Our cells work together to make us more than the sum of our parts — but what happens when some cells stop cooperating? Cancer is a disease of cheating cells hijacking the normal functions of the body. In five units we’ll explore how our understanding of cancer has changed over time, what we now know about how our cells usually live and die, what you can do to minimize your own risk of getting cancer, and recent breakthroughs in treating it.
What is cancer and why should we care?
Lesson 1: Why should we care about cancer?
Lesson 2: How has our understanding of cancer changed over time?
Lesson 3: What do we now know about what causes cancer?
Lesson 4: How can we identify a novel carcinogen?
Lesson 5: How do we determine cancer risk?
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What does it mean to be a normal cell?
Lesson 1: Which kind of normal cell is most vulnerable to becoming a cancer cell, and why?
Lesson 2: How is replication controlled in a normal cell and disrupted in cancer?
Lesson 3: How do cells normally act as part of a community, and become isolated in cancer?
Lesson 4: How are cell activities controlled in a normal cell and disrupted in cancer?
Lesson 5: How is cell death controlled in normal cells and disrupted in cancer?
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How does a normal cell become cancerous?
Lesson 1: How is our DNA organized?
Lesson 2: How do normal cells become cancer cells?
Lesson 3: How can the immune system cause cancer?
Lesson 4: How does DNA damage allow cancer cells to cheat death?
Lesson 5: How do cancer cells evolve?
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How does cancer make us sick?
Lesson 1: How does cancer make us sick?
Lesson 2: Why do tumor cells need to find a new home?
Lesson 3: How do tumor cells find a new home?
Lesson 4: The immune system and cancer – a battle to the death!
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How do we treat cancer?
Lesson 1: How do we detect cancer?
Lesson 2: What do cancer screens really tell us?
Lesson 3: How can we treat cancer?
Lesson 4: What happens once cancer has been treated?
Lesson 5: How will cancer be treated in the 21st century?
Lesson 6: So what about the war on cancer?
