The Basics of Cancer and Cancer Care

Cancer is a common but complex disease. The initiation and development of cancer involves a subtle interplay between environmental factors, lifestyle habits, genetics, individual susceptibility, and abnormalities in the natural processes of cell growth and death. Specific environmental substances that cause cancer are called carcinogens. Although the cause of certain cancers can be definitely identified, there are quite a number of cancers for which the etiology remains unknown, and many important questions about how, and to whom cancer occurs are still unanswered.