Selecting a letter will take you to the section of the glossary where terms begin with that letter. The following fact sheets have active glossaries. Women who inherit a defective BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene from either or both of their parents may have a higher chance of developing breast cancer than women who have not inherited one of these defective genes. Women who have a high rate of breast cancer in their families can have a test done that can tell them if they have a defective BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. For instance, the hormone estrogen can be broken down several different ways in the liver to form other estrogen-like chemicals.
Synthetic chemicals can also form breakdown products.
Some kinds of pesticides break down when exposed to the sun, rain or to bacteria found in soil. Certain pesticide breakdown products are monitored in our food supply and in our drinking water. An uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells. Cancer cells can invade and destroy surrounding tissues, and can travel to other parts of the body and invade other vital organs. Substances found in nature or made by man than can start or help the growth of cancer cells.