Something extraordinary is happening as you are watching this video. The cells in your body are actively dividing millions and millions of times and thousands of them are simultaneously dying.
Don’t freak out – it’s totally natural.
DeQoding Cancer
Think of your body like an assembly line. There are millions of cells which go through each day and a majority of them are normal, but, a few defective cells sneak in.
The body normally recognises these and removes them, however, all it takes is just one rogue cell for the perfect system to fall apart. Yes, cancer starts with a single, rouge cell which divides unconditionally, breaks all the rules of cell growth, ignores the signs to stop growing and potentially multiplies forever to spread throughout the body
There are more than 200 types of diseases of different features which fit this description, despite being completely diverse, they all go by the single name: CANCER.
Just one mutated gene is not enough to cause cancer. It usually takes 5-6 genetic changes before normal human cells become truly cancerous.
Cancer is an incredibly complicated disease and can be triggered by a number of factors including smoking, drinking, your genes and even the air you breathe. No matter what the trigger is, the end result is the same – a massive uncontrolled growth that can invade and spread throughout your body.
We can largely treat it but there is no one magic bullet to cure cancer. The trouble is that the same kind of cancer in different individuals look similar on the outside but each one develops differently on the inside.
Just like a thumbprint, no two cancers are alike and therefore, there is no one cure.
Script: Nikita Mishra
Producer: Esha Paul
Video Editor: Hitesh Singh
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)