Cancer

About two-thirds of women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer want to take part in making decisions about their treatment.

Overview

One in six South African men and one in seven South African women will get cancer during their lives. It is a complex life-threatening condition that can affect people at any age and usually requires painful and uncomfortable treatment. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body - the cancerous cells are also called malignant cells - and can develop in almost any organ or tissue, such as the lung, colon, breast, skin, bones, or nerve tissue. The symptoms of cancer depend on the type and location of the tumour: for example, lung cancer can cause coughing, shortness of breath, or chest pain, whereas colon cancer often causes diarrhoea, constipation, and blood in the stool. Whereas some people are genetically predisposed to certain types of cancer, most cancers are lifestyle-related (for example smoking, unhealthy diet) and can be prevented.