Cancer is a unique disease in that we are all vulnerable to it. While many factors such as family history and personal health choices play a part, everyone has a decent chance of getting cancer at some point in his or her life. You are not safe from it no matter if you are young or old, rich or poor, skinny or chubby, or short or tall. If you are a male, you have a one in two chance you will have a cancer diagnosis in your lifetime, and this chance is only slightly reduced for women, who have a one in three chance (American Cancer Society, 2014). This probability encompasses the chances of being diagnosed with any of the more than 100 different forms of the disease that are currently recognized by medical professionals. Even within each
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Merriam Webster defines cancer as a serious disease caused by cells that are not normal and that can spread to one or many parts of the body (Citation). One thing that makes the treatment of cancer so difficult is the similarity that cancerous cells have to ordinary, healthy cells. There are only two prominent differences between cancer cells and healthy cells. The first is the termination of the apoptosis process, which is responsible for killing cells with potentially harmful mutations before they can cause damage. The other is the rate at which cells go through cellular division. Cancerous cells go through this process much more rapidly and continue to accumulate until a tumor eventually forms. This tumor can be either benign or malignant. A tumor is considered benign if it is not spreading from its original location to other parts of the body. They are generally seen as less harmful, but they can still be deadly if they are located in the right area. A tumor is classified as malignant once it metastasizes and is spreading; this is generally seen as the more aggressive and dangerous form of …show more content…
Mutations occur in our body at an almost alarming rate, but most of these are harmless. To cause cancer, mutations must affect a specific combination of genes. This is where genetics play a role. If someone in your family has had a cancer, they may have passed on a mutation on one of those genes, meaning you have to accumulate fewer mutations yourself to get the disease. Exposure to carcinogens, or substances that are known to cause mutations that lead to cancer, can greatly increase a person’s risk of contracting the disease. Some commonly known carcinogens are tobacco, alcohol, asbestos, and ultraviolet radiation; these are only a few of the many substances found to have a causal effect on cancer (American Cancer Society,
Merriam Webster defines cancer as a serious disease caused by cells that are not normal and that can spread to one or many parts of the body (Citation). One thing that makes the treatment of cancer so difficult is the similarity that cancerous cells have to ordinary, healthy cells. There are only two prominent differences between cancer cells and healthy cells. The first is the termination of the apoptosis process, which is responsible for killing cells with potentially harmful mutations before they can cause damage. The other is the rate at which cells go through cellular division. Cancerous cells go through this process much more rapidly and continue to accumulate until a tumor eventually forms. This tumor can be either benign or malignant. A tumor is considered benign if it is not spreading from its original location to other parts of the body. They are generally seen as less harmful, but they can still be deadly if they are located in the right area. A tumor is classified as malignant once it metastasizes and is spreading; this is generally seen as the more aggressive and dangerous form of …show more content…
Mutations occur in our body at an almost alarming rate, but most of these are harmless. To cause cancer, mutations must affect a specific combination of genes. This is where genetics play a role. If someone in your family has had a cancer, they may have passed on a mutation on one of those genes, meaning you have to accumulate fewer mutations yourself to get the disease. Exposure to carcinogens, or substances that are known to cause mutations that lead to cancer, can greatly increase a person’s risk of contracting the disease. Some commonly known carcinogens are tobacco, alcohol, asbestos, and ultraviolet radiation; these are only a few of the many substances found to have a causal effect on cancer (American Cancer Society,