General info about cancer

Here is some basic background information on cancer and how/why it happens:

Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems. Most cancers are named for the organ or type of cell in which they start - for example, cancer that begins in the colon is called colon cancer; cancer that begins in basal cells of the skin is called basal cell carcinoma.

The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced by new cells.

However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.

Although biopsies of Garrett's tumors were taken during surgery in 2006, UW and Dana Farber (Boston) pathologists could not conclusively diagnose the origin of his cancer. It has traits of basal cell carcinoma (a very common skin cancer), but is acting more like a rare aggressive skin cancer called merkel cell carcinoma. The general category we can put it in with some certainty is neuroendocrine carcinoma – healthy neuroendocrine cells are ones that release hormones in response to the nervous system, carcinoma means these were cells in his skin. No matter the specific source of his cancer, our initial treatment options were the same.