cancer spread

Primary and secondary cancer The place where a cancer starts in the body is called the primary cancer or primary site. Cells from the primary site may break away and spread to other parts of the body. These cells can then grow and form other tumours. These are called secondary cancers or metastases. How cancer can spread to other areas of the body Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body. They do this through the bloodstream or lymphatic system . There they can start to grow into new tumours. Cancers are named according to where they first started developing. For example, bowel cancer