What is Cancer

Cancer is a disease of the cells.

Our bodies are made up of billions of cells which grow and reproduce according to a strict program laid out in our genetic material. Cells follow this program and behave in a controlled way:

	Reproducing a limited number of times before dying
	Being influenced by the chemical messages sent by other cells which tell it what to do
	If a cell becomes damaged, it dies
	If a cell travels to the wrong part of the body, it dies

Sometimes however, this process goes wrong, and an abnormal cell is produced. Usually the cell will self destruct and die. When this doesn’t happen and the cell continues to divide and multiply, cancer forms.

There are two main types of cancer found in children which are:

	Leukaemias and Lymphomas - in which blood cells divide and multiply abnormally
	Tumours - these occur when abnormal cells divide and lumps form. Tumours can be benign (non cancerous), which means the abnormal cells do not have the ability to spread to another part of the body. Tumours can be malignant(cancerous), which means the abnormal cells can spread to other parts of the body.

http://www.leukaemia.org.nz
http://www.childcancer.org.nz

For a comprehensive guide to adult cancers and related information, visit these sites:

http://www.nci.nih.gov
http://www.cancernz.org
http://www.healthline.com
http://www.breastcancer.org.nz