Cancer: The Costs, Causes, and Cures
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 can...
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...ct the end of most major diseases early in the next century. Once we are able to read and modify the data and instructions found in our own DNA, we can directly access the way we as living beings will grow and evolve. However, we will have another problem, and that is of population. If there are no diseases to disrupt the growth of our population on this planet, we will soon overcrowd, and we may not yet have the technology to leave this world. However, I think we will still be better off without cancer.
References
Tetzeli, R. (1990). Can Power Lines Give You Cancer? FORTLINE Magazine, 49, 80-
85
Pitot, H.C. M.D. et al. (1992) Cancer. Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia,1992 ed.
Search
phrases: CANCER, GENETIC CODE, DNA, RNA
Clarke, D. & Dartford, M. ( 1992). Cancer Treatment. How It Works: The New
Illustrated
Science and Invention Encyclopedia, 414-418
Abeloff, M.D. et al (1991) Cancer. Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropedia, 534-542
Drill, V.A. et al (1991) Drugs and Drug Action - Chemotherapy. Encyclopedia
Britannica:
Macropedia, 553-560
American Cancer Society et al (1992) Cancer. Compton's Multimedia
Encyclopedia,1992 ed.
Search phrases: CANCER, CHEMOTHERAPY, GENETICS
A quote, from the Australia’s Health Report (2010) questions, “How much credit or blame can the health system take for our health?” In fact the health system is one influence of many, and yet a major influence in the health of people covering both prevention and treatment. Did you know that Cancer is responsible for Australia’s largest disease burden?
Population continues to grow and is expected to reach an all time high in future years. There are tons of different reasons for why population is rising so quickly. In document d, it says, "Every second 5 people are born and 2 people die, a net gain of 3 people. This fact from document d shows one reason why population growth is at all time high. Document d, also states "At this rate, the world population will double every 40 years and would be 12 billion in 40 years, 24 billion in 80 years, and more than 48 billion in 120 years." This will create tons of difficulties, like the amount of food and supplies needed for the world, which will make it nearly impossible for supplies to keep pace with the population growth. Document a shows
The essential component of life can be acknowledged and is made up of a nucleic acid known as DNA. DNA is the abbreviated form for the word deoxyribonucleic acid and it is the “carrier of genetic information” (McMurry, Ballantine, Hoeger, & Peterson, 1992, pg. 775). DNA contains the genetic instructions that are needed for an organism to develop, survive, and replicate, as it plays a crucial role in living systems that makes each species unique and distinctive. The multifaceted material is stored in every cell of every living organisms and it contains information about our nature, appearance, performance, etc. With the instructions that it contains, DNA is passed from the adult organism to their offspring during reproduction. (McMurry, Ballantine, Hoeger, & Peterson, 1992, pg.777).
The American Cancer Society’s main concern is assisting people, making profits come second. The American Cancer Society helps patient’s life by finding cures. “For over 100 years, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has worked relentlessly to save lives and create a world with less cancer. Together with millions of our supporters worldwide, we help people stay well and get well, find cures, and fight back against cancer” (American Cancer Society, 2015a). Many people in this world see the importance of the organization and find the interest in donating money or providing anything to help the cause.
Cancer has become the one of the most feared things for human beings. The various type of cancer have been discovered and there are still a lot of it that undiscoverable. Cancer is a complex disease that have a group of disease. The cancer itself cannot be describe by words. The causes of this cancer is still not being able to be discovered fully. There are only minor factor that can lead to this disease. The carcinogens are believed to be one of the causes that lead to cancer such as asbestos, radon gas, tobacco, PVC and much more from our chemical industries. The environment especially near to the industrial that produce chemical waste can be one of the causes lead to cancer. Cancer also have relation with our age, lifestyle, and diet and also can be genetically inherited. It is believed that older people have higher tendency to get cancer than younger people. Our lifestyle and diet also plays a role causing a cancer by our daily life routine. Smoking tobacco and eating unconsciously (still in research) can also increase the possibility to get cancer especially lung cancer that cause by smoking tobacco. There are several cases, cancer were inherited from their parents. Various type of viruses such as HIV, HPV, EBV and many more virus has a high capabilities to increase the chance a patient to get a cancer because these viruses lower their body immunity to disease.
It is strongly believed that a cure for cancer will be found. Thousands of charities and organizations are raising money to help find a cure. Many charitable events take place such as Relay for Life. In the future we hope and pray that our descendants will not have to worry about this awful disease. Just like Bill Clinton stated “It is now conceivable that our children’s children will know the term cancer only as a constellation of stars.”
Isn’t it overwhelming to consider the fact that approximately one in eight deaths in the world are due to cancer? To make this more comprehensible, the number of deaths caused by cancer is greater than caused by AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Along with the idea that this disease does not have a definite cure is a mind-staggering concept to grasp. If not caught in time, cancer means guaranteed death. These types of thoughts were floating around my head when my mother had told me that my father had mouth cancer.
Neoplasm is an abnormal growth of tissue caused by a rapid division of cells that have developed a form of mutation. Neoplasm can be either malignant or benign. Benign are not cancerous and be removed in most cases. And cells in benign do not spread to other parts of the body. With malignant they are cancerous and have cells that grow out of control and spread to other parts of the body. Primary refers to the site where it first started to grow. Secondary means that it has spread to more than one part of the body. And Ca in situ means that the tumor has stayed
Overpopulation has become a drastic issue, for no one knows how many people the earth
dependent on screening tools in order to detect cancer. This being said, Americans are at risk for
...niversity of Louisville, believes that by 2050, as many as 95 percent of all cancers will be proved to stem partly from infection” (Hadhazy). But for now, our main concern should be prevention and early awareness. Being aware of the early stages of cancers make it easier to overcome the disease. Living a healthy lifestyle is also a great way to decrease the chances of getting cancer. If you’re one of the many hoping for a cure for cancer, donating whenever possible is also a great way to start this long journey!
Humans are very quickly dominating the globe. Today, the human population is around 7 billion people. Humans are populating at a rate of almost 220,000 per day! Humans are rapidly heading towards Earth’s carrying capacity.
About ten years ago while in a science museum, I saw a counter that estimated what the world population was at that given moment. Innocuous at first glance, since a number in excess of five billion is difficult to comprehend, what became alarming after watching the counter for a minute was the continual increase in the population. Thinking about the circumstances related to the population rise logically made the problem seem apparent. The earth is finite both in terms of physical size and in resources but the population is growing towards an infinite value. At some point the steadily rising population will move from being a problem that is geographically distant to one that is immediate and more salient than just an increasing value on a faceless counter.
Arresting global population growth should be second in importance only to avoiding the nuclear war on humanity 's agenda. Over population and rapid population growth are intimately connected with most aspects of the current human predicament, including rapid depletion of nonrenewable resources, deterioration of the environment and increasing international tensions. (Ehrlich) What we need to know is that unless we address the causes of overpopulation in a timely manner, we will see a point in which the earth cannot support the number of people
We as individuals do NOT understand the problems with overpopulation. We do not take the time or the effort to be educated enough; therefore we do not help in the prevention of future problems to keep our society as it is now.