Cancer is dangerous and everyone in the world has the chance to have it as nowadays a lot of outside food that we eat actually contain numerous of cancerous cells. So as a concern citizen of Malaysia .. I would like to share this great info on Cancer cells... Have a look and try to understand :)
Cancer cells don't stop reproducing
Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not stop reproducing after they have doubled 50 or 60 times. This means that a cancer cell will go on and on and on doubling. So one cell becomes 2, then 4, then 8, then 16....
The cancer cells may be able to stop themselves self destructing. Or they may self destruct more slowly than they reproduce, so that their numbers continue to increase. Eventually a tumour is formed that is made up of billions of copies of the original cancerous cell. Scientists describe cancer cells as being 'immortal'.
Cancer cells don't obey signals from other cells
Something in the cancer cells overrides the normal signalling system. This may be because the genes that tell the cell to reproduce keep on and on sending signals. Or because the genes that normally tell the cell to stop reproducing have been damaged or lost. So the cancer cell keeps on doubling, regardless of the damage the extra cells cause to the part of the body where the cancer is growing.
Cancer cells don't stick together
Cancer cells can lose the molecules on their surface that keep normal cells in the right place. So they can become detached from their neighbours.
This partly explains how cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer cells don't specialise, but stay immature
Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not carry on maturing once they have been made. In fact, the cells in a cancer can become even less mature over time. With all the reproducing, it is not surprising that more of the genetic information in the cell can become lost. So the cells become more and more primitive and tend to reproduce more quickly and even more haphazardly.
You may hear your doctor talk about the 'grade' of your cancer. This means how well developed or mature the cells look under a microscope. The more the cancer cells look like a normal cell, the more they will behave like one
- A low grade cancer cell looks more like a normal cell
- A high grade cancer cell looks more abnormal and is less well developed than a normal cell
Doctors call this 'differentiation'. Cells can be well differentiated, moderately differentiated, or poorly differentiated. This is the same as low, medium or high grade. It is also called grades 1, 2, or 3, where grade 1 is low grade.
Although there are many different ways of talking about this, it all comes down to the same thing. A low grade cancer is likely to grow more slowly and be less likely to spread than a high grade one. Doctors cannot be certain exactly how the cells will behave. But grade is a useful indicator. Grade is one of the factors doctors use to decide on treatment for some types of cancer.
The grade of a cancer is different to the stage of a cancer. The 'stage' describes how big the cancer is and if it has spread or not
Source : www.cancerresearchuk.org
