I know there’s a reason, but I don’t know what it is.
In: Biology
So, a little bit of background. You know how when you get a cut, the cells duplicate more than normal, trying to cover the wound? That’s because cells are constantly talking to each other, asking if they’re there. When they get cut-off from their neighbors, they get worried, and reach out, growing more to bridge the gap, until they hear from their neighbors. They don’t worry too much about how *well* they’re building, because they need to reestablish contact *now,* which is how we get scar tissue, but they *do* keep building until they hear back “yeah, we’re here, and we’ve got this *covered.*”
Cancers, more or less, are when cells go deaf and *can’t* hear the signals from adjacent cells that they’re there. They just keep growing and growing, all the while listening for the “Yo, we’re good” signal.
…but they’re deaf, and making *more* deaf cells, none of which will never *be able* to hear that signal.
So, the problem is that in order to excise cancerous cells, you need to get *each and every* cell that has gone deaf. If you miss *even one,* all you’ve done is delay the inevitable.
And that’s what a Biopsy is, where they take the cells and see if *all* of the ones on the border (and, logically, all the ones they left behind) can hear. If so, you’re good. Otherwise, they have to try again.
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