SamQKitty

The cells in one's body are constantly dying off and growing (some dying, some coming into being). Cancer is basically a cell mutation. So, when a mutated cell starts growing, it can split, becoming two, four, eight, 16, 32, cells, etc. Cancerous cells tend to split much more quickly than regular cells and they don't die off in the same way. They then start crowding out the normal cells.

The body is made up of literally hundreds of different types of cells. Every organ in the body has its own type of cell (although some organs have the same type or similar). For example, the skin has basal and squamous cells; the lymphatic system has lympatic cells, the breasts have breast-specific cells; the cervix has cervix-specific cells, etc., etc. Each cell behaves differently in the body depending on what it's role is supposed to be. And, therefore, each cell can mutate in different ways. Certainly a few types of HPV can trigger cancerous cells in the cervix, but there are so many different ways that cancer can be triggered, including genetic predisposition, environmental factors (smoking, pesticides), and completely unknown factors.

This is why it has been so difficult for researchers to come up with a "cure" for cancer. Cancer is, basically, a hundred different diseases. There have been tremendous advances in the treatment of some types of cancer, while for other types, nothing seems to work well. A treatment that may work for, say, breast cancer, will have absolutely no effect on lung cancer.

All in all, I think we're very lucky today in that so many of us can say we are cancer survivors, rather than victims. My fondest hope is that they will one day come up with some sort of body scan that would be inexpensive, not have any side effects, and be able to catch cancer in its earliest stages, when it is usually much more treatable.

Ruth