What are tumors

umors are a dense collection of cells that are created when the orderly process of cell division goes out of control and cells begin to multiply to quickly. When a person is diagnosed with having a tumor in some part of the body, tests will be done to determine if it is either benign or malignant.

Benign Tumours

Benign tumors are not cancerous
In fact the word benign means harmless. A benign tumor is created by slower growing cells that clump together to form a lump that usually has a smooth surface. Benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body and they are almost never life threatening. The only time that they could be life threatening is when they are located in an area of the body such as the brain where they could interfere with vital body functions. Although surgical removal is often recommended, once the benign tumor is removed it usually does not come back.

Malignant Tumors

Malignant Tumors are Cancerous
Malignant tumors are created by the growth of cells that clump together to form a lump that does not have distinct borders especially at a later stage of it's development when it will have roots that tend to stick out from the central lump. Tumors can develop in any part of the body. The one exception where cancers do not form a tumor is for Leukemia which is a cancer of the blood and organs that are responsible for the formation of blood including the lymph system, bone marrow and the spleen.

Tumors that do not spread.

When the tumor does not spread it means the cancer will remain in the place where it first started. When this happens the tumor will continue to grow until it sooner or later becomes large enough to push against and effect, the normal functioning of the surrounding tissue or organ causing pain or other symptoms. This type of cancer is called "non-invasive" which means it has not invaded other parts of the body and it is usually easier to treat.

Tumors that spread .

When the tumor does spread it means the cancerous cells of a tumor will break away from the original site of the tumor and begin to move through the bloodstream or the lymph system to other parts of the body. When this happens the cells can continue to grow out of control and form new malignant tumors in different parts of the body. The spread of cancer cells from the original tumor to one or more other parts of the body, is called "invasive" cancer. The medical term that is used is to describe the spread of a disease from one part of the body to another is metastasis.

The cells that first begin to lump together create what is called the primary tumor. The grouping together of cells to form a cancerous tumor often takes place very slowly so that the tumor does not exhibit any detectable symptoms for many months or in some individuals or types of cancer, even for many years. Eventually though, the tumor will continue to develop and when it does one of two things will happen; the tumor will either spread (metastasize) or it will not spread.

One very important characteristic of a cancer that has metastasized and spread from it's place of origin to a different part of the body, is that although it is now located in two parts of the body, it does not become a new type of cancer. For example if a cancer that started in the lungs and has been diagnosed as lung cancer later spreads to the stomach. It is still a lung cancer and not a stomach cancer. This fact is very important for treatment since a lung cancer that spread to the stomach or other part of the body will still be treated as a lung cancer and not as a stomach cancer.

Although any malignant tumor can eventually spread to other parts of the body, this is less likely to happen for tumors that start in the brain. Malignant brain tumors often do not spread (metastasize) and if they do it is almost always just from the original site of the brain tumor to other parts of the brain or to the spine. On the other hand, tumors formed in other parts of the body can spread to the brain.