Cancer is a disorder more than a disease. To understand cancer one must first understand the concept of cell growth. Humans are made up of cells. Most living organisms on this planet are made up of cells. A cell could be considered as the basic unit of life. The contents of a cell are not considered alive but a cell is considered alive. In order for an organism to grow, the cells must multiply. In all animals the cells have a mechanism for multiplication. It is a very finely controlled mechanism. The rules of the multiplication are imprinted in the DNA of each cell.
As an embryo of higher animals grows into a full animal, the cells specify according to the rules contained in the DNA as well. The rules make sure that certain kinds of cells specify into certain other kinds of cells. This specification is what causes the existence of different tissues within an animal's body. The cells in the skin are different to those in the liver. The cells in the heart, nose, throat, stomach, lungs and different organs are different from each other. There are sets of rules contained in the DNA to make all of these specifications happen.
The multiplication has to be controlled in order to make sure that the cells multiply enough to make an organ but don't multiply anymore. There is another function of the cell multiplication. It is the repairing of tissues. When tissue damage is caused, the adjacent cells multiply to cover the damaged part. Whenever someone has a scratch in the skin, this is what happens. The cells multiply to cover the area. What will happen if the multiplication doesn't stop after filling the damaged area? If the cells keep on multiplying without control then there will be deformations and disorders.
Cancer could be associated with the failure of the control mechanism of cell multiplication. In biological terms, this cell multiplication is called the cell division. The cells divide into two in order to make two new cells. After the cell division, none of the two new cells could be called the old one. This way, the body keeps on making new cells and maintaining the balance.
Some of the cells in the body somehow misbehave or break the code of conduct for cell division. They keep on multiplying. When they do, they grow into a group of cells which we call a tumor. A tumor is nothing but a group of cells grown in a place. Tumors are not the usual parts of human anatomy. There should be no humor in a healthy human. Once these tumors form, another rule in the DNA makes sure that these compound cells get enough blood supply. So new blood vessels form and supply blood to the tumors. This is the critical stage where the same abnormal cells get the opportunity to spread along the blood stream.
This unwanted and uncontrolled cell division is called cancer. There are different types of cancers. They are all formed by the same basic mechanism. The different tissues could get the different types of cancers. Some tissues are not capable of growing outside given conditions, so they will not spread around the body. These kinds of tissue cancers might be less dangerous compared to the ones that can spread around.
However, cancer could be fully cured if identified in the beginning stages. The key is to be vigilant at all times. If people are ready to take even small symptoms seriously then cancer would be detected early. Any physician would agree that early detection is the key to a successful treatment. Also, being precautious will avoid the chances of getting a cancer. Precaution is always better than cure.
There are certain factors which could stimulate cancer in the human body. There are things or substances known as carcinogenic substances. Carcinogenic is the scientific term to name something that could cause cancer. If people are aware of carcinogenic products which might be contained in some forms of food, water or other consumables, they would avoid them.
Some radiations and dust could cause cancer as well. In most cases of skin cancer, the cause has been ultra violet radiation which is gained from open sun. Some people get extremely exposed to the sun and the ultra violet radiation is absorbed by the skin. When it goes beyond the tolerance level, it causes the skin cells to behave abnormally. This results in skin cancer. Usually darker skin is much resistant to radiation than light skin. There would be much melanin in dark skin than in light skin. This melanin acts as a barrier to radiation. The reason why skin becomes darker after a sun bath is because the skin produces much melanin as an effort to reduce the effects of radiation. Becoming dark under the sun is actually a safety mechanism carried out by the skin. Unaware of this fact, many people expose their skin to the sun in an attempt to get darker. This will lead to cause cancer because the capacity of the skin to produce melanin is limited. After that limit, the skin cells will start to alternate from the rules of cell division.
It is one of many examples where people do not know about cancer so they forcefully and unwillingly ask for it. Cancer is not a curse, neither is a mistake of someone. Sometimes, if we knew things a little earlier than we did, we could have saved a lot. Cancer usually does not spread by direct contact with people. Cancer can be cured with advanced treatments.
If a friend or family member seems to have symptoms that are not normal, they might be caused because of a type of cancer developing in them. If they are taken for detection, the presence of cancer could be detected. If detected early, it is very easy to cure the cancer. A very well and healthy looking person might have cancer. It is not very visible unless it is on the visible parts of the body.
There are three basic types of treatments. Once a tumor has formed, surgeons remove the tumor and adjacent cells to make sure that no cancer affected cells are left in the body. This is done by surgery. The second method is to apply radiation to the affected area to kill the cancer affected cells. This has side effects. The radiation will also kill the adjacent cells and weaken the individual. The third method is to apply chemicals. With the advance technologies, there are precision medicines which will apply only to the targeted area. This method has side effects too.
The worst side effect is the depression caused in the individual. It is not cancer that causes the depression. It is the mentality of the person upon detecting cancer causes the patient to be depressed. Most people think of cancer as a curse. It is not a curse. It is like any other disease. If detected early enough, it could be cured. We only have to be cautious enough.
If people knew what cancer is then they could identify it when they see the symptoms. If they already knew that it could be cured, they will not panic when they detect cancer. There are inumerous sources from where people can get information on this. Below are a few very informative sources.
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