Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States. Half of all men and one-third of all women in the US will develop cancer during their lifetimes. Today, millions of people are living with cancer or have had cancer. The risk of developing most types of cancer can be reduced by changes in a person's lifestyle, for example, by quitting smoking and eating a better diet. The sooner a cancer is found and treatment begins, the better are the chances for living for many years.

Cancer develops when cells in a part of the body begin to grow out of control. Although there are many kinds of cancer, they all start because of out-of-control growth of abnormal cells.

Cancer cells develop because of damage to DNA. This substance is in every cell and directs all its activities. Most of the time when DNA becomes damaged the body is able to repair it. In cancer cells, the damaged DNA is not repaired. People can inherit damaged DNA, which accounts for inherited cancers. Many times though, a person’s DNA becomes damaged by exposure to something in the environment, like smoking.

Cancer usually forms as a tumor. Some cancers, like leukemia, do not form tumors. Instead, these cancer cells involve the blood and blood-forming organs and circulate through other tissues where they grow.

Remember that not all tumors are cancerous. Benign (noncancerous) tumors do not spread to other parts of the body (metastasize) and, with very rare exceptions, are not life threatening.

Different types of cancer can behave very differently. For example, lung cancer and breast cancer are very different diseases. They grow at different rates and respond to different treatments. That is why people with cancer need treatment that is aimed at their particular kind of cancer.

Another type of cancer that affects about 2,000 individuals a year, 80% of them industrial workers, is malignant mesothelioma, a rare type of cancer found in the mesothelium that surrounds the lung, heart and abdomen.  Mesothelioma is caused by asbestos exposure and is a disease that causes the cells of the mesothelium to act abnormal.  Mesothelioma can spread to other parts of the body.  Many victims file a mesothelioma lawsuit with the help of an experienced mesothelioma lawyer.