With so much emphasis on finding a cure and research regarding less invasive, more effective treatments for cancer, the questions remains: why is cancer so deadly? The answer has to do with the way cancer cells behave, as well as difficulty detecting, preventing and treating the disease. Here’s why cancer is so deadly, and how certain, non-invasive treatments are providing hope.
Ignoring the Signals
Every cell in the body is programmed to receive signals that tell it how to perform its assigned task, when to divide to make new cells, and when to die when no longer useful. This signal system is what keeps the body, ensuring healthy and strong cells are constantly in production to keep us healthy and strong. Unlike healthy cells, cancer cells are able to ignore these signals, especially those that tell it when to stop dividing or die off. As such, the body is unable to control the growth and movement of cancer cells at their most basic level. Without the body’s ability to regulate cancer cells, the disease has to be treated externally, making it more difficult to control without the body’s help.
Ability to Control Microenvironment
Cancer cells can control their microenvironments, meaning they can instruct normal cells in the body to change their function, for example, forming tumors that develop their own supply of oxygen and nutrients, as well as a waste removal system that can support it. Being able to create – and sustain – these microenvironments means that an otherwise healthy body can be at risk for deadly cancers to take up residence there.
Invasive Qualities
Cancer cells are invasive, meaning they are neither are organic to the body nor are they specialized like most cells in the body. That makes it easy for them to invade organs and tissues anywhere in the body and, left undetected or untreated, cancer can spread at an exponential rate. Cancer cells can tricky and clever: they know how to hide from the immune system, shielding themselves so they don’t get targeted and eradicated. This lets cancer cells grow without the threat of attack from the body.
Silent Killer
While some forms of cancer do show signs early on, many are asymptomatic, seeming to appear with little warning or symptoms. An example of this is prostate cancer. Cancer cells can develop and grow in the prostate gland for long periods of time without any sign to alert the patient. Without active screenings, prostate cancer can go undetected until the condition has progressed significantly. By then, the cancer may have become such that, where conservative treatments might have previously sufficed, now treatment options must be more aggressive.
Possibility of Return
The possibility of cancer returning – even when it’s in remission – hangs over a patient like a dark cloud. Cancer cells can develop at any point and in any location in the body. Getting treatment for it does not guarantee that a person is immune from getting cancer in the future. With cancer prevention, vigilance is key.
The Beam of LifeTM
While cancer is certainly a dangerous and deadly disease, advancements in medical technology and treatment are being made every single day by scientists and doctors. One treatment that has proven successful happens to be non-invasive and has no ill effects on the body. The treatment is called CyberKnife, and it is available now in Miami exclusively at the Cyberknife Center of Miami.
CyberKnife is an FDA-approved, non-invasive treatment option used by radiation oncologists to deliver targeted, high doses of radiation to a wide variety of cancerous and non-cancerous tumors. However, unlike tradition radiation or chemotherapies, CyberKnife is not painful; no incisions are made and anesthesia is not required. There is no scarring, no hair loss, with patients resuming their normal routines following their treatment sessions.
A diagnosis of cancer can be devastating. However, there is hope to be found in CyberKnife therapy, which has proven successful even for those whose cancer may be considered inoperable. Plus, patients can receive radiosurgery treatment as adjunct therapy to traditional oncology care
If you or a loved one have been diagnosed with cancer or dangerous tumors, you need to know about CyberKnife – the Beam of Life™. To learn more about this treatment and meet our board-certified physicians, call the CyberKnife Center of Miami at (800) 204-0455 or contact us online.