Cancer

The human body works like a large factory in which many organs do their jobs together. The heart pumps blood, the lungs take in air, the stomach and intestines digest food and the kidneys clean the blood. When every organ does its work regularly, we feel healthy, active and able to work. Sometimes, however, a cause from outside the body, such as germs, dirty water or an injury, or a fault that starts inside the body itself, disturbs this regular work. The person then falls ill.

Once a person is ill, even daily activities such as going to school, studying, playing or helping with housework become hard. Not every disease arrives at the same speed. Some, like a cold or diarrhoea, appear within a day or two, so they are called diseases that develop quickly. Others, like cancer, grow slowly over many years, so they are called diseases that develop slowly.

This definition sounds difficult, so it helps to take it apart. A parasite is a living thing that lives on or inside another living body and takes its food from it, such as bacteria, viruses and worms. A perceptible response is a change that the person can feel or that others can notice, such as fever, a headache, vomiting or weakness. A particular environment means the conditions that make it easy for illness to spread, such as dirty water or a crowded room.

Diseases are usually divided into two groups according to one question: can the disease pass from one person to another or not? The two groups are communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases.

A communicable disease spreads directly when someone touches a sick person or breathes in the droplets from their cough or sneeze. It spreads indirectly through things such as dirty water, dirty food, flies or mosquitoes. A non-communicable disease, on the other hand, does not pass to anyone who lives with the patient, eats with them or looks after them. Such diseases are usually linked to a person's habits, diet, surroundings and family line. Cancer is one of these non-communicable diseases.

The body is built from extremely small units that the eye cannot see. These units are called cells. Skin, bones, muscles and blood are all made of cells. In the human body, cells grow and develop by a fixed rule. Old or damaged cells die and new ones form in their place. New cells form only when they are needed, and only as many as are needed. That is why, when a cut heals, the skin closes over it but no lump grows there.

Sometimes, for various reasons, cells stop obeying this rule. They keep on growing without stopping and pile up in one place to form a lump. This abnormal growth of the body's cells is what becomes cancer. A lump that grows in the body in this way is called a tumour, which is why cancer is also known as a tumour disease.

Cancer is dangerous because it spreads. If this abnormal growth is not destroyed or removed in time, the disease can spread throughout the whole body and in the end can become the cause of death. So the earlier cancer is found, the easier it is to treat.

Although cancer is a non-communicable disease, it is hard to say exactly what causes it in any one person. What is known is that certain activities raise the chance of getting it. For example, a person who smokes or chews tobacco has a higher chance of cancer of the mouth, throat and lungs. In the same way, chemicals, environmental pollution, radiation and inherited genes are called causal factors of cancer. A causal factor is something that increases the chance of a disease.

Cancer can affect any organ of the body. It can occur at any age, in children, young people or the elderly, in both females and males, and in people of any race or community. When we compare the sexes, however, it is found more often in certain particular organs in women and in men.

Knowing the names of these organs is nothing to be embarrassed about. When you know which organs are more often affected, you can notice changes there in good time.

The things that raise the chance of cancer can be understood in five groups. Having one of these causes does not mean a person will surely get cancer, but each of them makes it more likely.

• 1. Personal causes: heavy smoking and drinking alcohol, eating grilled meat, eating roasted or burnt food, overusing medicines, and eating very oily food or food containing chemicals that are not fit to eat.
• 2. Economic, social and environmental causes: unhealthy living conditions, a person's income and occupation, strong and continuous exposure to sunlight, and the effects of environmental pollution.
• 3. Biological causes: infection by germs and viruses. Viruses such as hepatitis B and hepatitis C can lead to liver cancer. Helicobacter pylori, a germ that infects the stomach, is another biological cause. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) causes cancer of the cervix.
• 4. Hereditary causes: if blood relatives such as a grandfather, grandmother, mother or father have had cancer, their children also have a chance of getting it.
• 5. Mechanical causes: radiation given out by X-rays, the effects of radiation from machines and equipment, a wound coming back again and again in the same place, and repeated rubbing or friction.

Of these five groups, personal causes depend on our own habits. We can decide for ourselves not to smoke, not to drink alcohol and not to eat burnt or smoked food. Hereditary causes are not in our hands, so a person whose family has a history of cancer should pay even closer attention to regular health check-ups.

Cancer often grows quietly at first, so it matters a great deal to recognise its symptoms. When these signals from the body are not ignored, the disease can be found early. When a person has this disease, the following symptoms may appear:

• A cough that does not heal easily, and a hoarse voice
• A change in the colour or shape of a mole or wart on the skin
• A lump, painful or painless, in the breast or another part of the body
• A change in the usual pattern of passing stool or urine
• Unusual bleeding or pus from the vagina
• Indigestion, or difficulty in swallowing food
• Steady loss of weight and strength
• Fever that lasts a long time
• A wound that does not heal for a long time, wounds that keep growing, or a change in the appearance of a wound

Many causes of cancer are linked to our habits and our surroundings. So by improving our habits and keeping our surroundings clean, we can greatly lower the chance of getting this disease. To avoid or prevent cancer, the following measures should be followed:

• Do not smoke or drink alcohol.
• Eat healthy fish and meat, and fresh, balanced meals.
• Do not eat meat or other food that has been cured in smoke.
• Control environmental pollution, and do not eat food that is very oily, very spicy, mouldy, stale or rotten.
• Do yoga and exercise regularly.
• Go to the nearest hospital for health check-ups.
• Pay special attention to personal cleanliness and to keeping the surroundings clean.
• Eat green leafy vegetables and fruit.
• Get wounds, boils and injuries treated quickly.
• Do not marry at a young age, and do not give birth to many children.
• Spread public awareness about cancer, including the message that smoking and drinking alcohol can cause it.

These measures are easier to remember when each one is matched with the cause it blocks. Every measure stops at least one of the causes described earlier.