CANCER

• Cell division


  1. One cell divides into two cells

  2. Two cells divide into four cells

  3. Four cells divide into eight cells

  4. Cells form tissues

  5. Tissues form organs

  6. Organs form us
• Growth


  The process by which we go from a single cell to 100 trillion cells
• Cell division is an intricate chemical dance that's part individual, part community-driven
• Enough mutations can bypass the fail-safes, driving the cell to divide recklessly
• One rogue cell transforms

  It becomes two, then four, then eight, and the incorrect instructions are passed along to the cells' offspring
• Cancer is caused by a rogue cell that divides recklessly
• Cancer treatment options


  • Surgery
  • Radiation
  • Chemotherapy
• Radiation and chemotherapy


  Work by physically shredding the cells' DNA or disrupting the copying machinery
• Cell types


  • Healthy liver cell
  • Healthy hair cell
  • Cancerous cell
• Healthy liver cell


  Divides only when stressed
• Healthy hair cell


  Divides frequently
• Cancerous cell


  Divides even more frequently and recklessly
• Chemotherapeutic drugs


  Hit all cell types, but the more frequently a cell divides, the more likely the drug is to kill it
• Side effects of cancer treatment

  • Hair loss
  • Skin rashes
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Fatigue
  • Weight loss
  • Pain
• Cancer hijacks cells' natural division machinery and forces them to put the pedal to the metal, growing rapidly and recklessly
• Using chemotherapeutic drugs, we take advantage of cancer's aggressiveness and turn its main strength into a weakness