Why Everyone Seems to Have Cancer by George Johnson - Article Example

Cancer Article Review s : In his article “Why everyone seems to have cancer”, writer George Johnson laments that with each passing year, the human race is losing against cancer. Global statistics about mortality related to cancer has shown that till very recent cardiovascular diseases and associated problems were the most prevalent cause of death however, according to the most recent statistics it is possible that cancer maybe overtaking CVD’s as the number 1 cause of death. Johnson is of the opinion however that the comparison made between the two most common causes of death i.e. cancer and CVD is highly unfair since cancer is a far complex condition which is extremely difficult to deal with. Johnson, in his article tells us that mortality from both cancer as well as that from heart ailments has been declining. He discusses about mortality rate graphs from Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and notices that while the line representing heart disease rises, it shows a drastic drop by 68% whereas the graph line representing cancer shows a more gradual decline such that the declining rate seems almost negligible to us. Since 1990, when tobacco had become one of the most damaging substance the difference in death toll owing to cancer and heart conditions became less and less prominent such that over the years as Johnson puts it cancer would be “death’s last resort”. The writer also discusses that since the average life expectancy of the human race has increased to about 79 years whereas the average age of cancer death is 72 years, it can be said that human beings live a life long enough for cancer to set in. In the race between heart diseases and cancer the gap is drastically decreasing. Today, we have numerous ways to tackle the problems of the heart ranging from diets, exercises, medicines to surgical methods for removing clogged pipes or valves etc. But, science has not yet come up with anything to fix the problems associated with cancer. It must be kept in mind that the reason that cancer is overtaking heart diseases as the reason for death is its complexity. Cells divide constantly and their genetic information is being copied and divided. In these complex cellular processes it is possible to get an error. Such errors maybe random or causes by carcinogens. Yes, there are present the body’s very own cellular identification mechanisms which detects the problems associated with the genetic information transfer but again, owing to evolutionary adaptation of mutations or SNP’s (single nucleotide polymorphisms), it has become increasingly hard even for the cell itself to detect and repair problems. Johnson says that unless the human body dies of some other ailment, it will surely live long enough for the cells to accumulate mutations and give way to cancer problems. In the later parts of the article about cancer’s growing numbers, the writer says that even though we do not have a cure for cancer, prevention strategies for the disease have been successful. Improved instances of sanitation and refrigeration have helped reduce the numbers of stomach cancer. Vaccines are now available against the virus that causes cervical cancer. In places where antismoking campaigns have really had an impact the numbers linked to lung cancer has declined sharply. The author ends his article with the thought that with each passing day science is advancing and we will have new strategies to fight against the perils of cancer. However, no matter how long a human lives, if the person does not suffer from any other health conditions, the body will be aged enough to have accumulated a large number of mutations at the cellular level to give into cancer. Thereby letting cancer win the battle in the end. I found the article very much true having seen the problems personally. My neighbor’s father who was hale and hearty and never suffered from any problem in his life at all, suffered from scrotal cancer in the later stages of his life. He was 69 when he was diagnosed with the problem and at his age the immune-therapies would have been too harsh on him. In fact, at the funeral, I heard several stories about the growing problems of cancer and how many people have become victims. Health issues involves Cancer comes with several health issues and takes a toll on human health. Several problems may be associated with cancer such as lung problems, heart problems, reproductive failure, asthma etc. The different forms of cancer affects different body parts which then have their own implications as well. Causes Cancer being an extremely complex disease is very hard to understand and there is no one reason or cause behind it. The several forms of cancer that we know about have different causes. However, the most important ones are genetic factors and lifestyle factors. Under genetic factors, cellular mutations are important. These mutations maybe inherited or randomly occur while the cell is dividing. Cellular mutations are also induced by carcinogens. Lifestyle of a person also plays a pivotal role. The most prevalent form of cancer is lung cancer and therefore smoking tobacco is one of the most important causes of lung cancer and cancer. Besides these causes we need to understand that mutations leading to cancer can be causes by interactions between several other factors such as exposure to carcinogenic substances (chemicals/radiation), physical activity and prior infections in the body. It is true that we have the ability to cure cancer only if it is detected in the prior stages i.e. Stage I or II however most of the cases that surface already reach the stages when it is almost impossible to cure the problem. Therefore one may say that one the most common causes of cancer is the lack of awareness because if a person is aware about the problem then regular body checkups would have been adopted to help in detection of the problem in time. Contributing Factors Cancer is not curable as of now but there are several contributing factors that make it worse. One form is the increased use of radiations and chemicals. In our lives we are now exposed to carcinogenic substances. The technological advancement of humans has brought with itself the problems that have helped cancer. Besides these in many places tobacco or nicotine consumptions has also increased especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries. Lifestyle of the population has deteriorated and fitness level of most people have plunged which has again made the society more susceptible to the problem. Cancer is not a disease of an individual but affects the society as a whole as well. The first and foremost effect is at the emotional level. Cancer takes a toll on the patient’s mind where an individual may feel angry and hurt at the same time. From the perspective of the population health any disease is a problem and in this case where we are faced with a disease that has no cure till now, the problem that public health issues face is a huge one. Cancer-prevention and control It is true that cancer is not curable but it is controllable and manageable. In fact the Government has brought in several policies and strategies to help control the ever-growing problem of cancer. More research is being done to understand the problem and strategize ways to deal with the problem. In the fields of genetics, molecular biology and biotechnology, funding has increased and research primarily focused on cancer issues is being targeted. Awareness campaigns are also held time to time to spread awareness about the prevalence and detection of problems. I personally feel that we could help prevent cancer by adopting lifestyle changes and being more aware of the problem. Increased physical activity is known to reduce risks of colon cancer (Lee, 2003).Campaigns spreading more information about the disease needs to reach and everyone of the society such that everyone is aware of the dangers and also knows where to seek help. Information about regular cancer screening need to be spread and the cost associated with it needs to be reduced to allow everyone to be able to afford such screenings. In order to bring down the numbers both the government and the individual needs to cooperate. REFRENCES Johnson, G. (2014, January 4). Log In - The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/sunday-review/why-everyone-seems-to-have- cancer.html?_r=0 LEE, I. (2003). Physical Activity and Cancer Prevention???Data from Epidemiologic Studies.Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. doi:10.1249/01.MSS.0000093620.27893.23 Read More