The term "cancer" covers any abnormally extensive proliferation of cells within a tissue of the body that eventually forms a tumor. Cancer cells are all thought to originate from a single, genetically altered stem cell that divides indefinitely and uncontrollably, ultimately endangering the patient's life. According to the WHO, cancer is thought to cause 15 million deaths a year—roughly one every two seconds. In French, it is colloquially called the crab, which, curiously enough, reflects its etymology. Hippocrates (460–370 BC), the father of medicine, diagnosed lumps (or tumors) in some patients and called them καρκινοι, whose primary meaning is crabs. The Roman physician Celsus (c. 30 BC–c. AD 50) translated the term as cancer, which does indeed mean crab in Latin. The medical specialty devoted to cancer is called oncology. The term ογκο (literally mass) was introduced by the physician Galen (130–200) to denote any lump that appeared malignant.
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Treatment tailored to each patient
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Cancer still kills on a massive scale. In the face of this devastation, there is no miracle cure. Various types of treatment have been developed over the decades. These fall into two categories: systemic treatments, which act on the patient's whole body, including the chemotherapy discussed below; and locoregional treatments, such as surgery or radiotherapy, which treat only the tumor site.
