How Cancer May Start ?
Our bodies are made up of several hundred trillion separate individual living cells. (A trillion is 1,000,000,000,000). Most of the cells are so small that thousands of them could fit in the space occupied by the period at the end of this sentence. Examples of cells are the skin cells, muscle cells, nerve cells and others. These various cells form tissues, glands, organs and systems. Each cell, gland and organ has a purpose and a function. They all work together to form a complete system that sustains us and keeps us alive. All of these different cells are derived from the first complete cell that was formed from the sperm and the ovum. The sperm and the ovum each contributed 23 chromosomes to make the complete cell with 46 chromosomes. Each of the cells in our bodies, whether prostate, liver or lung each have copies of the original 46 chromosomes.
Occasionally some of the cells wear out, are damaged, or for some reason die off. Even the cells in a young baby may wear out or become damaged. Sometimes a large number of cells are killed off or attacked by an infectious or harmful agent. Our bodies are marvelous machines and we have several defenses. Unless the damage or the attack is overwhelming, we can usually overcome the injury and recover our health.
In most instances, the cells that are killed off or damaged are replaced by nearby cells. A nearby cell of the same type as those damaged or killed off, will simply split in half and become two cells. The normal cells will continue to divide and multiply until the damage is repaired then stop reproducing.
Occasionally something may happen to cause one of these reproducing cells not to divide exactly in half. A daughter cell may not get exactly half of the chromosomes. Or the chromosomes may be damaged in some way. The resulting cells are no longer like any of the normal cells in our body. The body may recognize some of these aberrant cells and destroy them. Unfortunately, some of them may not be recognized and they begin dividing and creating more and more of the abnormal cells. The body stops the reproduction of the normal cell when they are no longer needed. But it has no control at all over the abnormal cancer cell growth. The cancer cells do not perform any useful function. They contribute nothing to the system. They take more than their share of nutrition, often robbing the neighboring hard working cells of their nutrition. They are parasites that often grow so large that they squeeze the neighboring tissues and kill them off.
Dr. Robert A. Nagourney, an oncologist, says that we don't have cancer because the cells proliferate and grow faster than normal cells. He says that cancer cells multiply at the same rate as normal cells. The problem is that normal cells have a definite life span with programmed death. From laboratory studies, it appears that normal cells can divide about 50 times before they die. At the end of some chromosomes, there is a section called the telomere (telos is Greek for end, meres is part). It appears from some studies that the telomere becomes a bit shorter each time a cell divides. When the telomere decreases to a certain length, it dies from the programmed death called apoptosis. Cancer cells disregard the programmed death. Instead of living for a certain length of time, then dying off, they keep right on living and multiplying into new cells that refuse to die. They are, in effect, immortal.
In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for Aug. 7, 1996, pg. 1021, there is a report of a conference on the Role of Telomerase. Scientists have discovered that almost all cancer cells cause an enzyme, telomerase, to be produced. Telomerase prevents the telomere from being shortened or affected when the cell divides. This appears to be what makes the cancer cell immortal.
Scientists have found telomerase present in 90% of all cancers. They hope that the presence of telomerase can be used as a marker for early detection of cancers. It might also be used to determine the aggressiveness of cancers.
Cancer Growth
An excellent book on cancer is titled Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy, published by Somerville House Books. It was written by Greg Cable, Dr. Malin Dollinger and Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum. I recommend it to anyone, whether or not you have cancer. On page two of their book they show the transformation of a single cell into one million cells which would be undetectable. Remember the doubling of the penny, over one million cells would be created after only 20 doublings. After 30 doublings, the tumor would have over one billion cells and could be detected as a lump. After it has doubled 40 times, the tumor would have about 1,099,511,627,780 or one trillion, 99 billion, 511 million, 627 thousand and 780 cells. The tumor would weigh about two pounds.
Depending on the type of cancer, its location and how aggressive it is, it may take years for it to double 20 or 30 times and reach a size to where it can be detected. During this time, it may not cause any pain or alarm to the body. A tumor may only cause pain or dysfunction if it is located in or near a vital organ. In this case its presence may be detected before it has doubled more than 30 times. Frequently though, when it is located in a vital organ, such as a brain tumor, even though it may not be very large, it can be deadly by the time it is discovered.
Over 100 Different forms of cancer
One reason it is difficult to find cancer before it has spread is that cancer is not a single disease. Over 100 different forms of cancer have been identified. Cancer can arise in any of the cells, tissues, glands or organs of the body.
Another difficulty is that no one is immune to it. Different forms of it can strike anyone, rich or poor, young or old, male or female.
Growth
Cancers usually arise at a primary site such as the prostate gland, the lungs, stomach or intestines. Cancer may remain at its original site and simply grow into a small tumor. You may have it for years and never know it. Eventually it may become a large tumor. If it is near a vital organ, it may grow to such a size that it would impact on the vital organ and cause problems. For instance, a prostate tumor that had become quite large might impact on the bladder, or restrict and close off the urinary canal.
The tumor may not grow and multiply any faster than the ordinary cells. As the cancer cells divide and multiply and the tumor becomes larger and larger, it might rob the nearby cells of their nutrition. If the normal cell does not get proper nutrition they will not be able to perform their proper function. They may starve to death.
As the cancer grows and becomes larger and larger, it might encroach on its neighbors and squeeze them to death. Blood vessels that are supposed to supply nutrition to normal cells may be squeezed so that they cannot reach the functioning cells. The lymph vessels that are supposed to remove the waste products may also be squeezed so that the cells may no longer be able to function properly.
A cancer patient needs to make sure that his or her body gets plenty of the proper nutrition every day. The patient must intake enough nutrition, not only to satisfy the greedy and voracious appetite of the cancer cells, but to also have enough left over to feed and repair the normal cells. Unfortunately, in many cases of advanced cancer, the person my lose their appetite completely. It is believed that the appetite loss is due to some factor produced by the cancer cells. The patient loses weight and may be just skin and bones when the cancer finally overwhelms and kills them.
Infiltration
Often the cancer will send out branches similar to the legs on a crab. These branches may infiltrate the neighboring organs and tissues. This infiltration displaces normal tissues and cells, squeezing, robbing and depriving the normal tissues of their nutrition.
Metastasis
Quite often the cancer begins in a gland or organ, such as the prostate, that has a capsule around it. As the cancer grows and expands, it may eventually break through the capsule. A few cancer cells can get into the blood stream or in the lymph system and move to other parts of the body. This is called metastasis.
Just like the seeds from a dandelion, wherever the cells land, they can set up a new colony. Once a cancer has metastasized, there is no cure. We can use various methods to slow it down and control it for various periods. It can be treated with drugs, radiation, and even surgery to reduce the bulk if it interferes with other organs. But there is no way that we can flush out and kill off each cancer cell once it has escaped from its original site. If there is just one cell left, it can start a new colony.
Cancer is a lot like Bermuda grass. I lived on a farm when I was young. One of our biggest problems in growing a food crop was Bermuda grass. It produces abundant seeds which blow off and start new colonies wherever they land. A cancer cell can get into the blood stream and migrate to a distant site and start a new colony.
You can plow the Bermuda grass under, but it just seems to cause it to grow even more vigorously. If cancer is operated on, the body produces substances that causes the normal cells to proliferate to heal the wound. But this substance also acts to make the cancer cells grow faster.
You can burn the field, but the roots are still there and they will come right back. If a cancer is radiated, it will come back unless every cell is killed off. Of course, when burning a field to destroy Bermuda grass, you also destroy good seeds and plants. The same thing happens when tissues are irradiated.
There are chemicals that can kill Bermuda grass. But these harsh chemicals can also kill off your food crop. We have chemotherapy procedures that can kill cancer cells, but chemotherapy will also kill normal cells.
If Bermuda grass doesn't get water a long period of time it will appear to die off, but actually it goes into a state of dormancy. If prostate cancer cells are deprived of testosterone and other androgenic hormones, it will shrink and appear to die off. But it may still be alive.
When Bermuda grass gets into farmland the land is almost ruined. If you plant corn or beans, the Bermuda grass will quickly spread and choke them off. It will take almost all of the available nutrients and leave very little for the food crop. Cancer cells do much the same thing. If cancer cells rob a vital organ of its nutrition or grows so large that it squeezes and chokes the organ then the patient will die.
Our bodies are made up of several hundred trillion separate individual living cells. (A trillion is 1,000,000,000,000). Most of the cells are so small that thousands of them could fit in the space occupied by the period at the end of this sentence. Examples of cells are the skin cells, muscle cells, nerve cells and others. These various cells form tissues, glands, organs and systems. Each cell, gland and organ has a purpose and a function. They all work together to form a complete system that sustains us and keeps us alive. All of these different cells are derived from the first complete cell that was formed from the sperm and the ovum. The sperm and the ovum each contributed 23 chromosomes to make the complete cell with 46 chromosomes. Each of the cells in our bodies, whether prostate, liver or lung each have copies of the original 46 chromosomes.
Occasionally some of the cells wear out, are damaged, or for some reason die off. Even the cells in a young baby may wear out or become damaged. Sometimes a large number of cells are killed off or attacked by an infectious or harmful agent. Our bodies are marvelous machines and we have several defenses. Unless the damage or the attack is overwhelming, we can usually overcome the injury and recover our health.
In most instances, the cells that are killed off or damaged are replaced by nearby cells. A nearby cell of the same type as those damaged or killed off, will simply split in half and become two cells. The normal cells will continue to divide and multiply until the damage is repaired then stop reproducing.
Occasionally something may happen to cause one of these reproducing cells not to divide exactly in half. A daughter cell may not get exactly half of the chromosomes. Or the chromosomes may be damaged in some way. The resulting cells are no longer like any of the normal cells in our body. The body may recognize some of these aberrant cells and destroy them. Unfortunately, some of them may not be recognized and they begin dividing and creating more and more of the abnormal cells. The body stops the reproduction of the normal cell when they are no longer needed. But it has no control at all over the abnormal cancer cell growth. The cancer cells do not perform any useful function. They contribute nothing to the system. They take more than their share of nutrition, often robbing the neighboring hard working cells of their nutrition. They are parasites that often grow so large that they squeeze the neighboring tissues and kill them off.
Dr. Robert A. Nagourney, an oncologist, says that we don't have cancer because the cells proliferate and grow faster than normal cells. He says that cancer cells multiply at the same rate as normal cells. The problem is that normal cells have a definite life span with programmed death. From laboratory studies, it appears that normal cells can divide about 50 times before they die. At the end of some chromosomes, there is a section called the telomere (telos is Greek for end, meres is part). It appears from some studies that the telomere becomes a bit shorter each time a cell divides. When the telomere decreases to a certain length, it dies from the programmed death called apoptosis. Cancer cells disregard the programmed death. Instead of living for a certain length of time, then dying off, they keep right on living and multiplying into new cells that refuse to die. They are, in effect, immortal.
In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for Aug. 7, 1996, pg. 1021, there is a report of a conference on the Role of Telomerase. Scientists have discovered that almost all cancer cells cause an enzyme, telomerase, to be produced. Telomerase prevents the telomere from being shortened or affected when the cell divides. This appears to be what makes the cancer cell immortal.
Scientists have found telomerase present in 90% of all cancers. They hope that the presence of telomerase can be used as a marker for early detection of cancers. It might also be used to determine the aggressiveness of cancers.
Cancer Growth
An excellent book on cancer is titled Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy, published by Somerville House Books. It was written by Greg Cable, Dr. Malin Dollinger and Dr. Ernest Rosenbaum. I recommend it to anyone, whether or not you have cancer. On page two of their book they show the transformation of a single cell into one million cells which would be undetectable. Remember the doubling of the penny, over one million cells would be created after only 20 doublings. After 30 doublings, the tumor would have over one billion cells and could be detected as a lump. After it has doubled 40 times, the tumor would have about 1,099,511,627,780 or one trillion, 99 billion, 511 million, 627 thousand and 780 cells. The tumor would weigh about two pounds.
Depending on the type of cancer, its location and how aggressive it is, it may take years for it to double 20 or 30 times and reach a size to where it can be detected. During this time, it may not cause any pain or alarm to the body. A tumor may only cause pain or dysfunction if it is located in or near a vital organ. In this case its presence may be detected before it has doubled more than 30 times. Frequently though, when it is located in a vital organ, such as a brain tumor, even though it may not be very large, it can be deadly by the time it is discovered.
Over 100 Different forms of cancer
One reason it is difficult to find cancer before it has spread is that cancer is not a single disease. Over 100 different forms of cancer have been identified. Cancer can arise in any of the cells, tissues, glands or organs of the body.
Another difficulty is that no one is immune to it. Different forms of it can strike anyone, rich or poor, young or old, male or female.
Growth
Cancers usually arise at a primary site such as the prostate gland, the lungs, stomach or intestines. Cancer may remain at its original site and simply grow into a small tumor. You may have it for years and never know it. Eventually it may become a large tumor. If it is near a vital organ, it may grow to such a size that it would impact on the vital organ and cause problems. For instance, a prostate tumor that had become quite large might impact on the bladder, or restrict and close off the urinary canal.
The tumor may not grow and multiply any faster than the ordinary cells. As the cancer cells divide and multiply and the tumor becomes larger and larger, it might rob the nearby cells of their nutrition. If the normal cell does not get proper nutrition they will not be able to perform their proper function. They may starve to death.
As the cancer grows and becomes larger and larger, it might encroach on its neighbors and squeeze them to death. Blood vessels that are supposed to supply nutrition to normal cells may be squeezed so that they cannot reach the functioning cells. The lymph vessels that are supposed to remove the waste products may also be squeezed so that the cells may no longer be able to function properly.
A cancer patient needs to make sure that his or her body gets plenty of the proper nutrition every day. The patient must intake enough nutrition, not only to satisfy the greedy and voracious appetite of the cancer cells, but to also have enough left over to feed and repair the normal cells. Unfortunately, in many cases of advanced cancer, the person my lose their appetite completely. It is believed that the appetite loss is due to some factor produced by the cancer cells. The patient loses weight and may be just skin and bones when the cancer finally overwhelms and kills them.
Infiltration
Often the cancer will send out branches similar to the legs on a crab. These branches may infiltrate the neighboring organs and tissues. This infiltration displaces normal tissues and cells, squeezing, robbing and depriving the normal tissues of their nutrition.
Metastasis
Quite often the cancer begins in a gland or organ, such as the prostate, that has a capsule around it. As the cancer grows and expands, it may eventually break through the capsule. A few cancer cells can get into the blood stream or in the lymph system and move to other parts of the body. This is called metastasis.
Just like the seeds from a dandelion, wherever the cells land, they can set up a new colony. Once a cancer has metastasized, there is no cure. We can use various methods to slow it down and control it for various periods. It can be treated with drugs, radiation, and even surgery to reduce the bulk if it interferes with other organs. But there is no way that we can flush out and kill off each cancer cell once it has escaped from its original site. If there is just one cell left, it can start a new colony.
Cancer is a lot like Bermuda grass. I lived on a farm when I was young. One of our biggest problems in growing a food crop was Bermuda grass. It produces abundant seeds which blow off and start new colonies wherever they land. A cancer cell can get into the blood stream and migrate to a distant site and start a new colony.
You can plow the Bermuda grass under, but it just seems to cause it to grow even more vigorously. If cancer is operated on, the body produces substances that causes the normal cells to proliferate to heal the wound. But this substance also acts to make the cancer cells grow faster.
You can burn the field, but the roots are still there and they will come right back. If a cancer is radiated, it will come back unless every cell is killed off. Of course, when burning a field to destroy Bermuda grass, you also destroy good seeds and plants. The same thing happens when tissues are irradiated.
There are chemicals that can kill Bermuda grass. But these harsh chemicals can also kill off your food crop. We have chemotherapy procedures that can kill cancer cells, but chemotherapy will also kill normal cells.
If Bermuda grass doesn't get water a long period of time it will appear to die off, but actually it goes into a state of dormancy. If prostate cancer cells are deprived of testosterone and other androgenic hormones, it will shrink and appear to die off. But it may still be alive.
When Bermuda grass gets into farmland the land is almost ruined. If you plant corn or beans, the Bermuda grass will quickly spread and choke them off. It will take almost all of the available nutrients and leave very little for the food crop. Cancer cells do much the same thing. If cancer cells rob a vital organ of its nutrition or grows so large that it squeezes and chokes the organ then the patient will die.
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