Cancer

Cancer is a group of diseases in which abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, invade surrounding tissue and can spread to distant parts of the body.

Well over a hundred types exist, named for the tissue where they begin, such as breast, lung, colon, prostate or blood-forming cells. Cancers arise from accumulated genetic changes driven by inherited factors, tobacco, radiation, certain infections, diet and chance. Symptoms depend on location and stage and may include lumps, unexplained weight loss, persistent pain, bleeding or fatigue, though early cancers often cause no symptoms at all.

Diagnosis typically involves imaging, blood tests and a biopsy examined under a microscope, followed by staging to describe how far the disease has spread. Established care includes surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted drugs and immunotherapy. Cannabidiol has shown antitumor activity in laboratory and animal experiments, but that preclinical research does not establish any effect on cancer in humans, and it is not a cancer treatment.