All about cancer.

Essay by nacionalesJunior High, 9th gradeA-, October 2002

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CANCER

What is cancer?

Cancer is a disease that has killed and continues to kill many people. It was named and discovered by Hippocrates, the father of medicine, in about 400b.c. It includes approximately 150 illnesses that can be produced anywhere inside or outside the human body. Even though there are so many, the have one characteristic in common: the uncontrolled growth of cells.

How do you get cancer?

Normally, cells duplicate constantly: one cell becomes two, these two become four, and these four become eight, then sixteen, 32 and so on. As the new cells form, the old cells die. But, for reasons still unknown, approximately every million divisions, a daughter cell splits off with an altered genetic code. When DNA duplicates with some mistakes, and it happens at the right time, the cell doesn't die, it mutates.

Generally, cells multiply in an organized way. A malign tumor is created when these cells grown in an uncontrolled way.

An infected gene doesn't mean that you will get cancer, but will increase the risk. The process that makes the infected gene is called initiation, and the cause is known as the initiator. The promoter is the second element that acts on the infected gene that is necessary for the disease to appear.

Under a microscope, cancerous cells are clearly distinguished from normal cells.

Who gets cancer?

Everyone can get cancer but it is more frequent in men and women that are over fifty years old. Experts say that 30 percent of the people in North America today will get cancer. It is more probable that you get cancer as you get older because some causes begin appearing as time passes. Even after the disease is developed, it usually advances slowly and it may be form ten to thirty years before...