Cancer

• Benign tumour - non-cancerous tumour that does not grow into surrounding tissues or spread elsewhere in the body
• Malignant tumour - cancerous tumour that can invade nearby tissue and spread to other parts of the body
• Risk factors include ageing, family history, smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, diet (low fruit/vegetables), lack of exercise, sun exposure, sexually transmitted infection, radiation exposure, pollution, viruses, hormones, genetic mutations and immunosuppression
• The most common cancers are lung, breast, prostate, colorectal, melanoma, bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian, thyroid, leukaemia, stomach, liver, brain and bone marrow
• Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells
• Cells divide rapidly when they need to replace old or damaged cells
• Normal cell division involves DNA replication followed by mitosis