Cancer Facts
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uninhibited growth and spread of abnormal cells. Cancer is caused by both external and internal factors. Ten or more years often pass between exposure to external factors and detectable cancer. It is possible that cancer has affected you personally, that someone in your life, maybe even you, has been diagnosed with the disease. Cancer is treated with radiation, surgery, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy and targeted therapy.
Anyone can develop cancer. Since the risk of being diagnosed with cancer increases as individuals’ age, most cases occur in adults who are middle-aged or older. About 77% of all cancers are diagnosed in persons 55 and older. In the United States, men have about a one in two lifetime risk of developing cancer; for women, the risk is about one in three. The good news is that more than half of those diagnosed with cancer will survive thanks to early detection and advances in treatments that control this disease. Some individuals are completely cured with treatments available to them today.
|
