Cancer, this is not a disease but a disorder in the body since, cancer is not caused by any micro organism; but due to some unknown or known disorder in the body. And so only known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a broad group of various diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the body through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. Not all tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors do not grow uncontrollably, do not invade neighboring tissues, and do not spread throughout the body. There are over 200 different known cancers that afflict humans.

Determining what causes cancer is very complex. Many things are known to increase the risk of cancer, including tobacco use, certain infections, radiation, and lack of physical activity, obesity, and environmental pollutants. These can directly damage genes or combine with existing genetic faults within cells to cause the disease. Approximately five to ten percent of cancers are entirely hereditary. Some more practical practitioners admit that truly, they as yet, do not know why cancer develops. 

Cancer is usually treated with chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. The chances of surviving the disease vary greatly by the type and location of the cancer and the extent of disease at the start of treatment. While cancer can affect people of all ages, and a few types of cancer are more common in children, the risk of developing cancer generally increases with age. In 2007, cancer caused about 13% of all human deaths worldwide (7.9 million). Rates are rising but the actual cause for this alarming rise in cancer cases is not known definitely. Some experts opine that deaths due to cancer has probably not increased as believed; but today we can pinpoint the true cause of death owing to advancements in our knowledge of science and so we feel cancer deaths have increased. In earlier times those deaths were not diagnosed as cancer deaths because of ignorance. 

When cancer begins, it produces no symptoms but signs and symptoms only appearing as the mass of tissues continues to grow uncontrollably or ulcerates. The findings that result, depends on the type and location of the cancer. Few symptoms are specific, while many of them found to be common with other diseases. Therefore, Cancer is the new “great imitator” of symptoms. Thus it is not uncommon for people diagnosed with cancer to have been treated for other diseases to which it was assumed their symptoms were due. The rate of growth and factors those cause this growth of tissues is as yet not clearly understood; this has given rise to several explanations by so called experts only creating more confusion about this disorder.

Local effects

Local symptoms may occur due to the excessive growth of mass of the tumor or its ulceration. For example, mass effects from Lung cancer can cause blockage of the bronchus resulting in cough or symptoms of pneumonia, esophageal cancer can cause narrowing of the esophagus making it difficult or painful to swallow, and colorectal cancer may lead to narrowing or blockages in the bowel resulting in changes in bowel habits often mistaken for case of constipation. Masses of breast or testicles may be easily felt. Ulceration can cause bleeding which, if it occurs in the lung, will lead to coughing up blood often mistaken for TB, in the bowels to anemia or rectal bleeding, in the bladder to blood in the urine, and in the uterus to vaginal bleeding. Although localized pain may occur in advanced cancer, the initial swelling is usually painless. Some cancers can cause build up of fluid within the chest or abdomen. 

Causes

It is nearly impossible to prove what caused a cancer in any individual, because most cancers have multiple possible causes. For example, if a person who uses tobacco heavily develops lung cancer, then it was probably caused by the tobacco use, but since everyone has a small chance of developing lung cancer as a result of air pollution or radiation, then there is a small chance that the cancer developed because of air pollution or radiation.

The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking.

Cancer pathogenesis is traceable to DNA mutations that impact cell growth and metastasis. Substances that cause DNA mutations are known as mutagens, and mutagens that cause cancers are known as carcinogens. Particular substances have been linked to specific types of cancer. Tobacco smoking is associated with many forms of cancer, and causes 90% of lung cancer. One hypothesis suggests that cancer is caused due to cancer gene in the DNA of the patient. If cancer gene is not present in the DNA of the person he/she will not contract any type of cancer but he/she has that cancer gene that person finally dies of some or the other type of cancer. This hypothesis in the end suggests that all cancers are basically inherited and the carcinogen is only an excuse to trigger the disorder. Moreover, scientists are coming with a never ending list of these carcinogens which includes as simple substances as water! Due to this, theory of carcinogen appears to be not final answer to the question. This makes the hypothesis of carcinogen more confusing than guiding.

However, decades of research has demonstrated the link between tobacco use and cancer in the lung, larynx, head, neck, stomach, bladder, kidney, esophagus and pancreas. Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Tobacco is responsible for about one in three of all cancer deaths in the developed world, and about one in five worldwide. Lung cancer death rates in the United States have mirrored smoking patterns, with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates and, more recently, decreases in smoking rates since the 1950s followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men since 1990. However, some researchers recommend reconsidering this Tobacco as not exactly the culprit but the hot air with smokes, the real culprit. This is because out of total tobacco smokers the world over only a negligible fractional count suffers from cancer. If tobacco was real culprit then most smokers should end with related cancer but that does not happen. Moreover, the damage caused by the powerful inhale of the very hot smoky air to the related tissues explains why excessive growth takes place. The process of repair of the burnt tissues continues as the more and more repaired tissues are repeatedly burnt by this hot inhale. This probably triggers the cancer behavior in the tissue's metabolism. This explanation gets support when patients, suffering from cancer due to presumably tobacco smoking are interviewed, they are showing the habit of inhaling hot smoke while smoking. Smokers using filters of best quality or using hookah or such devices to clean and cool the smoke do not attract cancer whereas those with hot smoking do.

Similarly, tobacco chewing is also considered as one cause for cancer in the mouth. Here again the probable culprit could be the lime that accompanies tobacco. Calcium hydroxide or lime that remains in the mouth can cause burns of the tissue and may trigger cancer activity in due course. That means, there real cause for cancer could be very different from what we generally believe.      

Every year, at least 200,000 people die worldwide from cancer related to their workplace. Most cancer deaths caused by occupational risk factors occur in the developed world. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 cancer deaths and 40,000 new cases of cancer each year in the U.S. are attributable to occupation. Millions of workers run the risk of developing cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma from inhaling asbestos fibers and tobacco smoke, or leukemia from exposure to benzene at their workplaces. Many people suffer from cancer for no obvious reason, breast cancer and colorectal cancer are to point; people with very clean life style generally expected to be free from cancer are found to die due to cancer. All these examples point to the theory of carcinogenic gene. Generally a patient of cancer ends life due to advance cancer. Most are treated for not curing but to slow down progress of the disorder and by that keep the death further away. The treatment is chemotherapeutic but occasionally surgery is used but any thing done wrong may trigger the advancement of cancer. So physician's judgment becomes very important; one wrong decision and the patient end life earlier than would happen otherwise. Notable example in recent past is of late Vasantrao Deshmukh, ex CM of Maharashtra State. Doctors who talked with me on this topic told me that, had his family accepted the decision of doctors of Mumbai and not made haste he would live for two more years. Other examples they showed in that, famous cine artist Rajesh Khanna, he accepted the advice so could live as long as possible otherwise he would also die much earlier. A living example I may sight of Bal Thakaray, Shive Sena supremo and self appointed leader of Hindutwa. He listens to the advice of his doctors and so continues to live as long as possible even though that may not be very long, as his pancreatic cancer is advancing rapidly and the end may be around the month of April 2013 most probably. Patients of cancer can be saved only by a miracle as doctors admit. Most end with cancer whatever be the treatment; so far there is no reliable cure for this disorder,

The bottom line we should draw to say, more research required to get to the roots of carcinogenic gene and how to detect it early so that person having that can be cautioned, nevertheless, if person inherits that, he/she is surely dying of cancer anyway. Person not having this gene will not die by cancer whatever be the other factors.

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