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What is cancer? Cancer is the generic term that is used to describe a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body (“Cancer”, 2018). A defining feature of cancer is the rapid production of abnormal cells that grow beyond their normal boundaries (“Cancer”, 2018). While a normal cell would mature into specialized cells with specific functions, cancer cells do not; they are less specialized than normal cells (Nall, 2020). One reason cancer cells can divide without stopping is due to its ability to ignore signals that indicate they should stop dividing or begin a process known as programmed cell death - apoptosis, to get rid of unneeded cells (Nall, 2020). Under normal circumstances, human cells grow and proliferate new cells as the body needs them; when the cells grow old or become damaged, they die and new cells take their place. However, in cancerous cells, the process is broken down and cells become increasingly abnormal as old or damaged cells survive when they should have gone through apoptosis (Nall, 2020). In addition, new cells continue to form when they are not needed. These extra cells will continue to divide without stopping, which may become tumors. All types of cancer have the ability to induce the body’s cells to keep dividing without stopping and to spread into surrounding tissues/organs (“What is Cancer?”, 2015); the latter process is known as metastasizing (“Cancer”, 2018). In this process, some cancer cells may break off and travel to other parts in the body through the systemic or the lymphatic system, forming new tumors that are far from its original source (“What Is Cancer?”, 2015). This is the major cause of death from cancer (“Cancer”, 2018).

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