Cancer is likely the most interesting and widespread disease to ever exist on earth Globally, in 2022, there were an estimated 9.7 million cancer-related deaths, with lung, colorectal, stomach, and breast cancers being the leading causes of death. But most likely, all of us are oblivious of how it forms; why is it so deadly; And most importantly, how hard our immune system has fought in order for us to survive!
What is cancer and why it’s so deadly?
So what is cancer really is cancer? In a nutshell, cancer is when cells in a certain part of your body begin to grow and multiply uncontrollably. Believe it or not, cancer is not a result of invasive species attacking your body, meaning it has no intention of harming your body, but instead they’re formed in solid tissues which cause tumours. Cancer begins when specific genes in cells become corrupted, leading to a loss of their ability to repair DNA and trigger apoptosis (controlled cell death). Thus, over time these DNA mutations grow into a large physical mass and begin to press on organs (organs failure) like your brain or affect vital systems like your blood vessels and nerves which are the main causes of death in cases of cancer.
Steps to develop cancer:
So what does it take to make a cancer cell to become a harmful cancer? Beneath the skin lies the insane battlefield between the immune system and cancer cells.
- Phase one: Elimination
In this initial phase, cancer cells that have become corrupted and are multiplying uncontrollably attract the immune system’s attention. Immune cells, such as Natural Killer Cells and Macrophages, respond to the abnormal growth and begin attacking the cancer cells. The cancer cells are pretty much very underdeveloped which makes the battle ends in the immune system’s complete dominance.
- Phase two: Equilibrium
You might think this is the end of the story. However, some cancer cells survive and may acquire mutations that help them evade detection and destruction by the immune system. This leads to a state where the immune system suppresses the tumor’s growth, but does not eliminate it entirely.The longer these cancer cells are alive and the more they proliferate, the higher the chances that they acquire new mutations that turn out to make them a tiny bit better at hiding from the immune system. One particular method it used is targeting inhibitor receptors on Killer T Cells and on Natural Killer Cells which deactivates them completely.
- Phase three: Escape
In the final phase, the surviving cancer cells develop further adaptations that allow them to evade the immune response completely. They create a protective microenvironment that hinders immune cell access and begins to grow uncontrollably, potentially leading to metastasis, where cancer spreads to other tissues and organs.
Common misconceptions:
You might blame your cells for constantly building faulty cells that leads to cancer, but it’s better to imagine you have to built complex house with advance functions like amino acid chains 100,000 times with a condition that you can just look at the model from the last building, meaning you’re making copies from copies. Thus, there must be a time where errors occur. However, rest assured that the vast majority of cancer cells you develop in your life will be killed without you even noticing. And while this is great, we don’t care about the 99.99% of occasions where things went fine, we care about the one time where the immune system is overcome and a young cancer cell becomes a proper, life-threatening tumour. Perhaps, when reading this article, your Natural Killer cells might have already killed some dangerous cancer cells.
So yes, cancer ultimately is a 0.001% rare occasion that has to be built incorrectly, surpasses its cell supervisor, and then surpasses the powerful immune system before it has the chance to affect your organs, not to mention the physical therapy treatment conducted by humans. Leading to a probability of 1/24 person will die of cancer.
