Tag

For most people having cancer is a single experience and hopefully one that is overcome. The main reason for a cancer relapse is because an incomplete clearance of the cancer cells. Cancer cells that grow without limitation, so even if one cell survives then it can multiply and cause the cancer to recur. Relapse is either local or distant. The former occurs when cells appear in the same location; for example breast cancer reoccurring in the breast. The latter occurs when a relapse is a metastases; for example breast cancer appearing in the lung or liver. Cancer may reoccur in people who have continued exposure to adverse environmental risks such as smoking or people who may have a genetic predisposition to cancer. In both these settings where there is a continued underlying risk, then a cancer may reoccur or other cancers may develop.