In 2022, 9.7 million people died from cancer worldwide. Cancer is one of the most deadly diseases in the world with over 1 million new cases every single year, meaning 1 in every 5 people will develop cancer in their lifetime. Having been around for millions of years despite the advancements of modern medicine and treatments, cancer persists as a seemingly incurable disease, and many people wonder, why? Well, first we need to understand what cancer is.
The simple definition is “cancer refers to any one of a large number of diseases characterized by the development of abnormal cells that divide uncontrollably and have the ability to infiltrate and destroy normal body tissue” (Mayo Clinic.org). To explain further, cancer is when abnormal cells divide, mutate, and destroy the tissue in the body which can be caused by a combination of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Cancer also isn’t just a single disease, there are over 200 types of cancer that affect different parts of the body including, lung, breast, lymphoma, leukemia, prostate, skin, and many more.
One of the biggest challenges in finding a cure or effective treatments for cancer is due to cancer originating from your own body’s cells. Normally healthy cells grow, divide, and perform specific functions and then eventually die off. These cells go through this cycle and are regulated by our DNA. However when genetic mutations occur from smoking, UV exposure, etc your DNA may be unable to send signals to tell your cells when to stop growing or when to die, these mutations create cancerous cells. The fact that cancerous cells are created within your own body rather than being separate infectious organisms like viruses makes them significantly harder to cure. Another challenge in finding an effective cure or treatment is due to the fact there are so many types of cancers, and no one solution will work for all cancer types, and one type of treatment that may work with one patient may do nothing for another. Cancer is also known to evolve and mutate, becoming resilient to certain types of treatment.
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases mankind has ever experienced because it’s so difficult to treat, due to the disease being your own body’s cells. Its ability to evolve and mutate is because there are hundreds of different types of cancer that are all different from one another. Despite the difficult journey of finding a cure or more effective treatments, you can contribute to the development of a cure and better treatment by donating or volunteering for organizations that research and help cancer patients such as the American Cancer Society and the American Association for Cancer Research.
AACR: https://www.aacr.org/
American Cancer Society: https://www.cancer.org/