The Layman’s Guide to Cancer
What is cancer? Why is it so hard to find a cure?
According to Our World in Data, 10 million people die from cancer every year. It is approximately the cause of every sixth death. Most people associate cancer with the death sentence, and even advances in healthcare and technology haven’t led us to cure cancer. But is how difficult can it be to find a cure for cancer? Well, apparently, difficult. Cancer is a complex disease, but I’m going to simplify it for you here.
How does cancer happen?
Cancer is abnormal cells growing out of control, which then destroys in multiple ways. Cells are the building blocks of any living thing. Every cell contains a blueprint which is DNA. Cells refer to their blueprint to make parts of themselves so that they can do their job as part of an entire being. Each cell is usually able to make parts of itself perfectly, but sometimes it makes mistakes. If the mistake occurs for an important role of the cell, then it may lead to the cell going, rogue.
In normal cases, the “police” can sniff out potential rogues. The “police” are immune cells (A.K.A white blood cells) that belong to your immune system. Detecting a rogue cell is not easy because they resemble healthy cells. Every cell will try to fix its mistake. If successful, everything goes back…
