Cancer happens when something goes wrong in the production of new cells. Instead of an exact copy being made, the cell behaves 'badly' and grows and divides in an uncontrolled way. This can lead to the growth of a lump called a tumour or to too many cells being produced, like in a blood cancer. The cancer cell isn’t able to switch itself off and it goes on producing abnormal cells that continue to divide indefinitely.
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Tumours can be:
- Benign (non-cancerous) - these are tumours that don’t have the ability to spread elsewhere in the body, they are often surrounded by an outer layer and they may grow more slowly. They only become a problem if they grow too big and press on surrounding organs or change how the organ works.
- Malignant (cancerous) - these tumours have the ability to spread to other parts of the body, they are usually not surrounded by an outer layer and invade into other tissue and they may grow faster.
