We're all very familiar with the word
"cancer" but how much do we really know
about what that word means? Hi. I'm Nikki,
the Truth Fairy, from Choosing
Differently.com and I'm here to help
you find your way to heal cancer.
So the technical definition of cancer is
an uncontrolled growth of cells. Normally
there are many tissues throughout the
body where cells grow and divide as a
matter of course. It's a healthy, normal
process - replacing skin cells, growing new
blood cells, fixing wounds. But sometimes
things go wrong and this growth gets out
of control. Now if that growth stays
limited to where it started, in the
tissue that it started, and doesn't extend
too far, it's considered to be benign. But if
that growth spreads into the surrounding
tissues or throughout the body then it's
considered malignant and cancerous.
So what do we know about cancer? Well
the first thing we know about cancer is it's
actually a bunch of different diseases.
Because cancer can arise in any tissue
throughout the body where there's
actively growing cells, then there could
be lots of different types. And that's
important because the type of cancer can
affect how you treat your cancer and
what you need to do to get it to heal.
The next thing we know about cancer
is that they share lots of different
characteristics in common. So apart from
the uncontrolled cell growth, the DNA in
cancer cells is very messed up. Not only
are there mutations but it's also really
badly organised. They're less specialised
which means they can grow more easily,
and they don't do the original thing
that that cell was supposed to do
anymore. They stop behaving the way they
were supposed to behave. They ignore
signals from the cells around them. Cells
around them saying, "Hey, I'm squished!
Stop growing!" They just seem to ignore those.
And they can also ignore signals
from the immune system saying, "Hey, die! We
don't want you around anymore." They just
seem to ignore those. Cancer cells can
also encourage blood vessels to grow
towards them, so they can get the fuel
they need and get rid of wastes. And they
also seem to metabolise in different
ways. They get their energy in unusual
ways. It's not the same way as healthy
cells. They're also able to hide from the
immune system. And they may also hijack the
immune system to support their growth.
So these are some of things that cancer
cells have in common. So the question
then is, why is having cancer a problem?
Well there are a few
different ways why having cancer is a
problem. The main one is that they
basically stop vital organs in the body
from functioning properly. That may be
because they're physically obstructing
those organs. So they might be blocking
critical blood vessels, they might be
pressing on parts of the brain. They are
physically stopping those organs from
doing what they need to do. And the other
way of course is if they're actually in
those organs. So if they start to affect
the healthy cells in that organ, the organ
can't function effectively and if enough
of the cells either die or become
cancerous in that organ, then it
simply can't do what it needs to do and
that organ will fail. And if it's
critical to health that's pretty serious.
The other way that cancer can be a
problem is that it basically sends out
signals to the body that confuse things.
So for example if there's cancer in the
bones, then it may upset the calcium
balance in the body generally and
that level of calcium is
very important for the body to do other
functions and the body can't function
properly. It can interfere with digestion
so that the body is not able to digest
food properly and it's not getting the
nutrients it needs. And the last thing
that can happen once the cancer gets
advanced enough is it basically
overwhelms the body's healing systems.
The body's doing everything it can to
get back into balance all the time, but
if there's too much going on it simply
can't keep up and the body gets
overwhelmed. So how do you
make use of this information about what
cancer is and why it's a problem? Well I
find it really useful to understand the
cancer is a normal bodily process gone
wrong. It's not an external invader, not
an alien being or infection or something
coming out from outside of you imposing
itself on you. It's part of your body
that's not working the way it needs to
be. The next thing that I find really
useful is to understand what's happening
in cancer, reduces the unknowns. So the
fewer unknowns there are about what's
going on in cancer, the less fear there
is that comes out of that. Just simply
because you know what's going on and
having those fewer unknowns
creates less fear. Also understanding
that the problems that cancer causes are
primarily about stopping the body from
doing what it needs to do, means that
supporting the body to heal in whatever
way you can is one of the most important
things that you can do. Understanding
that it's about trying to bring the body
back into balance and to get it to heal gives
you something very concrete that you can
use to understand. "Right, okay. I've gotta
support my body in every possible way to
give it the maximum chance that it can
heal itself." And the last piece is to
understand that different cancers may
need different approaches. So you might
need to tailor what you do to suit a
particular kind of cancer. So that was a
little bit about what cancer is and why
it's a problem. I hope you found that
useful and now I'd love to hear from you.
What did you learn about cancer that you
didn't know before? And how has this
information changed your view of cancer?
Let me know in the comments. And catch my
next video to continue activating your
body's natural ability to heal.
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