Various forms of cancer have been around for a long time and the coining of its name has been credited to an ancient Greek Physician known as Hippocrates. He used the term Carcinos to illustrate non ulcer forming tumors. In Greek, the word carcinos refers to a crab, which has been likened to the fingerlike projections that characterize some forms of cancer such as Carcinoma, which happens to be the most prevalent form of cancer. Hippocrates has been credited with being the first person to have been able to distinguish between malignant and benign tumors. His research was extensive, illustrating the cancers on different parts of the body. He christened the malignant tumors as carcinoma while the benign tumors were named carcinos.
Cancer cell
The earliest written description of cancer was discovered by archeologists in Egypt. The information, which was inscribed on papyrus scrolls between 3000 and 1500 BC. The literature describes breast tumors. Various fossilized mummies have been found to have signs of lesions and tumors in line with the characteristics of Cancer. One of the oldest mummy specimens was found by archeologist Louise Leaky in 1932 and showed distinct signs of a malignant tumor on bones of the lower limbs. There is sufficient evidence to show that the disease has existed almost as long as the existence of man.