Understanding the process of growing cancer in the human body

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The disease that most people might be most afraid of is cancer. Because the disease can attack anyone indiscriminately. Ranging from toddlers to elderly people, women and men, even those whose lifestyle is quite healthy. As stated by the Indonesian Ministry of Health in its official website, Basic Health Research (Riskedas) conducted in 2013 noted the prevalence of tumors and cancer in Indonesia reached 1.4 in every 1,000 residents. This means that there are approximately 330,000 people diagnosed with tumors or cancer each year. So, an understanding of cancer and the process of growing cancer must be encouraged.

Cancer is the name for several types of similar diseases. Cancer can appear on any part of the body because it comes from cells in the human body. So, there are many types of cancer that are found in humans. For example, leukemia, bone cancer, breast cancer, skin cancer, uterine cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer.

Is it true that everyone has cancer cells?

Maybe you've heard information that everyone actually has cancer cells in the body. The problem is only whether the cell will grow and life becomes a cancer that attacks certain body organs. Wait a minute, don't easily believe this news because the fact is that cancer cells do not live in every human body. In fact, everyone does have cells with damaged DNA, but the body has an automatic system that will kill these damaged cells before they develop into cancer cells. Even in some cases, these damaged cells will not grow into cancer in the body. So under normal circumstances, the human body is clean of cancer cells.

Cell changes in the body

The human body holds trillions of cells that are spread to every organ and part. These cells will continue to grow and multiply into new cells, following their growth and human needs. While cells that are too old, unhealthy, and not functioning again will die naturally.

The human body has its own central system that is able to regulate the number of cells that the body and cells that are unhealthy need. This system will give orders for cells to divide and multiply or to turn themselves off.

Cancer cells can be born if there is an error in the system so that damaged cells do not die by themselves. The cell actually continues to divide until the number cannot be controlled anymore. This change can trigger the appearance of cancer cells.

Cancer growth in body cells

In healthy cells there is a nucleus that functions as a central system. The nucleus itself holds chromosomes formed from DNA sequences. In the DNA, there are thousands of genes that will instruct cells to carry out their functions in the organs of the body where they live. So the nucleus that is home to thousands of genes will determine what cell types certain organs need, when cells need to divide, and which cells must die and be replaced.

Unfortunately, this process does not always work perfectly. When cells do division, there is a risk that new cells born from the division contain too many damaged or duplicated genes. This change in gene structure in cells is called a gene mutation. When gene mutations occur, the cell can no longer receive commands and instructions from the central system so that these cells will grow out of control and produce abnormal proteins. An abnormality in the protein produced will further trigger the division of new cells with imperfect genes. In other cases, the protein needed to stop the birth of new cells is not produced at all.

Usually, different gene mutations and those that have occurred more than five times will potentially grow into cancer cells. The process can last for years until the cells divide and form large cancer cells. Only the symptoms begin to appear and cancer cells appear when your body is scanned.

However, in cases of child cancer gene damage has occurred since the womb or from birth. They do have innate genes that are damaged in the cells of the body so that the process of forming cancer does not require a long time.

Cancer spread

The main cells that are damaged by genes and grow into cancer are usually only attacking one organ or tissue where the cell lives. However, if it is not controlled by cancer cells it can spread and attack other organs or tissues through blood or lymph nodes. The process of spreading cancer is referred to as cancer metastasis.

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