Rajnandini Borah
Pragya Academy (Jorhat, Assam, India)
Introduction
Cancer is not just a single disease; it is the common term for a group of diseases. Doctors call them malignant tumors or neoplasms. But what actually goes wrong in the body? What makes cancer so dangerous nowadays, and how can we try to reduce risks of developing it? This article will discuss the mechanisms, common causes (also known as carcinogens!), and risk factors of cancer.
Q1. How do we define cancer?
Cancer is not a germ or a bug you catch. It happens when your own healthy cells cannot stop multiplying. Normally, our cells follow a strict routine – grow, divide, die, and get replaced. Think of it as a well-managed factory. But sometimes, DNA, a cell’s instruction manual, gets damaged, and instead of dying when it is supposed to, it keeps dividing. When its daughter cells continue to do the same, that is when a single bad cell can turn into millions. Therefore, cancer is a large group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled, abnormal growth, and division of cells.
Q2. Do we all have ‘bad’ cells?
Yes! It is more normal than we think. Everyday, our body makes millions of new cells and sometimes, a few come out with damaged DNA. But, it is not a thing to worry about. Our body already knows how to remove them. The human body has a built-in immune system which can catch and destroy the cancer cells before they become a problem. Having unusual cells is not the problem.
Q3. Then, when does it become cancer?
It becomes cancer when the bad cells slip past our body’s defenses. Cancer cells can sometimes evolve in ways that allow them to evade the immune system, with a cell learning to ignore all its ‘stop’ signals. It grows uncontrollably, refuses to die, and even tricks your body into feeding it with new blood vessels (this is called angiogenesis). That is when a few abnormal cells turn into a tumor: the ultimate problem.
Q4. What makes it so dangerous nowadays?
Cancer did not get more dangerous than it always has been. However, there are some new risk factors that have emerged due to modern lifestyle choices.
A few decades ago, people walked more, had better physical stamina, ate less processed foods, and were not glued to their screens. Now? Our generation sits for hours, eats more processed food, breathes more polluted air, has higher levels of stress over daily life and social media, and gets lesser amounts of sleep. This lack of physical activity, as well as mental conditions that lead to our bodies having to deal with more inflammation, hormonal disruption, and metabolic stress create conditions where DNA damage is m ore likely and repair is less efficient.
Of course, blaming solely lifestyle for cancer would be misleading. Cancer rates have significantly risen because people live longer nowadays; aging increases the risks of cancer. Moreover, we have better cancer detection in the present due to innovations in medical technology, which means we are finding cancers that would have gone unnoticed in the past.
Q5. So…What can we do?
First off, there is no guaranteed method to prevent cancer. Genetics, mutations, and environmental exposures are examples of the numerous factors that contribute to cancer that cannot be controlled.
However, changing a few lifestyle choices and attempting to control the underlying external causes that can be controlled can help reduce the risks to some extent. You obviously cannot physically stop cells from acquiring mutations during DNA replication, but you can help your body maintain normal immune function to protect your body as much as possible.
- Changing daily habits: This might be one of the easiest way to boost your body’s defenses since small shifts can add up. For example, you can choose to eat more unprocessed food, and get more sunlight during the day for vitamin D (which plays a role in immune function!). Instead of doomscrolling for hours, you can exercise a bit and maintain an active lifestyle. These changes can help regulate inflammation, support metabolic health, and give your body the building blocks it needs to repair and maintain itself.
- Maintaining a healthy diet: To expand on food a bit more, diet directly affects oxidative stress and inflammation in your body. In oxidative stress, free radicals (unstable electrons) can react with DNA and cause damage that leads to mutations. Therefore, eating foods that provide antioxidants (which combat oxidative stress) such as vitamin C, E, carotenoids, and flavonoids can be helpful. On the other hand, processed meats (sausages, bacon, salami) and preservatives often contain compounds like nitrates and nitrites which turn into N-nitroso compounds (commonly NDMA and NDEA) in your body. These are classified as Group 2A carcinogens, meaning they are probably carcinogenic to humans. Further, such food are also low in dietary fiber, which raises yet another problem. Usually, dietary fibers speed up stool movement through your colon, reducing the time that your gut lining is exposed to the potential carcinogens in the block of waste. Eating foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes can help with overall health. Finally, avoiding burnt or charred food is advised. The tar on food can contain heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), both of which are harmful and increase the risks of DNA damage in your stomach, colon, and pancreas.
- Checking water conditions: In some regions of the world, drinking water can contain harmful contaminants including arsenic. Arsenic is a metalloid found in groundwater that is colorless, odorless, and tasteless. It can damage DNA by increasing oxidative stress and altering gene expression through epigenetic modifications. In other words, it can disable your cell from fixing mistakes in your genetic code. While arsenic is considered a weaker carcinogen, extended periods of exposure can significantly affect body mechanisms and increase cancer risk.
- Managing stress levels: An extended period of stress keeps a hormone called cortisol high. This can alter or suppress certain functions of the immune system, including natural killer (NK) and cytotoxic T-cells, both of which help identify and eliminate abnormal cells Stress can also increase inflammation through a chemical called cytokines (specifically including IL-6 and TNF-α among a few), creating an environment where damaged cells can survive, grow, and multiply (or proliferate). People often adopt unhealthy stress coping behaviors such as smoking, alcohol intake, and overeating. Managing stress through mental breaks, exercising, meditating, socializing, and more can help support overall well-being.
- Getting enough sleep: Your body runs on a circadian rhythm – a 24 hour internal clock that controls hormone release, cell repair, and immune function. In darkness, the brain releases melatonin, a hormone that not only regulates sleep, but also works as a radical scavenger in reducing oxidative stress. Studies suggest that melatonin can suppress tumor growth (although more research is necessary to understand the full scope of its influence). Exposure to blue light – the light emitted from screens – before sleep can trick your brain into thinking it is still daytime, disrupting the sleep cycle and suppressing melatonin release. Chronic sleep disruption is classified as a probable carcinogen (Group 2A) by the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Moreover, sleep is a crucial process for your body to perform processes such as cellular repair, repairing damaged DNA, and supporting immune function. Therefore, aiming for 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily, avoiding screens at least 30 minutes before bed, and keeping the bedroom dark and cool can help with maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
- Being aware of everyday carcinogens: There are cancer causing substances that you may be unfamiliar with. For example, some chemicals in plastics have raised concerns as one of those carcinogens. When you heat food in plastic containers that are not microwave-safe, chemicals like BPA (bisphenol A) and phthalates can leach into your food. These are endocrine disrupters; by mimicking or blocking your natural hormones, they can interfere with hormone signaling. Another example are PAH or PM 2.5 (fine particulate matters), which are released when people cook by burning wood, cow dung, or kerosene: a common practice in rural regions of the world. These matters are small enough to enter your lungs and bloodstream, and long-term exposure to these pollutants increases lung cancer risk, as well as the risk to develop other respiratory diseases. Last, but not the least, carcinogens may also exist in homes. Older homes may have asbestos in building materials, and inhaling them can cause mesothelioma (cancer of the lining surrounding the lungs). Radon is another radioactive gas that can seep through soil into homes, and is considered the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. We can prevent exposure to many of these carcinogens by taking appropriate precautions. Using microwave-safe steel or glass containers, ensuring kitchen ventilation, and testing homes for asbestos and radon are recommended steps to reduce these risks.
- Vaccination and early detection: Nowadays, several vaccines are available to help prevent cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes nearly all cervical cancers and many oral, anal, and penile cancers. Fortunately, we have HPV vaccination that can prevent infection and hence cancers. Chronic hepatitis B is a major disease that may lead to liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma). Vaccination against it, thankfully, is highly effective. Still, vaccines cannot be the only source of reliance – regular health check-ups are necessary as many cases of cancers develop without noticable symptoms that do not affect daily life in the early stages. Pap tests, mammograms, and colonoscopy can detect if you have any abnormalities growing in your body.
Conclusion
Cancer is not just one disease, and there is no single cure or cause. Sometimes, it happens despite every measure we take on to stay healthy. Still, understanding how it starts, what raises its risk, and what we can control is crucial. Obviously, you cannot avoid every carcinogen or fix every unhealthy habit overnight. But, small changes, balanced food, better sleep, less stress, and regular checkups can add up to cultivate a healthier lifestyle and thus, a more functional immune and repair system in your bodies.
References
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