Why Is Cancer So Dangerous?

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Consider your body to be the great city. Just like building a city for the health and well-being of millions of people working together, your body holds trillions of cells working in harmony for you to be healthy. If a well-organized city were to exist, people would behave according to the rules: stop at red lights, never break into houses, and get their jobs done correctly. Similarly, healthy cells in your body behave according to rules, too. They grow when they must, stop growing when they should, and die when it’s time.

Dow does cancer begin?

Cancer begins when some cells start to break these rules. It is almost like a law-breaking crime spree in a city where no one follows any rules. Cells do not stop in their growth pattern when they are supposed to, and they do not die like they are supposed to. They keep on dividing if your body does not require new cells.

Why can’t our body’s natural defenses stop cancer?

Our body has a security system we call the immune system. Most of the time, it is excellent at seeking out and destroying cells that are acting naughty. Cancer cells are sneaky-they are like thieves that are particularly good at evading the law.

The following are what makes cancer cells so challenging to find:

  • They can masquerade and present themselves like normal cells.
  • They can surround themselves with shields so the immune cells cannot reach them.
  • They can deceive the immune system into believing that they are harmless
  • They can hide in places where the immune system is too complex to access
  • They can even shut down the alarm signals that would alert the immune system
  • Some cancer cells make the immune system exhaust and weak

How does cancer spread in the body, and why is this so dangerous?

Cancer metastasis is like when people transfer cities to establish a new home. Cells can break free from their original place and travel to other body parts in the blood or lymph system. This is considered to be metastasis and is one of the significant causes of cancer death.

When cancer has spread, treatment becomes much, much more complicated. It is not easy to stop a group of criminals who set up operations in many different cities rather than in just one. Each place where cancer spreads becomes a problem for how that part of the body works.

Why is treatment so hard?

Fighting cancer is a challenge for several reasons. Cancer cells derived from our very own body cells are not entirely foreign to the body like certain types of bacteria or viruses, so simply removing them can cause damage to healthy cells as well.

Imagine you are trying to pull weeds out of a garden. The weeds (cancer cells) grow next to and mingle with your flowers (healthy cells). It is easier to yank out the weeds by pulling up your flowers.

Why cancer is challenging to treat?

Although every cancer is different, something that has worked for one person may not work for another.

  • Cancer cells can develop resistance to medicines just like bugs can become resistant to pesticides
  • Most treatments have to poison or kill all of the cancer cells to eliminate it once and for all, as any surviving cells may become the source of a recurrence
  • Many treatments pose too many risks as they kill both terrible cells and good cells
  • Some cancers grow and spread so fast that it’s tough to administer treatments at the right time to prevent enough damage
  • It may exist in regions in which the treatments have difficulties reaching

Why detect cancer early?

Early detection of cancer can significantly alter the risk factor attached to it. After all, it is like discovering fire as it happens. A small flame can be put out before it spreads to the entire house. When diagnosed early, cancers are often easy to treat with good survival rates.

Additionally, this can provide doctors with more treatment options. They can perform surgeries that may remove the cancer completely, or they can be less aggressive since it hasn’t spread as much yet. Because of this, doctors are always suggesting frequent check-ups and even cancer screenings.

Why are some cancers more dangerous than others?

Different types of cancers have different pace in developing. Some grow slowly and are not too dangerous to treat, whereas others grow fast and spread rapidly. The severity of danger often depends on some of the following factors:

  1. Where it starts in the body.
  2. How fast it grows.
  3. How easily it spreads to other parts of the body.

For instance, some skin cancers can be relatively readily removed if caught early and do not tend to spread to other parts of the body. Other cancers are rather dangerous—pancreatic cancer is often found pretty late, and it has a strong tendency to metastasize or spread to different parts of the body.

Takeaway:

What’s our best defense against cancer?

We cannot fully prevent cancer, but many things can be done to reduce the possibility of this disease. Eating healthy foods, leading an active life, not smoking, and protecting from excessive sun exposure contribute much toward reducing the risks of developing cancers. Regular visits to doctors help in the early discovery of the development of the disease when it can be treated better.

We should know our family history of cancer. We should reveal our history of cancers to doctors since some cancers run in families, and knowing this will enable the doctor to look out for things.

One may fear cancer, but understanding it will help a person make better choices about health. The further we know why this is dangerous, the better prepared we are to prevent it, identify its onset, and fight it.

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