Cancer is like a curse. Once you encounter it, it seems that the door to hell has been opened for you, and life will be missed. Recently, one of Xiaomiao's fans, Xiaohui, was very curious about this.

Cancer is like a curse. Once you encounter it, it seems that the door to hell has been opened for you, and your life will be missed.

Recently, one of Xiaomiao’s fans, Xiaohui, was very curious about this.

He said that he was a junior high school student and had just started to get into biology. He heard the teacher talk a lot about cancer in the human body. He seemed to have never heard about whether animals can get cancer. For this reason, he went to ask about biology. According to the teacher, it is not a special situation.

Gu Xiaohui sent a private message to Xiao Miao. Cancer is so difficult to treat and very harmful. Is it true that only people can get cancer, but not animals?

1. Do only humans get cancer? 11 of 269 domestic chickens suffered from cancer

In order for Xiaohui to have the patience to read on, we first give the conclusion that all animals are likely to suffer from cancer, which is related to the cell reproduction process.

Fans who have read popular science articles about Xiaomiao know that cancer cells are the result of mutations in normal cells. Normal cells in the human body can reproduce only a limited number of times, about 56 times. When a cell mutates into a cancer cell, it can continue to replicate indefinitely as long as there are enough nutrients.

As a result, cancer cells will increase in number and rob normal cells of nutrients, making the physiological mechanism unable to maintain operation, eventually leading to the death of the organism.

Therefore, as long as it is a living thing, there is a chance that cells will become cancerous . It’s just that the life span of ordinary organisms is relatively short, so the occurrence of cancer is much less.

In addition, the probability of canceration in different organisms also varies due to various external conditions.

Since wild animals live in a pollution-free natural environment, the chance of getting cancer is very low, but the chance of farmed animals getting cancer is even higher.

In a survey of tumors in domestic animals and poultry, the Chinese Cancer Research Department found that 11 of the 269 dissected domestic chickens had liver cancer , gastric cancer and malignant teratoma , among which digestive system cancer was the most common. has the highest frequency of occurrence.

Later researchers also found a strong correlation between the proportion of cancers in humans and poultry in the same area.

Current research results show that one of the main causes of esophageal cancer is nitrosamine compounds, as well as mycotoxins nitrosamine compounds. In areas with a high incidence of esophageal cancer, the levels of nitrosamine compounds in food and drinking water are found to be higher than in other places. Therefore, the proportion of poultry and humans suffering from the same type of cancer in the same area is closely related to external factors.

2. Cancer cannot be cured at all, and those who are cured are all misdiagnosed?

Whether it is an animal or a human, suffering from cancer is an unfortunate thing. However, it is not invincible. As most people believe, once you get cancer, it cannot be cured. If it can be cured, it is a misdiagnosis, which is even more untrue.

Admittedly, Xiaomiao does not deny that there is a certain rate of misdiagnosis of cancer in clinical practice.

For example, the cancer misdiagnosis rate in the United States ranges from 15% to 45%. In 2000, a Chinese research institution analyzed and studied 460,000 patients and found that the misdiagnosis rate of diseases in China reached 27.8%, of which the misdiagnosis rate of cancer reached 40%.

However, the existence of misdiagnosis rate does not mean that cancer cannot be cured.

We do not deny that compared with other diseases, cancer is difficult to treat and the prognosis is relatively poor, but this does not mean that there is no way to treat it. As long as early detection and early treatment are achieved, the chance of successfully defeating cancer is still very high, especially cancers such as gastric cancer and intestinal cancer that are relatively easy to detect and treat with surgery. For example, The cure rate for early-stage gastric cancer is 90%, but the 5-year survival rate for late-stage patients is less than 20%.

In addition, different types of cancer have different treatment difficulties. pancreatic cancer , known as the "King of Cancers", is extremely difficult to detect in the early stage and is highly malignant. The mortality rate and morbidity rate are almost equal.

3. 3 truths about cancer that you need to understand

Many people have many misunderstandings about whether cancer can be cured. This is mainly due to insufficient understanding of cancer and the development of cancer treatment. For example, the following three misunderstandings are widely circulated.

. Is cancer hereditary or contagious?

Many family members of cancer patients will have the same or related cancer history, which is a phenomenon of familial aggregation of cancer. But this does not mean that it is a genetic phenomenon, nor does it mean that members are infected with each other.

The emergence of cancer is the result of a combination of genetic factors and environmental factors. Suppose a person is genetically predisposed to lung cancer but avoids cigarettes or other carcinogens, and his or her risk of developing lung cancer will be reduced.

The phenomenon of family aggregation may also be caused by the common living habits of family members. For example, it is recommended to consume high-temperature water and food to avoid causing esophageal mucosal lesions.

Regarding the issue of cancer transmission, as far as cancer itself is concerned, there is no way of transmission through blood, body fluids, or sexual life. Of course, for liver cancer caused by hepatitis B, these pathogenic factors may be contagious.

. Chemotherapy is the "catalyst" of cancer. People will die as soon as they receive chemotherapy?

It is also a common misconception that chemotherapy is a "catalyst" for cancer.

It is true that chemotherapy has certain side effects, whether in clinical practice or in research, and can also cause damage to normal cells in the body. Moreover, due to differences in physical constitution, cancer type, and sensitivity to chemotherapy, chemotherapy also has different effects.

On the premise that it cannot be directly removed by surgery, chemotherapy is still the main treatment method. For cancers like leukemia , since there are no solid tumors , chemotherapy is the first choice option provided by many doctors. Even if it can be cut, doctors will use chemotherapy to kill remaining cancer cells to reduce the risk of recurrence.

. Cancer is determined by genes and cannot be prevented.

As mentioned above, cancer cells are the mutation of normal cells. This kind of mutation is usually caused by errors during cell replication and proliferation. Therefore, we only need to control cells to reduce errors during the process of replication and proliferation.

For example, we control external conditions, such as toxins, hormones, and other stresses on the body, such as poor lifestyle and eating habits, which increase the risk of such mutations and therefore the risk of cancer. If we control these factors, we can prevent cancer.

4. How to treat cancer?

Due to the advancement of medical technology and the update of treatment methods, many cancer patients can be cured, and many people can even survive with the cancer for a long time. Therefore the World Health Organization defines cancer as a chronic disease.

Since it is a chronic disease, the prevention and treatment of cancer must be carried out with a protracted mentality. Start by changing bad living habits, pay attention to subtle changes in the body, and conduct regular physical examinations to detect them early.

When you are diagnosed with cancer, you should maintain an optimistic attitude, firmly believe in your ability to recover, and actively cooperate with treatment.

Although cancer is scary, there are many ways to deal with it. The important thing is not to lose confidence.

Reference:

[1] Mao Mi. Animals can also get cancer[J]. Big Science and Technology·Encyclopedia New Theory , 2012: 10-11.

[2] Wan Xin. Is cancer an incurable disease? [J]. Anti-cancer window, 2013: 14-15.

[3] Shuangzhi. Is cancer hereditary? [J]. Everyone’s health (early edition), 2012: 12-13.

Without the author’s permission Authorization, reprinting