CANCER TRUTHS

Up until recently, the word ‘Cancer’ instilled fear into the heart. It was perceived to be a sentence of death with no chance of reprieve – and, in most cases it was so.
However, due to the fine and dedicated work of medical science, the fear is not nearly as great as once was. The all important research has paid vast dividends in today’s world and it is likely to improve even further in the years to come. In the not too distant past, the word itself was rarely uttered and even then in hushed tones or by mouthing it silently, such was the real dread, as though speaking the word would be followed by the disease!

What is cancer?

The medical term is: Malignant Neoplasm and it really is a nasty disease. It latches on and does its best to destroy everything around it and, eventually, the whole of the carrying body.
Cancer is not a single thing; it is a group of cells that grows uncontrollably, latches on to adjacent cells and destroys them. It can then spread through blood or lymph to other parts of the body. A bit like an invading army.

Unfortunately, cancer can affect all ages – literally from the womb to the grave. However, the risk increases, like most ailments, with age. It can lie dormant throughout much of a life cycle before finding its best moment for when to attack. Generally speaking, it starts to show as a growth of some kind, somewhere in, or on, the body. It can be as small as a pea to begin with. Of course, not all cancers are growths, as with Leukemia, for instance. Broadly, Leukemia is a take-over of red cells by white cells, through blood or bone marrow, reducing the ability for the body to fight disease and making the battle for recovery a much more difficult task. Like all forms of active cancer, it can lead to fatality.

All doom and gloom, isn’t it?

Well, no. As humans, if we are attacked, it is our intrinsic nature to fight back; to defend, to survive. And we do. The almost miraculous advances in technique, treatment and, yes, in the majority of cases, cure, over the last five or six years is astonishing and full of real hope. Things are better; we are more than holding our own; we are advancing.

There are several causes of cancer, such as exposure to Asbestos, the name for this being Mesothelioma. In later postings, I shall delve into these causes in an attempt to explain and suggest preventions to guard against the particular problems.

The essential part of this winning strategy is early diagnosis and I will deal with these aspects in future postings.

In the meantime, sleep better, worry less.