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Nobody can answer this question. But just like it is not your fault, it is not your dad’s or mum’s fault either. Getting cancer is just bad luck, sheer bad luck.
That´s another question that can go through your head. Maybe one day you were very cross with your mum or dad, or said something bad or your mum or dad tripped over your bike. Of course that´s upsetting, but nobody gets cancer from that. That’s why cancer is NOT your fault!
Some people die because of cancer, but there are also people who get better. You shouldn’t forget that there are a lot of different sorts of cancer. Would you like to know how cancer is treated? Have a look at operations, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other treatments.
Cancer comes from the Latin word “cancer” that means crab or lobster. A tumour or cancerous tumour is usually not round, but looks like a little ball with little bits sticking out. When they discovered cancer and saw a little ball like that with bits sticking out it reminded them of a crab or a lobster.
Cancer has existed for a long time. Two and a half thousand years ago they already tried to find out about the disease and in Egypt when they did excavations they found mummies of people who had died of cancer. Cancer is really a very old illness.
Some children think that cancer is catching, but that is NOT true. So you can give mum or dad a kiss or a hug just like usual! And oh, don´t forget to tell that to your friends, because sometimes they also think that cancer is catching.
Yes, but children don´t get cancer as often as, for instance, grandfathers, grandmothers, fathers, and mothers. If you stand 1000 people in a row who have cancer, then 994 of them are grown-ups and only 6 are children.
Yes, animals can also get cancer. Just like the human body, an animal´s body is made up of cells. These cells can also get ill.
A tumour is another word for a clump of sick cells. Some people talk about a lump or a swelling. Beware: not every lump or swelling is cancer. Some lumps or bulges are good (benign). When we talk about cancer we mean a bad (malignant) lump or swelling.
Sick cells can wander throughout the body. On the spot where the cancer cells end up a new tumour can grow. That is what we call metastasis or the cancer spreads.
There are over a 100 different sorts of cancer. Every sort has another name. There is breast cancer, bowel cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, a brain tumor, blood cancer (leukemia), and so on.
