CANCER: ALARM BELLS
March 30th, 2009 | Posted by admin | Category: CancerNo Comments
No one knows exactly why cancer cells behave the way they do. We do know however, that a number of causative factors are responsible for the growth of certain types of cancer. The causes of cancer are abundant and diverse. As mentioned in the previous chapter, every day we are exposed to thousands of different environmental, dietary, man-made and plant-made toxins. Our body’s immune system is designed to detoxify these chemicals and maintain a balance in health, preventing illness. Due to any number of factors, our body’s immune functions may become weakened or find it difficult to detoxify as normal. When our body is unable to perform these regulatory functions, disease results.
In the United States alone, one person dies from cancer every minute. Another three million people have cancer and one out of three will eventually die of some form of disease. 1 334 100 new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the year 2003 in that country. Cancer is now the second most common cause of deaths in the United States, running dangerously close to cardiovascular disease. There are more than one hundred different varieties of cancer today. Over 170 000 cancer illnesses in the United States alone are preventable.
In Australia in 1999, 82 135 new cancer cases were reported and there were 34 695 deaths due to cancer, not including non-melanoma skin cancer. Globally, cancer rates are expected to rise by at least fifty per cent to fifteen million new cases in the year 2020, according to the ‘world cancer report’.
The most common types of cancers worldwide in men are lung cancer (which is mainly due to tobacco smoking), prostate cancer and colorectal cancer. The most common cancer worldwide for women is breast cancer followed by lung cancer, colorectal cancer and uterine cancer. These statistics do not include skin cancer, which is on the rise and is extremely prevalent in countries such as Australia.
These are scary statistics, ringing strong alarm bells for all of us. Different types of cancer are more prominent in different cultures and countries. This alerts us to the fact that many factors in our environment do contribute to the development of cancer, more than genetic factors. It is necessary to become aware of these risk factors and limit our exposure to them as much as possible. Repeated exposure to carcinogens over a lengthy period increases the risk of cancer developing. It is important to be aware of contributing factors to cancer development, to prevent both ourselves and our loved ones from developing this life threatening condition.
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