Metastasis: How Cancers Can Spread Their Reach (1/2)

The word "metastasize" means to change form, state or position. It is not a word cancer patients want to hear.

Cancer can spread in a body 2 ways. As a tumor grows it may invade neighboring tissue" class="hjdict" word="tissue" target=_blank>tissue or organs. Or, cancer can metastasize. This is when cancer cells break away from a first tumor and travel through blood vessels or the lymphatic system. The cells then grow in another part of the body. Not all cancers spread to other parts of the body after they are treated. However, last month, 2 well-known Americans announced that their cancers had metastasized.

Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic Party presidential candidate, John Edwards, said her breast cancer had spread to her bones. The next week the White House announced that Press Secretary Tony Snow's colon cancer had moved to his liver. The White House noted that the cancer was not in his liver but attached to it.

Missus Edwards' breast cancer was discovered in 2004. She was treated for several months with chemotherapy drugs to shrink" class="hjdict" word="shrink" target=_blank>shrink the tumor. Then doctors removed it. The lumpectomy operation was followed with radiation treatments to kill any remaining cancer cells.