Why most people should not be afraid to get cancer: scientific research

Many people are afraid to get cancer. Is it worth doing this, look for an answer in this article.

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Some people are constantly worried about the possible development of cancer in their body. Their fear rises to the level of real phobia, known for science as carcinophobia.

This is anxious behavior associated with the fear of getting cancer.
It can lead to numerous repeated medical examinations, which, one after another, do not reveal a malignant neoplasm.
Despite this, people with this phobia cannot be confident in their health for a long period of time. Therefore, they need more and more examinations.

Fortunately, many people do not have a clear phobia about cancer, although fear can be hidden deep in the subconscious. Why do most people should not be afraid to get oncology? You will find a description of scientific research on this issue in this article.

What causes cancer?

Cancer is caused by damage to genes that accumulate throughout life. There are several factors due to which similar damage to the body occurs:

The effect of carcinogens, including tobacco smoke or harmful substances from the environment.
The presence of infections in the air with certain viruses or bacteria (hepatitis B or Epstein Barr).
Radiation irradiation, including solar radiation.
The use of some drugs that weaken the immune system.
Genetic predisposition (for example, linch syndrome - the so -called "family cancer of the large intestine").

It is known that the cancer of the colon, the mammary gland and prostate tumors, develop by the progression of the stages of mutations. They ultimately lead to the fact that cell division gets out of control and the cells begin to multiply quickly.

Why are most people not afraid to get cancer?

The reality lies in the fact that people without any signs of cancer are not perceived as an inevitable threat. Why are most people not afraid to get cancer?

The fact is that a person is “programmed” so as to be afraid of obvious and hidden dangers. But the risks and threats that can appear only in the future do not create strong fears and therefore are not included in their list of everyday standard fears.

Recently scientists conducted a study on the mechanism of climate change:

It showed that most people do not want to take urgent measures regarding the upcoming disaster if this problem poses a distant threat.
But if you depict the situation as the closest time and place, the majority are ready to react immediately.

This may seem unrelated to anxiety about cancer, but the main neurobiological mechanism is the same.

Should people be afraid to get cancer?

George Klein, Honored Professor in the Center for Microbiology and Biology of Tumors at the Caroline Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, was a teacher and researcher since the mid-1940s. He published an exciting article in one of the popular science magazines, which emphasizes that approximately 1 out of 3 people It will be amazed by tumor diseases during life. So is we all afraid to get cancer?

But at the same time, two of the three people remain healthy. Even the majority of avid smokers who attack their lungs with cigarettes and carcinogens, and, accordingly, “activators” of tumors for many years, will never get cancer. Another interesting fact:

Studies have shown that almost all men aged 60 years And the microscopic cancer of the prostate during examination have.
However, most of these microfuhoes never develop into obvious cancer.
That is, a person can live with a tumor, not suspecting that he has it, and at the same time feel great.

It is also known that circulating tumor cells (TsOC) are present in many patients with cancer. Nevertheless, only part of these cells will penetrate and preserve in some parts of the body. They are known as disseminated tumor cells or dock. Only a small part of them develops in secondary tumors with metastases.

Our body manages to control them thanks to the combination of the following factors and systems:

The immune system.
Factors associated with body tissues - a change as a result of genetics, etc.
Factors associated with the needs of cancer cells themselves (epithelial cells need a basal membrane for growth).

In other words, when it comes to analyzing the question: can a specific person get cancer or not, we can say for sure that the facts are divided equally. At the same time, positive statistics dominate.

So, you just need to relax and do not worry about anything? This is not a correct question. It is the right one that can give a detailed answer: what makes most people resistant to cancer? Read further.

Why you do not need to be afraid to get cancer: a description of important body mechanisms

All mutations, harmful or not, take place in our body all the time. But each person (with rare exceptions of genetic or pathological states) has specific mechanisms of cancer resistance. Here are the anti -cancer mechanisms of our body:

Immunological:

Scientists compared the answers of the antibodies of the monkey protein when infected with herpes virus.
Animals well develop rapidly growing lymphomas after exposure to the virus.
It should be noted that many viruses are endogenous for some species of monkeys, but other of them never face pathogenic bacteria.
Researchers have discovered an amazing difference in the response time of the antibodies of each animal.
In monkeys resistant to tumors, antibodies rose to a high level only three days after infection.
However, in other species of these animals, the answer took three weeks. This is too much to stop viral lymphoma.

Conclusion: the dynamics of an antique response suggests that the experimental monkeys had previously had a T-cells of memory against the virus.

Genetic:

Our cells are constantly damaged by DNA.
There are separate differences in the effectiveness of repair mechanisms in relation to cells.
Although the vast majority of these mechanisms can quickly eliminate damage, but some, nevertheless, cannot.
An example is a violation of the deficiency of DNA reparation called the pigment xeroderm.
People with this deficit are very sensitive to ultraviolet light.
Even with thorough protection, they develop multiple skin cancer due to their genetic deficiency.

Epigenetic:

Indicates changes in the expression of genes, not a change in DNA.
DNA methylation is one of the key epigenetic factors involved in the regulation of the expression of genes and the stability of the genome.
This is biologically necessary to maintain many cellular functions.
Genomal hypomethylating is often found in solid tumors, such as prostate cancer, hepatocellular cancer, cervical cancer, as well as with hematological cancer diseases, such as B-cell lympholecosis.

Apoptosis or cell death:

The cell may die if extensive DNA damage develops.
This prevents the propagation of cancer cells. We can say that this is a real "altruism" at the cellular level.
In some people, this mechanism does not work.
Cell protein P53 It is a tumor suppressor.
When he mutates, he increases the risk of cancer and even inheritance of Li-frane syndrome. This is a rare disease in which multiple tumors develop in patients.

Factors in the tissue microenvironment:

The last mechanism of protection against tumors is in microenvironment, into which the fabrics are built.
For example, a naked digger rodent lives from 20 and 30 years and never gets cancer. He demonstrates exceptional longevity with the maximum life expectancy more than 30 years. This is the longest life expectancy for the type of rodents. This is striking, given their small body weight.
For comparison, a home mouse of the same size has a maximum life lifespan of 4 years. They also show extraordinary resistance to cancer.

A naked digger lives in underground tunnels, and he must constantly break through the narrow and winding moves. The connective tissue in their skin contains a high molecular weight form of hyaluronic acid, which makes the animal's epiderma supple. The corresponding form of hyaluron in mice and people has less than one fifth molecular mass.

It is worth knowing: The form of hyaluronic acid that occurs in rodents is useful not only for the movement of the animal. It also prevents the transformation of normal cells into cancer.

Several types of diggers are common in different countries. These are small underground rodents. They are distinguished by adaptation to life underground, a wonderful long life (with the most documented life expectancy of up to 30 years) and resistance to cancer.

Therefore, it is worth concluding:

Most people and animals, including do not need cancer.

Advice: Take a deep breath and relax, because two -thirds of all people will never get cancer.

Regarding the other third of the population - do not despair. Diagnosis and treatment of cancer develops rapidly. This does not mean that all types of cancer can be prevented or cured. But research does not stand still, so in the near future human ingenuity, nevertheless, will make cancer much less dangerous than today. Good luck!