Cancer Disease: Living with Cancer
Also called: Carcinoma, Malignancy, Neoplasms, Tumor

Cancer begins in your cells, which are the building blocks of your body. Normally, your body forms new cells as you need them, replacing old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when you don't need them, and old cells don't die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor.

Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors aren't cancer while malignant ones are. Cells from malignant tumors can invade nearby tissues. They can also break away and spread to other parts of the body.

Most cancers are named for where they start. For example, lung cancer starts in the lung, and breast cancer starts in the breast. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. Symptoms and treatment depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. Treatment plans may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Cancer is a major illness, but not everyone who gets cancer will die from it. Millions of Americans alive today have a history of cancer and had successful treatment. For them, cancer has become an ongoing health problem, like high blood pressure or diabetes.

For most people with cancer, living with the disease is the biggest challenge they have ever faced. The disease changes your routines, roles and relationships. It can cause money and work problems.

The treatment can change the way you feel and look. This page includes information on different aspects of living with cancer. Special sections cover nutritional, financial, emotional and sexual issues.

Reference: URL of this Article: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cancerlivingwithcancer.html