    
|
ABOUT BREAST CANCER > What is cancer?
WHAT IS CANCER?
The term “cancer” refers to a group of diseases that affect the body at the cellular level.
Our bodies are made up of microscopic structures called cells. Each cell contains DNA, which stores genetic information about how the cell works.
Normally, a cell's DNA carefully controls the way that it grows, functions, and reproduces. Sometimes, the DNA of a cell is changed in a way that disrupts normal growth and causes the cell to grow in an uncontrolled manner.
The uncontrolled cell growth can create a lump of cells. In some cases, the lump is noncancerous and is called benign. A benign growth is not life-threatening.
In other cases, the uncontrolled cell growth can disrupt the nearby normal cells. When this cell growth continues to invade the healthy surrounding tissue, the condition is cancer and is referred to as malignant.
In a process called metastasis, cancerous cells can break free from a growth and move within the body where they start new growths. This is how cancer spreads to other parts of the body.
|
|
|
|
