How cancer cells grow

Your body is a complex structure made of billions of cells that look and function differently, based on where they are located in your body. All cells, however, have the same basic parts and follow the same life cycle. All cells grow, divide and die — some faster than others. Every day, your body makes new cells to replace those that wear out.

Normal cells are orderly in your body, and follow patterns when they grow, multiply and divide. Cancer is when a normal cell becomes disorderly and grows out of control. The cell no longer does the job it should for the body. When a cancer cell divides, it makes more cells like itself. These cancer cells keep dividing, and eventually crowd out and destroy the normal healthy cells and tissues the body needs.

Cancer cells can remain microscopic (too little to see with your eyes), or they may grow into a lump inside or outside your body called a tumor.