St. Mary's Medical Center Cancer Center

Cancer is diagnosed by an expert who has looked at cell or tissue samples under a microscope. These test results are very important when choosing the best treatment options.

Breast cancer is when breast cells become abnormal. These abnormal cells grow, divide, and create new cells that do not function normally.

Cervical cancer is a type of cancer that occurs in the cells of the lower part of the uterus that connects to the vagina. Various strains of the human papillomavirus play a role in causing most cervical cancer.

Colon cancer often starts in a polyp, an overgrowth of cells from the epithelium (the top layer of cells) of the colon wall. Although all polyps grow from the inner layer (mucosa) of the colon, not all polyps are the same. Adenomas are the most common type of polyp and while most don’t become cancer, the majority of polyps with cancer start as adenomas. The possibility of a polyp becoming cancerous increases with age. Almost all polyps can be easily removed during a routine colonoscopy, which is why a colonoscopy is so important for people 50 and over - it can definitively prevent cancer.

Lung cancer may originate in the lungs (primary cancer), or it may start elsewhere in the body and spread to the lungs (secondary cancer). There are two main types of lung cancer. Small cell lung cancer is a fast-growing cancer. It may be limited in nature, meaning it affects only one lung or its surrounding tissue, or it may be extensive, meaning that it has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is more common, making up about 85% of all lung cancers. When discovered in its earliest stages, NSCLC is one of the most treatable cancers.

Pancreatic cancer typically doesn’t secrete hormones and doesn’t cause obvious signs or symptoms. This makes it hard to diagnose early. For the majority of patients with the most common kind of pancreatic cancer - called exocrine pancreatic cancer - current treatments do not cure the cancer. As many as 49,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with pancreatic cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute.