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JoBro lovin’ Ballerina asked:
What does Cancer actually do to you?
Like how does it kill you?
Question posted courtesy of: Unique Article Wizard
August 7th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
A certain cell in your body mutates, then it keeps growing as a normal cell would, except they’re mutated. Soon you’ll die, becuase it’s not a normal cell growth.
August 9th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
depending on the cancer. Like with AIDS, the white blood cells get attacked, and they are supposed to be attacking the t-cells…..
August 12th, 2007 at 8:52 am
first of all their are two types, maliginant, and benign, say you have lung cancer, the cells will multiply fast to other organs if maliginant, if it is localized they can usually perform surgery and you should be fine, but it can come back, the key is to finding out in time, so you have a path of direction and key information.
August 12th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Cancer is a general term for about 200 different diseases. Some cancers are harder to treat than other cancers. Some patients due to age or physical condition or a secondary health problem have difficulties fighting their cancer or handling their treatment.
Cancer means that normal cells in the body for some unknown reason start to grow and mutate. Most normal cells of the liver, lung, brain, bones, etc have some type of switch that stops them from growing. Cancer cells no longer have that switch so they begin to grow and turn into a tumor or multiple tumors.
Malignant tumors growing uncontrollably in one spot can begin to ’seed’ smaller, microscopic cancer cells that spred through the lymphatic system or spred into healthy organs and tissue. Some tumors can grow to enormous size within the body, overwhelming anything in its way.
Tumors also can begin to have their own nutrient and blood supply. Tumors are a part of the human body, the body does not recognize the tumor as being anything foreign and so allows the tumor to move and spred freely. The body also will ‘feed’ the tumor . . which means that anything you eat . . also goes to sustain the tumors. This is why it is so difficult to rid the body of cancer.
Cancer can kill in several ways, but primarily the cancer can engulf, invade, and overwhelm the entire body and stop all normal bodily functions. Other ways that cancer kills is that it wears the body down leaving the patient unable to fight off infections. Patients also are weakened states sometimes and unable to continue their treatment. When they stop treatment than the cancer can quickly overwhelm the system. Much of treatment depends upon luck and timing. A patient must stay healthy in order to continue treatment that will lead to remission and cure. But, this can be difficult to do if the patient has a secondary health issue or if they get a bacterial infection and start missing regular treatments.
Because there are so many variables, with cancer there are no guarantees.
I know that you are very curious about this. You can read more at Cancer Research UK:
How can cancer kill you?
You can find out more if you go to the National Cancer Institute site, they have information about all types of cancers, and information about advanced cancer and end of life care:
National Cancer Institute
NCI: Advanced Cancer
August 13th, 2007 at 3:26 am
Cancer-overzealously growing tissue-grows until it starts to push in on surrounding healthy tissues. It continues to grow until it grows into the healthy tissue. Sometimes the main cancer metasticizes-or splits off and moves either through the lymph nodes or through the blood until it reaches a new site-like a seed of some kind of weed. This new spot can become a new tumor and overcome other healthy tissue.
Cancer actually kills by a variety of methods..
It steals your food energy-tumors are irritatingly hungry little monsters (I know mine was!)
It invades your organs and causes lots of problems-lungs pull less air, reproductive organs stop functioning, all sorts of problems
Cancer also diverts a Lot of your immune system toward the fighting of the cancer cells. The white blood cells that are supposed to surround and lyse invading bodies have their hands full with the cancer, this makes us cancer warriors more likely to catch other illnesses (I caught pneumonia and that’s actually how I found out that I had cancer!)
Many who actually die from cancer also have other complications because of age, weight or previous illness, this makes it more difficult to aggressively and safely treat the primary cancer.
August 16th, 2007 at 6:29 am
Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade other tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis. Metastasis is defined as the stage in which cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Cancer may affect people at all ages, but risk tends to increase with age, due to the fact that DNA damage becomes more apparent in aging DNA. It is one of the principal causes of death in developed countries.
There are many types of cancer. Severity of symptoms depends on the site and character of the malignancy and whether there is metastasis. A definitive diagnosis usually requires the histologic examination of tissue by a pathologist. This tissue is obtained by biopsy or surgery. Most cancers can be treated and some cured, depending on the specific type, location, and stage. Once diagnosed, cancer is usually treated with a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. As research develops, treatments are becoming more specific for the type of cancer pathology. Drugs that target specific cancers already exist for several cancers. If untreated, cancers may eventually cause illness and death, though this is not always the case.
Cancer if detected in early stages may get cured and we can try for the other cased also but -
CANCER IS STILL AN ENGIMA - and nothing can be said-.
August 17th, 2007 at 3:35 am
See this site for more on cancer.