Cancer Essay

Cancer is a deadly disease that affects millions of American families each year. In cancer, cell division isn't controlled. Usually, cells have to go through a set of checks and balances before they divide, in cancer that is nonexistent. The cells just keep duplicating until they eventually form disorganized clumps called tumors. Tumors can either be, benign, meaning that they do not possess the power to metastasize to surrounding areas. If a tumor has the power to metastasize, it is classified as a malignant tumor. In simple terms, a benign tumor is not cancerous, and a malignant tumor is. Cancer cells cannot perform the necessary functions they were created for. Some types of cancers, like pancreatic cancer, cannot be cured. Other cancers such as melanoma and breast cancer have high survival rates when caught early. The four major types of treatments used to treat cancer include, surgery to remove the affected organ, radiation, chemotherapy, or biological treatments.

Colon cancer forms in the colon, the largest part of the large intestine. Most colon cancers are adenocarcinomas (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucosa and other fluids.) I chose colon cancer because my grandpa had colon cancer. He died in the nineteen fifties when my mom was 7. I know that cancer research has come a long way and I think that had he been alive today, he would have most likely survived. I just want to know more about colon cancer, because my mom is high risk of cancer, being that her dad died from colon cancer and my grandma is a survivor of ovarian cancer. My Mom is also in her early 60's which doesn't really mean anything, but the risk of cancer does get higher as you get...

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...rent, so you can't say what will happen with each person.

Even though colon cancer is very deadly, when colon cancer is found early there is a high chance that an individual will survive. The rate of surviving drops from 76% to 6% between Stage 1 and Stage 4, a person who has had to go through all these stages and if they survive would have overcome so much. I've learned that smoking, drinking, and being overweight isn't just bad for you, it may even increase the risks of getting cancer. Being adopted, I have no idea of my family history, so I don’t know if I am high cancer risk or not, though, I can never be too careful. I feel much more informed on a topic that was really a mystery to me and I can feel more confident that if my mom were to contract colon cancer, she would have a high chance of surviving, provided that she gets checked by a doctor, regularly.