Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of body tissue anywhere in a person's body. This growth gets in the way of how your body normally functions.

There are many kinds of cells that make up the tissue in a human body. Cells make new cells by dividing. Some cells stop dividing when you become an adult. Some divide only if there has been damage somewhere in your body. They "turn on" only until the damage has been repaired. Other cells constantly divide, such as those of your skin, hair and blood. Cancer tissues have lost their ability to "turn off" their growth. They eventually crowd out healthy tissues, disrupting your body's ability to do what it needs to do.

There are over 100 different kinds of cancer. Many people will get some form of cancer in their lifetime. The good news is that almost half (4 in 10) of them will be cured for at least five years.

Your chances of being cured increase with getting an early, accurate diagnosis, and then quickly starting treatment.

The most common ways of treating cancer are with surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy. These can be used alone or in combination.

There are new therapies being developed every day by researchers looking for better options for cancer patients. Research is also being done in the area of preventing cancer.

To learn more about cancer, call your local chapter of the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 or the National Cancer Institute at (800) 4-CANCER.

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