Cancer is a sickness where some cells in the body grow in the wrong way. These bad cells may spread from where they started to different places in the body. People with cancer might find a lump, bleed in a strange way, cough for a long time, lose weight for no reason, or go to the bathroom differently. These problems can be because of cancer, but they can also happen for other reasons. There are more than 100 types of cancer that can affect people. Smoking can cause about 22% of deaths from cancer. Other things that can cause cancer are being too heavy, eating unhealthy foods, not getting enough exercise, and drinking too much alcohol. Even getting certain infections can make a person more likely to get cancer. Some examples are certain kinds of stomach, liver, and blood viruses, as well as other kinds. There are ways to stop some of these infections that can lead to cancer. For example, vaccines are kind of like shields that can protect us from the viruses that cause liver and blood cancers, but only if people get the vaccine before they get the viruses. Sometimes, things around us like radiation or pollution can also make the cells in our body start to grow in the wrong way. In a few cases, people might get cancer because it’s in their family and passed down from parents to kids. To find cancer, doctors look for the signs we talked about, use special machines to see inside the body, or take a small piece of the body to check. To lower the chance of getting cancer, it's good to not smoke, stay a healthy weight, not drink too much alcohol, and eat healthy foods.

Jack Hoffman is a young boy from Atkinson, Nebraska, who loves to play football even though he has had brain cancer. In 2012, Jack met Rex Burkhead, a player from the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. They became very good friends. One day in 2013, when Jack was seven years old, he played in a special football game. He scored a touchdown by running very far with the ball. Lots of people saw this and thought it was very special. Jack even got to meet the President and won a big award. His parents started a group called the Team Jack Foundation to help other children with brain cancer. Jack's family includes his mom and dad, and he has two younger sisters. His dad used to be a lawyer and a football player, and his mom works as a pharmacist. They live very close to the high school where Jack now plays football. When Jack was six years old, he got very sick one morning, and doctors found out he had a brain tumor. Since then, he has been fighting his illness and inspiring many people.

When a person has an illness that doctors cannot fix and they will eventually die from it, we call this illness terminal. This kind of sickness, like cancer or very bad heart disease, keeps getting worse until the person dies. It is different from an accident. A person with a terminal illness might live only for a short time, maybe a few months. Doctors can guess how long someone might live, but they cannot know for sure. People who are very sick like this can choose what to do next. They can have someone take care of them, keep getting medical treatment, or go into special care like hospice. Sometimes, they might choose to have help ending their life from a doctor. The person who is sick and their family decide together, with advice from doctors. After learning they are very sick, people might live differently. Some things they used to do, they can't do anymore because they are too sick. They might also feel very sad or worried because they know they are going to die. This can be hard for them and for their family and friends too. Talking to someone, like a therapist, can help make them feel a little better. This kind of talking is often part of special care for very sick people. Even though people with a terminal illness are going to die, they can still make plans. They can decide how they want to be taken care of when they are too sick to speak for themselves. These plans can help make sure they are comfortable at the end of their life. Even though we cannot stop death, we can try to make it as peaceful as possible.