Cancer Research Paper

Types of Cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. A lot of families suffer from the loss of loved ones. There are many different forms of cancer. Everyone has heard of the word "cancer" but the word incorporates over one-hundred different types. Cancer can affect different parts of a person's body like eyes and the heart. Each type of cancer has different causes and symptoms. There are many different treatments that are available too.

Cancer develops by cells multiplying when the body does not need them to. This causes a mass or growth, also known as a tumor. There are two types of these growths, malignant, and benign. Benign tumors can often be removed. Malignant tumors invade other cells in other parts of the body causing the cancer to grow. Half of all men and one-third of all women in the U.S. will develop cancer in their lifetimes (http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancerbasics/what-is-cancer).

Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and women. Over one million cases are diagnosed each year, with more young people having cancer than ever before (http://cancer.about.com/od/cancerlistaz/a/typesofcancers.htm). There three major types of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, which are the majority of skin cancers that are unlikely to spread. Malignant melanoma is a life threatening cancer that does spread and can be fatal if not treated.

Breast cancer is another well-known type of cancer. It is also one of the leading causes of cancer death among women of all races and Hispanic origin populations. In 2009, 211,731 women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer (http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/). Men can also get breast cancer, but it is very rare. Breast cancer is most common among men who are 60-70 years of age. About one percent of all breast cancers occur in men. Breast cancer in men is uncommon because male breasts have ducts that are less developed.

There are five stages of cancer. It ranges from 0-4. Cancer staging describes the severity of cancer in a person. One of the most commonly used staging systems is called the TNM system, which stages cancer based upon tumor formation (T), lymph node involvement (N), and presence of metastasis (M), explains the National Cancer Institute (Uddin). The earliest stage of cancer is 0 which is the most treatable form. During this stage, abnormal