In the Latin language cancer meant crab. Ancient civilizations associated this disease with crabs since these animals are very protective of their homes. Similarly, cancer was very hard to remove from the body. Since ancient times, healers, early doctors, and modern medical practitioners are working hard to eradicate this stubborn disease. Cancerous tissues are sometimes referred to as malignant – from the latin word meaning bad or ill - and the disease as malignancy.
The medical field working on the treatment of cancer is called Oncology.
Cancer occurs when certain cells in the body start to divide in an uncontrolled fashion. The human body is normally capable of controlling unwanted cell division through different mechanisms. Sometimes cells lose the capability of this control due to external factors such as smoking and radiation or internal factors such as genetic mutations. These rogue dividing cells may start to grow and create tissue aggregates called tumors, invade neighboring tissues, or travel to distant parts of the body, causing metastases. When cancer cells are detected in organs other than their tissue of origin, this is called metastatic disease.