurring fevers.

**Always take medical advice from your doctor, NOT from Internet sources. This is just for common knowledge.***
                                                                
Bibliography
1) http://www.righthealth.com/topic/Cancer_Cells_Vs_Normal_Cells
2) http://visualsonline.cancer.gov/details.cfm?imageid=2512
3) http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/cancer/page4
4) http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ti-Vi/Tumor.html
5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncogene
6) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancerinchildren.html
7) http://www.acor.org/ped-onc/diseases/SOCC.html
8) http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/cancer/cancer.html