Cancer is an umbrella name given to a group of over 200 diseases. Of these, only a few predominate in each country. In Malaysia, the incidence of cancer is on the rise. It can strike anyone regardless of colour, creed or status.
In fact, nearly 70,000 new cases were reported over between 2003 and 2005, with breast cancer posing the biggest threat to the health of Malaysian women of all walks of life.
According to a report released in January 2008 on the incidence of the disease in West Malaysia, a total of 67,792 new cases were diagnosed among 29,596 males (43.7 per cent) and 38,196 females (56.3 per cent), states the Cancer Incidence in Peninsular Malaysia 2003-2005 report published by the National Cancer Registry (NCR).
Cancer can affect any organ of the body. The most common cancers affecting males are cancers of the lung, nasopharynx, mouth, stomach and liver. Besides breast cancer, many Malaysian women are also being threatened by cancers of the cervix, lung and stomach.
THE THREE TYPES OF CANCER:
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Carcinomas
This usually occurs in rapidly dividing tissues, such as cells that cover and line our bodies, including the skin, colon, breast, liver and breathing passages. This is the most common form of cancer.
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Sarcomas
This type of cancer generally occurs in more slowly dividing tissues, such as muscle and nerve tissues.
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Leukaemias
This is a cancer of tissues that form blood cells. It is also referred to as cancer of the blood.
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Cancer cells are abnormal cells. They keep dividing and forming more cells without control or order. A mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumour, is formed and can either be benign or malignant.
Benign tumours are not cancerous. They can be removed and in most cases, don’t make a return. Benign tumours do not spread to other parts of the body and are rarely a threat to life.
Malignant tumours, on the other hand, are cancerous and can spread to invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also break away from the malignant tumour and enter the bloodstream or lymphatic system. This is how cancer spreads from the original or primary tumour to form new tumours in other parts of the body. This spread of cancer is called metastasis.
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