General Cancer Information
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a word that describes a number of conditions, all which begin when cells, the building blocks of the body, lose their ability to grow in a controlled and orderly way.
To understand what happens to cells when you have cancer, it is helpful to understand what a healthy cell does- one that has not been afflicted with cancer.
Healthy Cells
Healthy cells grow, divide, and replace themselves in a way that keeps the body in good repair. Sometimes signals in a cell cause it grow abnormally, in which case other signals in that cell order the abnormal cell to destroy itself. The cycle of a cell – in which it grows, divides, and dies – stays balanced.
Cancer Cells
Cancer cells form when this orderly process of growing, dividing, and dying is disrupted. Abnormal cells grow and multiply rapidly, clump together and form lumps, cysts, or tumors. Some are too small to feel but can be seen on X-rays, MRIs or other diagnostic tests. Cancer cells often look like white clusters (also called microcalcifications), nodules, or dense spots.
Benign vs. Malignant
Tumors and microcalcifications can be either benign or malignant.
Benign means not cancerous. Most lumps fall into this category.
Malignant means the lump or tumor is cancerous. When cancer cells spread through the bloodstream or lymph system to other parts of the body, the spreading is called metastasis. Once cells have traveled and settled in another part of the body, cancer cells can then grow in that area. These new tumors are known as metastastic tumors.
Expert information presented in plain language with visuals, charts, and definitions to empower people with cancer and caregivers to talk with their clinicians about the best treatment options. This library of free resources is made possible through support from the NCCN Foundation®. Learn more about the NCCN Guidelines for Patients®.
Understanding National Cancer Institute (NCI) Centers and How to find one:
The NCI Cancer Centers Program was created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971 and is one of the anchors of the nation’s cancer research effort. Through this program, NCI recognizes centers around the country that meet rigorous standards for transdisciplinary (utilizing physicians across areas of expertise), state-of-the-art research focused on developing new and better approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer.
How to find a Cancer Center
https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers/find
In Massachusetts we have the DanaFarber/Harvard Cancer Center which includes five hospitals. The member institutions combine their scientific strengths to accelerate research findings from the laboratory, clinical research trials, and studies of populations, enhancing patient care and the understanding of underlying causes of cancer. This is often confusing to patients as the Dana Farber and Massachusetts General Hospital each have a Yawkey Building that houses their own hospitals cancer centers. Too, its important that although each hospital has its own research program; the institutions do collaborate particularly among their clinical research programs. Each Cancer Center also has affiliate centers in the community such as Milford, Waltham, Newton Wellsley and many others.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and six other Harvard-affiliated institutions, including (in alphabetical order)
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Non-Clinical Center: Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
To Learn more about this DanaFarber/Harvard Cancer Center program: https://www.cancer.gov/research/infrastructure/cancer-centers/find/dfharvard
US News and World Reports:
U.S. News & World Report is an American media company that publishes news, consumer advice, rankings, and analysis. Each year the US News and World Reports ranks the top cancer centers in the country.
https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer/massachusetts
https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer
Learn More About Your Type of Cancer:
The NCCN (National Consortium of Cancer Networks) Guidelines for Patients® help people with cancer talk with their doctors about the best treatment options for their disease. https://www.nccn.org/guidelines/patients
NCCN translates these patient resources into multiple languages. Please note that not all cancers are listed; however continue to come back as new language editions are added regularly: https://www.nccn.org/global/what-we-do/guidelines-for-patients-translations
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