Cancer Vulnerability of Individuals

Cancer strikes both the young and the old. No matter what is your social status, you are still vulnerable to cancer. Cancer is genetically and environmentally determined. Environmental factors may include everyday food diet. However, there are common risks factors involved in the development of cancer that can be controlled. One risk factor is tobacco or cigarette smoking. Those who are addicted to smoking are more at risk of developing lung cancer than the non-smokers. There are at least one-hundred carcinogens that can be found in cigarette smoke. Carcinogens act by distorting the genetic codes of the cells. When the genes of the cell are modified, they may instruct the cell to multiply exponentially without dying. Hence, cellular growth becomes uncontrollable. This may lead to the developments of tumors which kill healthy cells.

Cancer cells can also travel to the other parts of the body similar to a viral cellular infection. This is termed as metastasis. A metastasized cancer cell can hijack the normal genetic functions of the healthy cells. When this happens, the cancer is said to be already in the advance stage. Advance or terminal stage of cancer has very low probability of treatment response and cancer patient survival. Although cancer may affect all ages there are certain types of cancer that specifically affect either the old or the young. One type of age-related cancer is prostrate cancer. Prostrate cancer commonly affects males aging from 50 years old and above. This type of cancer is incurable although the survival rate of patients is longer as compared to other types of cancer. Prostrate cancer has a slow growth pattern. Usually it may take at least twenty years before the prostrate tumor become life-threatening.