There was a movie in the 1990’s called ‘The Medicine Man’, where a scientist discovers the cure for cancer; almost on a weekly basis, new advances are made in conquering this terrible disease. Think about that for a moment; can you even imagine the impact this would have on our world if the suffering of so many people could be put to an end? Research over the years has helped our understanding of cancer but not to the point where we are able to foretell exactly when it will happen.
First off it is a good idea to understand exactly what cancer is and try to ascertain whether it is hereditary or something you can acquire. Firstly, it is a disease that starts as a group of abnormal cells that continue to divide; they cross over to other cells and sites of the body continuing to grow and divide.
A benign tumor, unlike a malignant cancerous one, does not continue to grow and invade other cells. They affect many people without them even knowing they are there. In rare circumstances a benign tumor may turn malignant. Whilst it is not generally a young person’s disease, it can occur at any age; cancer is responsible for about 13 percent of all deaths worldwide. Most cancers are caused by some form of poison in the cells which creates abnormalities in the genetic makeup of those cells; cigarette smoke is a predisposing factor to a number of cancers.
Although genetic abnormalities may be caused by it they may also be randomly acquired through problems in the body’s DNA replication; a genetic trait may be inherited and thus present in all cells from birth. Complex relationships between carcinogens and a person’s genetic makeup may explain why only some develop it after exposure to a known carcinogen.
Cancer is one of the top ten diseases that are researched regularly throughout the world and the truth is we have learned a great deal from studies performed around the globe. More information is being gathered about all illnesses and why some people are more prone to certain conditions. We all want to know more about the causes of cancer what we can do to help prevent this illness from striking.
Over recent years, concern has been made public over the possibility that our dietary habits may be partly to blame for the incidence of the condition. There are certain foods that are considered risky such as excess salt in the diet, too much saturated fat and overindulgence in dairy foods. In particular, excess calcium is believed to have a direct effect on the incidence of prostrate cancer amongst men around the world.
No-one is immune from cancer. It can affect anyone at some time in a person’s life. Sometimes the disease is only picked up through routine screening. Usually the cancer is at an early stage and a person may have a better chance of being cured. the number of different types of cancer that can be treated has increased dramatically in recent years with so much intensive research being carried out. All this research is gradually leading towards more effective treatments for cancer and it is not always the terminal disease it used to be.
