Fitness School

Almost everyone on the planet will know someone who has died from cancer but the cure will come, it is just a matter of time. It has caused untold deaths throughout history. The problem is we don’t fully understand the causes of cancer although there are many things in our life that can trigger it.

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. They cross over to other cells and sites of the body continuing to grow and divide.

Benign tumors do not normally grow larger, metastasize or threaten the body and organs like malignant (cancerous) tumors do although it is possible for a malignant tumor to have started out as benign. Fortunately, this is a disease which is not as prevalent in the young. While smoking, chemicals and radiation for instance, can be the cancer trigger, it is the poison from these or other sources that transform body cells and create genetic abnormalities which grow and multiply.

Genetic abnormalities may be caused by it or may be randomly acquired through problems in the body’s DNA replication. However this does not mean you will contract it as the relationship between carcinogens and an individual’s genetic makeup is a complex one.

Long term research has given a better picture of what cancer is and the study of cancer is one of the top ten diseases being researched throughout the world. More information is being gathered about all illnesses and why some people are more prone to certain conditions. By understanding the origins of cancer, perhaps we will be able to avoid contracting it until we come up with a cure.

One of the major causes surrounds food and dietary habits. Some of the foodstuffs that could be causing these problems are salt, saturated fats and dairy products.

Cancer can strike anywhere in the body and each is a specialist type to the organ or part of the body it has infected. However, mortality rates from cancer are decreasing and although a cure may not be possible, there are treatments available to slow its spread. Advancements in medical science and techniques means that cancer in many cases can be treated and often completely cured.

Back in the early part of the 1990’s a film called ‘The Medicine Man’ was released and the story revolved around a doctor working in South America who discovers the cure for cancer, only to lose it in a local disaster. A cure would bring a sigh of relief everywhere. The causes for cancer seem to be many but despite all the knowledge we gain, it is still almost impossible to know if or when a person will contract it.

There are theories that we all have it and it just takes something to start it off, but what is cancer? The word is often used by many to explain something that spreads out of control.

The malignant property of cancer differentiates it from benign tumors which limit their growth and do not invade or metastasize. Statistics show that cancer is responsible for around thirteen in every one hundred deaths each year. Nearly all cancers are caused by abnormalities in the genetic material of the transformed cells.

Just to confuse the issue more, it is possible inherit genes that may be pre-disposed to it as well as faulty genetic DNA replication. It would seem some people are more susceptible to it than others and it may be their genetic makeup and their exposure to certain carcinogens that is responsible.

Research into the cause of cancer continues around the globe and is the disease most frequently studied on a regular basis. Study, in general, helps us learn why one person is more susceptible to an illness than another. Ultimately, even if they don’t find the cure for some time, this research may be able to tell us how to avoid contracting cancer in the first place.

There is a saying ‘You Are What You Eat’ and this is now being looked at more closely as food may have a direct effect on the incidence of the disease in certain groups. Calcium from dairy products is thought to be possible cause of prostrate cancer in males.

Cancer can affect any part of the body from the bones, blood, skin or organs. nowhere is safe from it. This is an insidious disease that can take a long time to surface but fortunately the number of forms that can be treated is increasing all the time. However, the consistent research is paying off and the life expectancy of cancer victims is increasing all the time.