Cancer Flashcards
1
Q
How is cancer caused?
A
by uncontrolled cell growth and division.
2
Q
What are benign and malignant?
A
benign - tumour grows until there’s no more room, staying in one place rather than invading other tissues in the body (isn’t usually dangerous or cancerous).
malignant - tumour grows and spreads to surrounding healthy tissues, cells can break off and spread to other parts of the body by travelling in the bloodstream invading healthy tissues elsewhere and forming secondary tumours (is cancerous and dangerous).
3
Q
What risk factors may cause cancer?
A
smoking (lung cancer), obesity (bowel, liver, kidney cancer), UV exposure (skin cancer), viral infection (liver cancer).
genetics is also a risk factor (by inheriting faulty genes).
