Cancer (General)

The term cancer is used to describe a number of related diseases in which abnormal cells grow out of control in parts of the body and spread. It has been an affliction for thousands of years; evidence of cancerous growths and tumors has been found in fossilized human remains uncovered by archaeologists and anthropologists, and also in ancient Egyptian mummies. There is a reference to cancer on a Babylonian cuneiform from about 2000 b.c.e. Atossa, the wife of Darius the Great, the King of Achaemenian Persia, was treated for breast cancer by the captive Greek physician Democedes. It was the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates who used the term carcinoma to describe these tumors. Their ability to cling to parts of the body later gained them the name cancer, which is the Latin word for crab. For this reason, the crab is often used around the world as a sign for cancer and cancer research, and by some cancer charities.

Cancer is so common that it has been estimated that half of all men and a third of all women in the United States will develop cancer at some stage in their lifetime. It should be added that many people die with cancer, though it is not the cause of death. In other countries, the rates of cancer deaths vary considerably, although they are increasing in most countries for two reasons. The main factor is increased life expectancy, as cancer develops more often in older people. Until the 19th century, many people were dying [Page 337]long before the age at which cancer would develop or become fatal. As healthcare around the world has improved since the late 19th century, life expectancy has increased considerably, and this, in turn, has led cancer rates to rise dramatically, even with much improved cancer treatment programs. In 1993, cancer accounted for 12 percent of all deaths—equivalent to the loss of some six million people. By 1998, cancer deaths had risen to 7.2 million, or 13 percent of all deaths in that year. World Health Organization (WHO) figures for 1998 show 81 million people living with cancer. Statistics on cancers in different countries are usually collected by tumor registries (often known as cancer registries).

In some ways, the higher rate of death from cancer can almost be said to be a sign of higher life expectancy and living standards. In Singapore, cancer is now the single largest cause of death, accounting for 26 percent of deaths in 2003. In the United States, cancer is the second largest cause of death, after heart disease. Until recently, the percentage of people dying from cancer in central African countries, which generally had underfunded hospitals, was much lower because of the early deaths of many people long before the age at which they might develop cancers. However, rates have been rising with the increase in cancers that affect people suffering from diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and with better record keeping in these countries.

The most common cancers are skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, and cancer of the rectum, with women also susceptible to cervical cancer and breast cancer, and men susceptible to prostate cancer. Childhood cancers include leukemia, lymphoma, brain cancer, and osteosarcoma. Historically, some people suffering from cancer were said to have had tumors, or malignant tumors, with the disease occasionally described as a malignancy. The study of cancer is known as oncology, with cancer surgeons and cancer researchers known as oncologists.

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