For something that is so incredibly common, cancer remains a tough disease to explain. The biggest reason why is that cancer is still a big mystery. It can involve almost any organ in the body. And the same kind of cancer can behave differently from person to person.
So what is cancer? Simply put, cancer the name given to a disease process which occurs when some cells in the body have lost control of their normal life cycle. Normal cells are supposed to die at some point, and are programmed to do so in an orderly fashion– through their DNA. But in a cancer cell, the process of cell growth and division is out of control. The cancer cells grow, don’t die when they’re supposed to, and oftentimes, begin to invade the normal tissues around it. This is how tumors develop.
Scientists are hard at work to figure out the different genetic pathways that are responsible for this uncontrolled growth. Important discoveries about these pathways have led to the development of some very important chemotherapy and other drugs! These treatments are specifically targeting the places where things have gone wrong.
Each day brings us new knowledge–and along with that, hope.
Hope for a cure, and for the mystery to be finally solved.