CANCER

What happens to the body in Cancer?

The abnormal (cancerous) cells divide uncontrollably in the body and have the ability to break into (infiltrate) and destroy the normal body tissue. These abnormal cells can then start spreading throughout the body (metastasis) at a

later stage. The problem occurs because the normal body tissues cannot get enough resources to survive due to the consumption of these resources by the cancerous cells.

What causes Cancer?

Cancer is triggered by ‘mutation’ in the DNA of the calls of the body. A mutation is a damaging change that has occurred in the DNA. DNA of the cells is like an ‘informative set of instructions about growth and division’. When this gets damaged (mutated), the cells have no proper instructions on how to grow and divide, so they start growing haphazardly and multiplying in a chaotic manner. This causes the onset of what is called ‘cancer’. Now this mutation can be caused due to a number of factors such as:

• Genetic tendency (Family history of cancer)
• Virus (certain carcinogenic virus)
• Smoking
• Excessive drinking
• Being obese (overweight)
• Skin damage caused by excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation
• Unsafe sexual contact (certain sexually transmitted viral infections)
• Certain harmful chemicals in the environment
• Some chronic health conditions such as Ulcerative colitis, Hepatitis C, etc can turn cancerous

These are just some of the many things that can trigger a mutation and initiate cancer in the body.