All questions · The first few days

What is cancer, actually?

Your body makes new cells all the time and stops when it has enough. Cancer is what happens when one cell loses that stop signal and keeps copying itself.

Cancer that starts in the breast behaves differently from cancer that starts in the lung. That is why your treatment will not be the same as someone else's.

Written by two physicians. Checked against patient information from the US National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK.

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Content last updated 25 September 2026 · How we write these cards · Report a problem with this card

These cards are for learning. They are not medical advice and do not replace talking with your own doctor.