Since your body is made up entirely of cells, you could, potentially, experience abnormal cells and/or cell division anywhere in your body. Therefore, cancer could originate anywhere in your body.
The technical names for cancer are based on where the cancer originates and the type of cell involved in the cancer. If the cancer metastasizes (spreads) anywhere else in your body, it still has the same cell structure, and will be referred to as the cancer of origin.
Say, for example, that you develop cancer of a breast gland (adenocarcinoma). If it metastasizes (spreads) to your brain or your lymph nodes, it’s still breast cancer.
Some experts say that people have cancerous cells many times in their lives, but they never “get” cancer because their healthy immune system destroys the mutant cells before a tumor is detected or affects any other part of your body.
Resources:
To find out how to boost your immune system and reduce your risk of cancer, see these websites:
Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation
National Cancer Institute
American Cancer Society
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