Cancer is the second-highest killer in the United States, beaten only by heart disease. However, there are many types of this disease, all with their own mortality rates and areas affected. No matter what type of cancer you contract, it can be a debilitating and life-threatening disorder that causes great harm to your body.
People are not usually born with cancer, nor can you catch cancer from someone else. It is a disease that arises from genetic mutations within our own cells. Thus, when you learn that you are predisposed for a certain cancer, it just means that your genetic makeup passed down from your parents is slightly closer to being dangerously off than that of other people. While there are proven causes of cancer, such as asbestos and radiation, someone may develop this disease with absolutely no warning.
Alternative Cancer
What characterizes cancer is the unregulated growth of cells, which leads to a tumor. Normally, your cells have specific proteins that tell them when to grow and divide. This process of division is called mitosis in your regular body cells. However, when these proteins are constantly being produced or other such mutations occur, your cells can be prompted into a constant cycle of growth. Unrestricted cell growth can quickly lead to masses of cells since mitosis causes an exponential increase (one cell becomes two, two cells become four, four cells become eight, etc.).
Tumors either suck nutrients from other parts of the body via the bloodstream, or they promote the growth of their own blood vessel to supply oxygen and nutrients to the mass of cells. As they grow, they can cause harm to the body in the following ways:
Releasing substances that kill surrounding healthy cells
Placing pressure on nearby organs as the tumor grows
Invading and disabling nearby tissues
Making surrounding tissues susceptible to infection
Besides harming the normal bodily tissues around them, a major problem with tumors is that some can metastasize. This occurs when the abnormal mass of tissue releases a blob of cancerous cells, which can travel through the bloodstream. If these cells make it past the immune system cells, they can adhere somewhere else in the body and resume their unrestricted growth. Metastasizing tumors is what can cause the spread of cancer throughout the body.
One dangerous, metastasizing type of cancer is mesothelioma. This cancer attacks the serous linings of the body, which can harm the heart, lungs, abdominal cavity, and even testicles. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos, which is now illegal.
If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, caused by illegal asbestos exposure, you should speak to an attorney about your rights. For more information, check out the mesothelioma lawyers at the firm of Williams Kherkher today.
How Cancer Affects the Body Alternative Cancer
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