Cancer is a word no one wants to hear. However, cancer affects millions of people across the globe, and no one is immune to it.
The impact of cancer can be staggering to behold. The following cancer facts, courtesy of the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, World Health Organization, and the Mayo Clinic, highlight the far-reaching nature of this potentially deadly disease.
1. Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2020, it accounted for more than 10 million fatalities.
2. Cancer can start in almost any part of the human body, which is comprised of trillions of cells.
3. Tumors are formed when abnormal or damaged cells grow and multiply when they shouldn’t. Many cancers cause solid tumors, but blood cancers do not.
4. Cancer cells can grow in the absence of bodily signals telling them to grow. They also ignore signals to stop dividing or to die off. Cancer cells can tell blood vessels to grow toward tumors helping to supply tumors with oxygen and nutrients.
5. Signs and symptoms of cancer will vary depending on which part of the body is affected. However, lumps (tumors), fatigue, weight changes, skin changes, and changes to bowel or bladder habits are symptoms often associated with cancer.
6. The word “cancer” comes from the Greek word for “crab.” It likely stems from the finger-like spreading protrusions of cancer being likened to the shape of a crab.
7. Tobacco usage is one of the leading causes of lung cancer and many other forms of the disease. Tobacco can be linked to the death of at least 50 million people in the last 10 years.
8. Gene mutations that result in cancer can be present from birth or occur after birth from lifestyle behaviors or exposure to carcinogens.
9. Certain lifestyle choices increase the risk for developing cancer. These include smoking, drinking alcohol, excessive exposure to the sun, being obese, and having unsafe sex.
10. In 2020, the most common cancers worldwide included breast, lung, colorectal, prostate, and non-melanoma skin cancers.
11. Lung cancer accounted for the most cancer deaths in 2020.
12. Cancer that has spread from the place where it first began to another place in the body is called metastatic cancer. The cancer is always called by the initial cancer, not where it has spread. So breast cancer that spreads to a lung is known as metastatic breast cancer.
13. Carcinomas are the most common types of cancer. They form in the epithelial cells that cover the inside and outside surfaces of the body.
14. Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, at least 42 percent of newly diagnosed cancers in the United States are potentially avoidable, particularly those caused by smoking, obesity and alcohol consumption.
15. While anyone can get cancer, 88 percent of Americans diagnosed with cancer are age 50 or older. Cancer is prolific. Learning more about the disease may encourage people to take more active measures in improving their health.