if cancer is basically a clump of cells that dont want to die, why/how do things like cigarettes, asbestos, and the literal sun trigger it?
In: Biology
Everyone has cancerous cells all the time. Errors copying DNA, or damage to the copy and repair machinery cause it. Some damage triggers a self destruct for the cells, and some triggers rapid growth.
Our white blood cells can smell most of the unrepairable cells, but can only eat so many of them at once. Also, sometimes, the fast growing cells break loose and stick somewhere else, which takes a while to build up enough cancer smell for white blood cells to find.
Radiation, some chemicals, and some viruses greatly increase those problems. They can reduce WBC effectiveness and replication, increase cell damage, etc.
With enough random hits, some of those cancer cells cannot be smelled. Those can grow without being attacked by the body at all. We treat that by:
* targeted beams of radiation from many directions so only a central point gets a lethal dose, killing the core of a large tumor.
* drugs that cross-link DNA so your cells cannot replicate. It takes time for your cells to fix this. Any cell that needs to repair or replace itself before fixed will die. Cancer cells, stomach lining, and hair follicles need to do that way more often, and are more likely to die. Some good cells all over die too.
* newer drugs also can smell cancers and poison them more than normal cells.
* Custom made viruses can target some types of cancer cells
* there are some other drug types too
In all of those treatments, some cells can stay half broken and do not die, leading to more cancer years later.
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