Think of your body as a beautiful garden. A garden needs water, sunlight, and proper care to thrive. Our bodies do the same – they need our genes to work correctly to keep us healthy. But sometimes, those genes do something wrong that can cause cancer. Let’s investigate how, in simple, easy-to-understand terms for any person.
What Are Genes and Why Are They Important?
Genes have an inherent expression, and they instruct the cells in the body. Each cell in our body has thousands of instruction books. They tell cells when to grow when to stop growing, and when to die off if damaged. These instructions help keep our body working correctly, just like a well-organized library keeps all its books in order.
All the cells in our body read these instructions very carefully. If the instructions are explicit and authentic, everything goes right. Sometimes, these instructions may become jumbled or destroyed. When that happens, we refer to it as a gene mutation.
How Do Gene Mutations Cause Cancer?
As you would realize, if you are to follow instructions but something breaks down in the recipe, it’s probably going to come out wrong. It’s the same thing in our bodies: cells would probably start growing if the genes have mutations. They shouldn’t and will probably not die off as they should.
These mixed-up cells begin multiplying too rapidly. They don’t obey the usual rules about when to stop growing. That’s how cancer begins—it starts with cells that no longer follow the proper instructions.
What triggers these gene mutations?
There are several ways the system gets disturbed, and genes get mutations. Some things that may harm our genes include:
- Sun rays can damage the genes in our skin cells. That is why doctors always ask us to wear sunscreen. It is like putting a protective cover over our body’s instruction books.
- Cigarette smoke contains cancer-inducing chemicals that can screw up our genes. It’s as though spilling coffee over those instruction books makes them hard to read correctly.
- Sometimes, when cells copy themselves, they make mistakes. This is like when you take a copy of a page, and some words come out wrong. The body can usually clean up after such mistakes, but sometimes, it catches them.
- As we age, more mistakes in copying can accumulate in our genes. Think of it as a book copied many times: at some point, surely some error is bound to creep into the manuscript.
Can We Inherit Gene Mutations That Cause Cancer?
It is like inheriting our eye color or height from our parents sometimes or inheriting gene mutations that increase the chances of getting cancer. It is like inheriting a family book where some of the rules already have mistakes in them.
Relax! An inherited gene mutation does not automatically mean you will be diagnosed with cancer. It only means that you must be more careful and have yourself checked by doctors more often. That is like knowing your health system has possible errors, so check them more carefully before cooking.
How To Protect Our Genes?
Just because there is no direction to protect our genes does not mean we can do nothing about it. Think of it as preserving a precious set of instruction books within cells.
- Eating healthy food gives the body the right tools to fix damaged genes. Fresh fruits and vegetables are particularly effective at this. They are like having an cell restorers on standby—fixing damaged cells.
- Regular exercise also keeps our bodies fit, including the systems that protect our genes. It’s like having a sound security system to protect the library of instructions our body contains.
- We can avoid too much sun and guard against harmful things such as cigarette smoke, protecting our genes from damage beforehand. It is like keeping our books in a safe, clean place where they won’t get damaged.
What does this mean for cancer prevention?
Knowing how gene mutations can cause cancer helps us make better choices to stay fit. Although we cannot eliminate all gene mutations, we can at least reduce the risks by staying fit.
Regular check-ups with your doctor are important, too. They are like checking the instruction code of the body and correcting any mistakes. The sooner we notice these mistakes, the more likely we are to fix them before anything seriously goes wrong.
Summary:
Remember, our bodies are pretty amazing at repairing damaged genes. Every day, your cells scan and repair thousands of gene mutations. Through healthy choices, we can lend them a hand to fix them just a little bit better.
Knowledge about how gene mutations happen will give people a better sense of how to look after themselves to prevent cancer, without fear, but through intelligent choices so that the instruction books for the body are well maintained. Any garden is healthy and remains attractive for years if properly cared for.
REFERENCE LINKS:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/understanding-cancer/genes-and-cancer/gene-changes.html
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/genetic-changes-infographic
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/understanding-cancer/genes-and-cancer.html
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?contenttypeid=85&contentid=p07205