High resolution image. This link will open using lightbox, there may be a context switchEntender el Cáncer

Cancer starts in our cells. Cells are the small building blocks that come together to form the organs and tissues in our body. In general, cells divide to form new cells in a controlled fashion. That is how our body is able to grow, heal, and repair itself.

However, this process sometimes goes wrong, and some abnormal cells develop. Abnormal cells then divide, thus creating more and more abnormal cells. These cells form a growth, which is called a tumor.

Not all growths are cancerous.

A growth that isn't cancerous (i.e., a benign growth) cannot spread to other parts of the body.

On the other hand, if a growth is cancer (i.e., malignant), it can grow in nearby tissues.

Cancerous cells sometimes break off from the primary cancer site and travel to other parts of the body through the blood or the lymphatic system. When cancerous cells spread and come together to form a tumor in another part of the body, this is called secondary cancer.