How cancer develops

The organs and tissues in the human body are made up of cells. These cells are constantly growing and then dividing to form new cells.

Sometimes the cells may grow abnormally and divide to form new abnormal cells. These abnormal cells do not work as they should.

You can read more on, the Cancer page on NHS.UK or watch the video below.

Oncological cancers

More and more abnormal cells can form a lump within an organ. This lump is referred to as a tumour. Cancerous tumours have the potential to spread around the body. Where the cancer starts is called the primary cancer and where it may spread to is called secondary cancer or metastases.

Not all tumours are cancerous; this means they cannot spread.

For more information on Oncological cancers, visit Macmillan

Haematology / blood cancers

These occur when blood cells do not develop properly and become abnormal.

For more information, visit: Cancer Research or Blood Cancer UK

Cancer genomics

Cancer occurs when changes in a person’s genome (their DNA) results in cells growing and dividing abnormally and uncontrollably. Some cancers can be caused by exposure to environmental factors such as smoking, ultraviolet light and radiation. Other types of cancer can be inherited and runs in families.

Genomic testing is carried out for some types of cancer but not all. It is not currently widely available on the NHS.

For more information, please ask your consultant and their team.

Next section

The next section you should read is: Drugs used to treat cancer