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Thursday, May-11-17
Mattias Henders
Cancer
“Approximately 40.4 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with
cancer at some point during their lifetime.” (National Cancer Institute, 2011) Cancer
is one of the top killers of all humans, along with other killers such as HIV/AIDS and
heart disease. Being one of the top killers of humans makes this a huge concern for
the population. This has led many people to join the fight to treat cancer, so we have
to know what treatments are there for cancer and what treatments are in
development.
Before we can find out what treatments are available for cancer, we must
define what cancer is. “Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells
divide without control and are able to invade other tissues. Cancer cells can spread
to other parts of the body through the blood and lymph systems.” (National Cancer
Institute, 2010) When this uncontrolled cell replicating happens it can cause tumors
in the body.
These cancers are all categorized by where the original cancerous cells are
found. For example if you get cancer in your lungs you would have lung cancer or
bronchial cancer. These cancers can be painful and sometimes deadly, but the
question needs to be asked from a biological perspective of how cancer actually
works and what causes cancer.
Cancers can also be classified according to grade. The abnormality of the cells
with respect to surrounding normal tissues determines the grade of the cancer.
Increasing abnormality increases the grade, from 1–4. Cells that are well
differentiated closely resemble normal specialized cells and belong to low grade
tumors. Cells that are undifferentiated are highly abnormal with respect to
surrounding tissues. These are high grade tumors.
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 Grade 1 – well differentiated cells with slight abnormality
 Grade 2 – cells are moderately differentiated and slightly more abnormal
 Grade 3 – cells are poorly differentiated and very abnormal
 Grade 4 – cells are immature and primitive and undifferentiated
(Scale from National Cancer Institute.)
Cancer is not like a disease you would think of. It is not a little parasite or a
germ that causes tumors. It is your
own cells that start multiplying
uncontrollably. This is a mutation in
the cell that causes this multiplying to
happen. When the cell divides
uncontrollably, they can cause
tumors. These cancers can get very
deadly and hard to treat if they enter
the blood stream, because a bad cell
Cancer cells.
that could have been removed from
your left arm and could now be in 7 other places in your body.
What many scientists are also trying to find out is how cancer is caused.
Studies from all around the world have said that there are many biological things or
things in our environment that can cause cancer. Many of these include, but are not
limited to, unhealthy eating, smoking, and lack of enough exercise. All of these
explanations are true, but while many factors can cause cancer, about 2/3 of cancers
are actually just random. These random cancers are just mutations in our DNA that
occur naturally when cell replication happens. “Although unhealthy lifestyle choices,
such as smoking, are a contributing factor, the researchers concluded that the "bad
luck" of random mutations plays a key role in the development of many forms of
cancer.” (Dallas, Random Mutations Responsible for Most Cancer Risk, 2015)
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However, there are other causes to cancer that are not random can be
avoidable. Some of these causes are smoking, which increases the chance of lung
cancer; exposure to UV radiation from the sun, which increases the risk of skin
cancer. Some cancers are not at risk because of environmental factors. Higher
chances of getting cancer can also be passed on genetically. Many of these cancers
have a higher risk for women. “Between 45 and 90 women out of 100 (45 to 90%)
with a faulty BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
Faulty BRCA1 and 2 genes are rare. But they can also increase the risk of other
cancers such as ovarian cancer, pancreatic and prostate cancer.” (Research into
inherited cancer genes, Cancer Research UK, 2013)
Once scientists have an understanding of what cancer is biologically, how
mutations occur, and what factor can cause these mutations, then we can look to
works finding treatments to cure cancer. To do so we must look at what cures we
have today and what these cures are chemically composed of.
The most common cure for cancer that we have today is chemotherapy.
“Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill
cancer cells. However, when most people use
the word chemotherapy they are referring
specifically to drug treatments for cancer that
destroy cancer cells by stopping their ability to
grow and divide.” (Cancer.Net, 2014)
Chemotherapy in progress.
Chemotherapy can be introduced to the body
via, injection, consumption, or even some
creams that get the drugs into the body through the pores in the skin.
There is a rainbow of variety when it comes to chemotherapy treatments.
Alkylating agents are the most common ones used. “Alkylating agents directly
damage DNA to prevent the cancer cell from reproducing. As a class of drugs, these
agents are not phase-specific; in other words, they work in all phases of the cell cycle.
Alkylating agents are used to treat many different cancers, including leukemia,
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lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple myeloma, and sarcoma, as well as cancers of
the lung, breast, and ovary.” (American Cancer Society, 2012) These types of
treatments stop cancer by stopping DNA replication.
Sometimes if a tumor forms before the cancer can be treated, medicines that
attack the tumor will have to be used. The main anti-tumor medicine is
Anthracyclines. “Anthracyclines are antitumor antibiotics that interfere with
enzymes involved in DNA replication. These
drugs work in all phases of the cell cycle.
They are widely used for a variety of cancers.
Arsphenamine compound.
A major consideration when giving these
drugs is that they can permanently damage
the heart if given in high doses. For this reason, lifetime dose limits are often placed
on these drugs.” (American Cancer Society.)
These cures are very complex and have been worked on for decades. One of
the most common compounds is arsphenamine. This is the first modern cure for
common types of cancer. Its chemical formula is H6N2O2As2. What this cure does is
that it stops cells from dividing. It then breaks down the cell so it can not cause
tumors. However this treatment can cause pain because of the cells dying. This
treatment is however, the better alternative than dying because of tumors growing in
your body. However scary this treatment is patients just need emotional support
from doctors, families, and society. This is how people can move forward together
after recovering from cancer.
Every person you see when you walk down the street will most likely know
someone close to them that has/had cancer. In fact they might as well due to the fact
that almost half of the people on earth will get cancer at some point in their life. Now
cancer can be tough, it can tear families apart with loved ones being hospitalized or
dying. It can put strain on people’s bodies when they go through chemotherapy.
There is no cure for the emotions that families have to go through while dealing with
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cancer. The only thing that can be done as a society is to offer our support, and not
turn a blind eye to those affected by cancer. The worst thing that could happen
would be to pish this matter
under the rug, especially while
so many scientists and doctors
work for the cure for cancer.
What you can do is simple, do a
breast cancer run, it grows
awareness and you get exersise,
both fight cancer. You can also
donate to the Canadian Cancer
Foundation, as it goes to fund
Run for Breast Cancer awareness
cancer research. Even just talking to
a cancer patient can help them emotionally; it shows that people care about them,
and that they aren't becoming a forgotten part of society.
While the fight to end cancer continues to this day, science keeps on making
new discoveries that will lead us to a cancer free world. With cancer being such a
serious killer of mankind the time is now to help stop this horrible disease that
affects almost half of the world population. Searching for clues in the biology of our
cells, or find the cures through advanced chemistry is how science can help us find
out how cancer works, and how to stop it. With all of us together supporting
foundations like The Canadian Cancer Society we can support the victims of cancer
and the pain they have to go through. Cancer can be a disease only mentioned in
history textbooks, with the power of science, and people coming together to support
a cause that does affect us all.
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