Outside Health Starts Inside

Cancer At Large, John Szepietowski

It is predicted that one out of every three people in the world will develop cancer at some stage in their lives. This shocking statistic reveals a harsh reality: the world as a whole needs to start living more healthily and understand why our bodies need the recommended daily fruit and vegetable intake.

The Cancer at Large portal was designed to put together the abundance of knowledge available on the internet about cancer and to provide friends and family of cancer patients with a single location to learn more about the disease.

We'd like to express our gratitude to our sponsor, Mr. John Szepietowski of London, England, for his invaluable assistance in making this website a reality. We would not have been able to provide much-needed assistance to many people in the early stages of the disease without his encouragement and financial support.

Cancer is a disease of Cell Division

Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells during division.It is a name applied to around 100 diseases characterised by cellular division. There are many processes that control a cell’s growth and division, many of which can go wrong. As a general rule, several of these control mechanisms need to be damaged before a cell becomes cancerous.

Cancer usually results from defects or damage in one or more of the genes involved in cell division. If these genes become damaged, the defective cells can multiply to form abnormal tissue (tumor).  There are four main types of gene directly linked to cell division, most tumors, have damaged copies of more than one of these genes;

  • Oncogenes (initiate cellular division)
  • Tumor Suppressor genes (instruct the cells not to divide)
  • Suicide genes (genes which terminate themselves, when they know the division process has gone wrong)
  • DNA repair genes (Cells that repair other DNA)

During cell division, a cell makes an exact copy of itself (DNA Replication). In this process there is a step where one cell interacts to check if cell division is occurring correctly. The communication can be ‘out of phase’ with each cell, then they can sometimes mutate and become cancerous. Cell division involves hundreds of proteins (and therefore many genes).

Cancer is often perceived as a disease that strikes for no apparent reason. While scientists don’t yet know all the reasons, many of the causes of cancer have already been identified. Besides intrinsic factors such as heredity, diet, and hormones, scientific studies point to key extrinsic factors that contribute to the cancer’s development: chemicals, smoking, radiation, viruses and bacteria.

Common Types Of Cancer

Types of Cancer

CARCINOMA

A carcinoma begins in the skin or the tissue that covers the surface of internal organs and glands. Carcinomas usually form solid tumors. They are the most common type of cancer. Examples of carcinomas include prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer.

Types of Cancer

LEUKEMIA

Leukemia is a cancer of the blood. Leukemia begins when healthy blood cells change and grow uncontrollably. The 4 main types of leukemia are acute lymphocytic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia.

Types of Cancer

SARCOMAS

A sarcoma begins in the tissues that support and connect the body. A sarcoma can develop in fat, muscles, nerves, tendons, joints, blood vessels, lymph vessels, cartilage, or bone.

Types of Cancer

LYMPHOMAS

Lymphoma is a cancer that begins in the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is a network of vessels and glands that help fight infection. There are 2 main types of lymphomas: Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.