The organs and tissues of the body are made up of tiny building blocks called cells. Cells in different parts of the body may look and work differently but most reproduce themselves in the same way. Cells are constantly becoming old and dying, and new cells are produced to replace them. Normally, the division and growth of cells is orderly and controlled but if this process gets out of control for some reason, the cells will continue to divide and develop into a lump which is called a tumor. Tumors can either be benign or malignant. Cancer is the name given to a malignant tumor.

In a beginning tumor the cells do not spread to other parts of the body and so are not cancerous. However, if they continue to grow at the original site, they may cause a problem by pressing on the surrounding organs. It is important to realize that cancer is not a single disease with a single type of treatment. There are more than 200 different kinds of cancer, each with its own name and treatment.

One of the most basic of all facts about cancer is that there happens to be over 100 different cancer types. Basically, any body part is at risk of being affected by these cancer types. This simply means that no one is safe from being affected or contracting one cancer or the other. On the other hand, you need to keep in mind that most facts about cancer point towards that cancer is one of the deadliest diseases on the face of the earth. For instance, in 2004 around 7. 4 million people lost their lives as a result of various types of cancer. This was estimated to be about 13 percent of all the deaths that occurred round the globe that year.

Additionally, people in middle and low income countries are more likely than their counterparts in developed states to die as a result of cancer. In fact, more than about 70 percent of all the deaths that occur due to cancer are to be found in these calibers of countries. It is also important to know more on the facts about cancer that can be found. For instance, certain cancer types are known to be more deadly to men. For instance, it has been noted that the order of the frequency of the cancer types that kill men are cancer of the lung, of the stomach, of the liver, of the colorectal and esophagus cancer. In the same way, there are certain cancer types that are more likely to kill women. In the proper order of their frequency, these cancer types include cancer of the breast, of the lung, of the stomach, of the colorectal and cervical cancer.

You can also find facts about cancer with regards to how people can prevent their chances of contracting cancer. For instance, you will land upon the realization that the use of tobacco ranks among the largest cause of this deadly disease that can be prevented all round the globe. In the same way, about a fifth of every cancer that is diagnosed worldwide will be as a result of one chronic infection or the other. For instance, it has been discovered that the Human Papilloma Virus (simply abbreviated as HPV) is one of the leading causes of cervical cancer. In the same way, the virus of Hepatitis B (abbreviated as HBV) is known to cause liver cancer.

Also, it is interesting to note that about 1/3 of all cancers can actually be cured in case they are detected at an early stage and they are treated in an adequate manner. This only goes to show that it is very important to go for screening in case you notice any detectable symptoms of being affected. To come to a suitable conclusion, a number of other interesting facts about cancer prove that all the patients that are dire need of relief from pain would get the help they require in case the current knowledge with regards to palliative care and pain control were adequately applied.