Cancer
Definition
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. There are over 100 types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma.
Analogy
Imagine your body as a city and cells as its citizens. Normally citizens follow rules but sometimes they start breaking laws (mutations). When enough law-breaking citizens gather together (tumor), they can cause serious damage to parts of city(body).
Related terms
Tumor: An abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should.
Metastasis: The process by which cancer spreads from place where it first started to other parts in body.
Oncology: The study and treatment of tumors.
"Cancer" appears in:
Subjects (2)
Study guides (1)
Are you a college student?
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
Resources
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.