Mitosis & Cancer

What is Cancer? Mutated cells that are not longer under control Cancer Cells Grow uncontrollably Multiply more rapidly than normal cells Are not able to specialize

Metastasis Cancer cells that has spread from the part of the body where it started (the primary site) to other parts of the body. Metastasized Metastatic cancer  Cancer cells break away from tumor  Travel to another part of body via bloodstream or lymphatic system (a collection of vessels that carry fluid and immune system cells).

Cancers are named after the part of the body they start. For example:  Cancer that starts in the lungs but spreads to the bone is called lung cancer with bone metastases.

Benign Malignant Non-cancerous Stay in one place in the body Not usually life threatening Cancerous Able to metastases Could be life threatening Early symptoms include swelling of nearby lymph tissue Benign vs. Malignant

CAUTION: SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING TO SOME VIEWERS!!!! CANCER IMAGES

Skin Cancer ABCD’s of skin cancer

Brain Cancer

Oral Cancer

Lung Cancer

Breast Cancer

Canadian Statistics The following statistics and graphs are from the Canadian Cancer Society (2011)  Figure 1.1 New Cases & Deaths – Males  Figure 1.2 New Cases & Deaths – Females  From:

Treatments Primary Treatments  Chemotherapy  Radiation therapy These 2 methods may be used separately or in combination with one another

Chemotherapy Use of drugs Often a combination of drugs used How it works? Slows or stops the cancer cells from :  Growing  Multiplying  Spreading to other parts of the body

Radiation Therapy Use of a certain type of energy (radiation)  From x-rays, gamma rays, electrons and other sources How it works? Damages the DNA in the cancer cells Makes it impossbile for cells to grow and divide

Drawbacks for Treatments Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are:  Powerful treatments that affect the whole body  Healthy cells can also be damaged BUT…  Damage is usually temporary  Healthy cells will repair themselves