Cover Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
What is Cancer?
According to the American National Cancer Institute, the definition of cancer is a disease with regards to certain body cells growing uncontrollably and inevitably spreading to other regions of the body. Cancer is often thought of as caused by a disruption to mitosis, the process in which cells divide for the growth of individuals or maintain a stable homeostasis. If mitosis is disrupted, many abnormal and damaged cells would grow, taking away resources from the normal cells at an astonishing rate and out-competing them.
As these damaged cells group into tumors, a process called metastasis can occur, where some of the cells travel to many different places within the body through blood vessels. If metastasis occurs, the tumor can certainly be called cancerous and is defined as a cancer.
Cancer as a Malignant Illness
Cancer accounts for a very large cause of death worldwide, with about 10 million people worldwide dying from it in 2020. It is estimated that every one in six deaths is caused by cancer. According to the WHO, breast cancer is the cancer that led to the most cases worldwide in 2020, followed by lung and colon cancers. The deadliest type of cancer, however, is lung cancer, accounting for over 1.80 million deaths, also in 2020.
Cancer can be caused by a variety of factors, including exposure to UV lights or other forms of radiation, or from chemical agents, through smoking, consuming alcohol, or even drinking contaminated water. It is said that with increasing age, there is a larger risk for cancer in general since the bodies of older individuals tend to be less effective in fixing defective cellular mechanisms.
What Can We Do To Battle Against Cancer?
Individually taking action to reduce the chances of getting cancer is the ideal way to battle against it. About 40% of cancer cases can be prevented by using evidence-based strategies, including doing physical activity, various vaccines (against cancers like hepatitis B), eating a healthy diet, and not smoking or drinking alcohol. Another good way of preventing cancer is reducing exposure to various forms of outdoor pollution, like wildfire smoke or dust.
If every individual can follow these guidelines, we will most certainly see cancer cases decrease dramatically. Sadly, there are still a lot of cancer cases that happen because they weren’t detected early enough. One approach to solving this is by being more aware of the symptoms of various forms of cancer or doing genetic testing/family background checks to ensure the best information is available to the individual about their health concerns.
Scientists use various forms of treatment, including palliative care, to attempt to treat cancer. These include surgery, radiotherapy, or biological therapies. Because every type of cancer is different, and there are so many kinds, we will often see personalized treatment methods being used for each patient. However, according to the Cancer Society, there could be lots of negative consequences from surgery. For example, removing a crucial gland that is used to secrete a hormone causing the body to be off-balance will also stop other hormones from being released as well. A type of bone cancer surgery removes a limb or parts of a limb, causing phantom limb pain to occur, which is often devastating to the surviving patient. Pain is still often felt, even though the limb is no longer there.
Chemotherapy is a common approach to cancer, but it can cause heart problems such as congestive heart failure, or arrhythmia (having irregular heartbeats). Other negative effects from cancer treatments include hypertension (high blood pressure), disruptions to mood and hormonal balances, or even difficulties regarding learning and memory.
The good news is that technology, powered by new scientific innovations, is growing rapidly in its power to treat cancer. For example, genetic testing is now cheaper than it has ever been. With a growing health science field in many developing countries, there is also an increasing amount of medical specialists that are available to help out patients in need. Donating to many organizations, such as the Canadian Cancer Society, is a great way to contribute to the fight against cancer, and can potentially save countless lives.
Conclusion
All individuals currently undergoing the tough journey of confronting cancer, as well as cancer survivors, understand how unforgiving cancer is, and how much distress and suffering it causes. It is because of this that everyone should do their part in preventing cancer, to lower the cases and avoid the tough experiences associated with it. The later cancer is diagnosed, the harder it becomes to treat it, so it is also important to treat cancer in its early stages, as soon as it is discovered. Let us truly act together to combat cancer!