Cancer

Cancer is a class of disease in which a group of cells display uncontrolled growth, intrusion on and destruction of adjacent tissues, and sometimes spread to other locations in the body via lymph or blood. These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumours, which are self-limited, and do not invade or metastasize (spread to another site). Most cancers form a tumour but some, like leukaemia, do not. The branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer is oncology.

NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, is responsible for approving trial drugs and advising health professionals on treatments.

The website provided by Macmillan Cancer Support has over 6,000 pages of up-to-date cancer information, practical advice and support for cancer patients, their families and carers.

Cancer Research UK is the UK's leading charity dedicated to cancer research.

There are organisations dedicated to providing help and advice on different types of cancer, such as:

Breast cancer - Breast Cancer Care

Bowel cancer - Beating Bowel Cancer

Colon cancer - Colon Cancer Care

Lung cancer - Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Mesothelioma - Mesothelioma Centre

Prostate cancer - The Prostate Cancer Charity

For other, less common, cancers look at the Macmillan website.

Contacts

Beating Bowel Cancer	Harlequin House 7 High Street, Teddington TW11 8EE 08450 719301 (Help line) nurse@beatingbowelcancer.org	Beating Bowel Cancer home
Breast Cancer Care	5-13 Great Suffolk Street London SE1 0NS 0808 800 6000 (Help line) info@breastcancercare.org.uk	Breast Cancer Care home
Cancer Research UK	P.O. Box 123 Lincoln's Inn Fields London WC2A 3PX 0207 242 0200	Cancer Help home
Macmillan Cancer Support	89 Albert Embankment London, SE1 7UQ 0207 840 7840 (office) 0808 808 0000 (Help line)	Cancer Support home
Mesothelioma Center		Mesothelioma Centre home
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence	MidCity Place 71 High Holborn London WC1V 6N 0845 003 7780	NICE home
Penny Brohn Centre (formerly the Bristol Cancer Help Centre)	Chapel Pill Lane, Pill, Bristol, BS20 0HH 0845 123 23 10 (Help line)	Penny Brohn Centre home
Prostate Cancer Charity	First Floor, Cambridge House, 100 Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith London, W6 0LE 0800 074 8383	Prostate Cancer Charity home
Royal United Hospital Bath Cancer Information Centre	cancerinformationcentre@ruh.nhs.uk 01225 824049	RUH Cancer Information
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation	The Roy Castle Centre, Enterprise Way, Liverpool, Merseyside, L13 1FB 0151 254 7201	Roy Castle Lung Cancer home

Review Date: April 2012

Dorothy House Hospice Care provides the A-Z as a service to patients, carers and professionals, and cannot accept responsibility for the content of any external site referred to. We endeavour to ensure that all links are relevant at the time of publication.