Cancer The Costs The Causes And The

Cancer- The Costs, The Causes And The Cures Essay, Research Paper

Cancer is a major killer of people all around the globe. We do not have a definite cure,

but the amount of research done on this one disease costs on the average of $1.2 billion dollars

annually, and $20 billion annually in care of cancer patients.

What is Cancer.

Cancer is a broad ranging term that is used by many people, including medical

professionals such as doctors. Cancer, in its most fatal and aggressive form, is of a larger class of diseases known as neoplasms. There are

two forms of a neoplasm: benign or malignant. A benign neoplasm is encapsulated, or surrounded, so that it’s growth is restricted,

whereas a malignant neoplasm is not closed in. Malignant tumors grow much more quickly than benign forms and spread into the

surrounding normal tissue, and virtually destroy it, (Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, Cancer).

The question is, what exactly is cancer. Cancer, is the break down and mutation of the

cells of the body, when the DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) sequences in those molecules are

disrupted and errors form in the structures, (Grolier, Genetic Code). This mutation spreads

through surrounding tissue until it disrupts major systems in the body (such as respiratory,

digestive and waste management) cause that system to fail.

What causes Cancer to become active.

Since it is believed that almost all people have some type of cancer in their body, (although

benign), any person that comes in contact with a carcinogen, (any cancer-causing agent), will

cause these benign cells to become malignant.

It is when the cells become malignant, that cancer actually occurs. Cancer, in this context,

can be caused by many different agents; chemical, biological or physical.

Chemical Agents

Chemicals that can cause a benign cell to become active include things such as complex

hydrocarbons, aromatic amines, certain metals, drugs, hormones, and naturally occurring

chemicals in plants and molds. Hydrocarbons and nitrosamines can be found in cigarette smoke and may contribute to the condition

called “lung cancer”. Other chemicals that seem to cause incidents of “bladder cancer”, such as 2-naphthylamine, were used in the dye

industry for dyeing cloth, but when a number of cases of cancer turned up, its use was discontinued. Vinyl Chloride, a chemical gas, has

also appeared, seeming to cause “liver cancer” ,(Grolier, Cancer)

Drugs, such as some cancer-treating alkylating agents, are also carcinogens. These agents

are used to break the DNA strands in the cells, thereby killing the cells, but it also effects the cells surrounding the tumor, actually

making them malignant. When these chemicals are used to treat cancer in this way, they must in exact proportions for each person and if

the dosage is incorrect, the chemical will create a cancerous effect. Estrogens, a group of female hormones, usually administered to

women after menopause seem to cause an increased incidence of cancer of the uterus. This has been alleviated today by administering

estrogen in combination with progesterone. Certain salts, that contain arsenic, are suspected to casually relate to cancer of the skin and

liver, (Grolier, Cancer).

The suggestion that cancer is caused by an alteration of DNA within the benign cell, was proposed by James and Elizabeth Miller in the

1960s, who demonstrated that chemical carcinogens must be metabolized and broken down so that they may interact with the DNA of the

cells in question, directly, (Grolier, Cancer).

Biological Agents

Our own bodies, in conjunction with parasites found in different parts of the world, have been related to the causes of many types of

cancer. Some of the most clearly established biological agents are the oncogenic (cancer-causing) viruses that commonly cause the

formation of neoplasms in lower animals have been linked to some human cancers, and at least one has been definitely proven to cause

cancer of the blood (leukemia), (Grolier, Cancer).

Physical Agents

High energy and ultraviolet radiation are two of the major causes of human and animal cancer. It has been proven that there is a relation

between the sun’s ultraviolet rays, and the development of skin cancer in humans. Cancer caused by radiation include just about every

known variety, including leukemia, cancer of the thyroid, breast, stomach, uterus and bone, (Grolier, Cancer).

It has also been suggested that electromagnetic fields can pose a risk of contracting cancer

when the field strength is extremely high. Power lines running through cities and through the country, including large hydro towers that

carry power through the countryside, create such electromagnetic fields. These fields are strong enough, in most cases, to light a oi= scent

tube that a person is holding just by walking underneath the power lines. In several instances in the United States, especially in

Washington and New York, the fields are so strong that people are fearing that the exposure may

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