WHAT IS CANCER? THE JUVENILE DELINQUENCY OF CELLS

Cancer cells are criminals created from normal cells that are injured or when a mistake is made as in the process normal cell division (called a mutation) yielding a deviant offspring. Like all criminals cancer cells are either abnormal at birth or they become abnormal in response to their environment. 

Cancer cells may look like any other normal cells just as a white-collar criminals may look normal or cancer cells may look bizarre like a knife-wielding Hells Angel – still human but dangerous, still a cell but bigger with a bizarre shape and appearance. Both kinds can destroy you; the Hells Angels type can just do it faster. The differences in the appearance of cancer cells is expressed medically as their tumor grade: 1 – 4, clean white-collar criminals compared to the dirty, hairy no- collar ones.

But it is not their appearance that is dangerous, it is their behavior. White-collar cancers can pack dangerous weapons too but they are hidden. Only their behavior reveals their true character.

Cancers have two juvenile delinquent/malignant behaviors: out of controlness and a lack of respect. Their multiplication/reproduction is out of control and they don’t respect the boundaries of other normal cells: They invade directly across the borders of their organ - like Germany invading Poland or pancreatic cancer invading tissues in the back of the abdomen. They may also spread through the lymph and bloodstream to invade distant countries/organs - like Japan invading the Philippines or breast cancer cells spreading to the liver, lung or bone.

After puberty most normal cells are not dividing/multiplying except in response to injury. The nose is not getting bigger nor are new breasts or fingers appearing. The only normal cells still dividing are in the uterus and ovaries, and the testicles and the skin including the hair and the  lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Hence cancer treatments aimed at dividing cancer cells may affect these cells as well.

When cancer cells born in the breast travel to other organs such as the liver, lung or bone and start to grow there they crowd out the normal cells or impair their function. Sometimes a cancer growth can plug a tube such as air tubes in the lung or tubes for bile in the liver or for food in the gut. Cancer cells that arise in one tissue such as the breast they always remain breast cancer cells no matter where they spread i.e.to the liver lung or bone. Therefore they remain sensitive to treatments aimed at breast cancer and do not require a treatment aimed at lung cancer etc.