Into the Night
Verified User
There are many theories of science about the origins of various cancers. It is not a single disease, but a group of them. They all share one common factor, an anneuploid cell (one with too many chromosomes).
Usually, when these cells are created (as a result of a cell division gone bad), the immune system kills the oddball cell. The one with too few chromosomes doesn't have enough to survive and dies anyway. It is also consumed by the immune system. The first attempt till be to order the cell to die. It that fails, the cell is attacked and destroyed, causing a minor inflammation.
Sometimes a cell develops anneuploid structure and still manages to match the signature of the body close enough that the immune system doesn't recognize the cell as mutant. It is at this point you have cancer. Usually, with all the extra information in its chromosomes, the cell's programming is basically restricted to eating and dividing, copying it's mutant characteristic to the next generation of cells. The tumor grows larger, and consumes more and more resources, but doesn't perform any other function (like a normal body cell). It begins to replace functional cells with useless ones, and such mutants can break off and travel the bloodstream or lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
If not treated, they will eventually kill the host (you).
Treatment is a whole study in itself, called oncology. They typically range from controlled radiation bombardment to a cocktail of many drugs and chemicals (chemotherapy), to surgery to physically remove the tumor.
Each of these may have various amounts of success depending on what tissue was affected by the tumor.
These theories of science center around why and how cancer occurs, and how best to treat it. Like any theory of science, they are each falsifiable.
There is no theory about the Universe and whether it has a beginning or not that is falsifiable. No such theory is a theory of sciernce.
Therefore, the causes of cancer involve several factors:
* A cell division gone bad, producing and anneuploid cell.
* An immune system that is weakened or otherwise unable to recognize the mutant cell in time.
* Low level continuous stress (which can weaken the immune system). Examples of this are: toxic chemicals on tissue, such as chewing tobacco on the mouth, etc.; too much weight (putting extra stress on organs required to support the weight); or just living a stressful life.
* Certain types of radiation. It does not have to be ionizing radiation. Certain frequencies of light will do.
* age.
None of these are a sole cause. They are only contributing factors.
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