| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:21:53 AM | I have done a thread search prior to starting this thread, but have not found anything that could answer my question on the subject.
I'm wondering are we all born with the Cancer gene? or is it genetic?....If one or both of your parents have cancer, is it more likely that you will have it too?
I just recently found out that not only does my father suffer from prostate cancer, now my uncle suffers from the same and my sister just had surgery for cervical cancer.
If we are born with the cancer gene then why is it that only certain types of cancer are blamed on specific lifestyles? For example; Lung cancer is blamed on cigarettes...yet some people will get lung cancer and not have a cigarette in their lives and other's will have been smoking most of their live and not get that particular type of cancer.
If someone could enlighten me, I would really appreciate your thought and opinions on this matter.
Thank you,
Sue | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:30:45 AM | I think in the medical profession they do suspect it is genetic...
Like breast cancer being one of them
also Bowel cancer....
this is only because I have personally been there with patients when the consultant is breaking bad news... and suggests that other family members be checked out.
Sorry not a lot of help... but I think the cancer foundation are still working on that question.
Twilight_x
possible google the cancer foundation... you may get more results from that, possibly even a contact via e-mail may be avaliable too... :) | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:36:25 AM | some cancers are genetic.. ie breast cancer. if you have some family history of certain cancers then you have an increase chance of developing it. lung cancer.. there are several types of which 4 are related to smoking and the others are genetic... if you are at all worried about the number of ppl affected by cancer in your family, see your GP and he will be able to test you to see if you carry the gene. there are also prevention options in these cases... you asked if we are born with cancer. yes we have a small amount of cells that are harmless... life style, enviroment etc.. can trigger these cells to multiply and cause cancer. also some ppl have a natural blocker that protects them from certain cancers. hope this helps huni ... i know this info because im a nurse  | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:39:48 AM | You can't think of cancer as one disease. Cervical cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, etc, they are all separate diseases with separate properties, caused by different things. Yes, most cancers have a genetic basis. There is no single "Cancer gene". Think of genes in your body as words, each word spells something. To really simplify things, one gene spells eye, so it tells your body to make you an eye. Other genes spell prostate. If the word gets misspelled, you get cancer. For example, a misspelled word for breast tells the cells in your breast to never stop growing. How that word gets mispelled? Passed on from your parents, which were passed on from your grandparents... Sitting under the sun too much... Smoking... In short, it is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Sometimes, for example, the word needs to be misspelled at three places for you to get cancer. If you inherit a gene from your parents where the incorrect spelling occurs in two places, then the chances of getting cancer is higher because now, you only need to misspell the third place in that word to get cancer. Whereas in a normal person, they have three strikes - ie three places that need to be misspelled before cancer kicks in.
Does that make sense? | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:52:36 AM | I'm not here for pity! Nor am I trolling! I'm asking a legitimate question that hasn't been answered in other threads.
I don't have cancer... I go to my GP every year and have not yet received any kind of disturbing news regarding me. I can't believe that with this question as whether we are born with cancer and how this cell can grow in some and not in others, is targeted for deletion.
In NO WAY am I trying to get pity....I'm trying to understand! | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:56:17 AM | Thank you for your insightful posts!
@marianne...I sort of understand what you are saying, but the 3 places I don't quite get. Are you saying that if my grandparents had cancer or if they were contributing to the "misspelled words" that could have passed cancer to my parents and there for the grandchildren????
Sue | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 10:58:52 AM | | i dont think you are asking for pity.. you just ask for medical facts... i feel i provided them.. sorry if you have taken offence with my data.. it was not my intention. kind regards | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 11:02:19 AM | By no means have I taken any offense to what you said....I thank you for all the advice and opinions on the subject. I just noticed that someone decided that I was trolling on here and have voted to get my thread deleted.
I respect all information that anyone could provide on the subject and for that I thank you storm.
Sue | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/20/2007 11:27:04 AM | I only provided an EXAMPLE of how genetics can be involved. Please note that different cancers are due to different misspelled "words", and it can be one letter of the word misspelled, or several letters of that word, or it can take a combination of several misspelled words to cause that particular cancer. The rules are different for different cancers.
What I meant in my example was that the generations before you pass on the chance to get cancer, not the actual cancer itself. Your parents don't have to have cancer to pass the misspelled words on. Using my previous example, if your grandparents have this word misspelled at two places, then they would still be healthy. But that misspelled word gets passed on to you, and you only need to get one extra wrong spelling to get cancer. How to get cancer then? These words in your body are stored inside your cells. And cells reproduce to make new cells, while old cells die - very fast turnover in most cases. Everytime a cell reproduces to make new cells, it has to replicate those "words" (think of making a new baby - you need to make new eyes, nose ears...). If a mistake occurs in the replication process (eg due to smoking) and is not corrected immediately by the spellchecker, you get stuck with the wrong word from then on. Words get misspelled all the time. Most of the time, it occurs in a place where it doesn't matter. However, if that critical letter gets misspelled, the word can tell your body to produce, for example, lots of breast cells and you get breast cancer.
I know it is a complicated concept. Does that answer your question?
(This process of getting cancer when you're 50 is different from getting cancer as a newborn baby. An explanation would require another paragraph.) | |
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| Storm 300
Posted: 4/21/2007 7:03:38 PM | I like your post. Both my parents died from cancer and what is the name of the test?
I also had a PSA level , a colonsocopy, an EGD and tests to make sure I don't have cancer. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/21/2007 7:11:48 PM | | Cancer is a bit of both. Technically we are all born with the ability to get cancer. It's a gene we have in us that can randomly be 'turned on' and become a cancer gene causing cells to replicate like crazy. Some free radicals like smoking and an unhealthy lifestyle can elevate the risks of turning on this gene, as does a genetic predisposition. But there is no 100% in either direction if you could get cancer. It's best to just try and be healthy and just your ears and go lalala if your doctor says you have cancer. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/21/2007 8:14:39 PM | And, neither could I, when using: cancer genetic
-except, for this thread.
For: cancer gene
The only thread showing was in UK forums -- but to wander over there might get you censured for 'travelling' and possibly banned from the forums. Besides, the Health forum here seems the most apt, imo, for starting a fresh thread about cancer, only this time, focussing on the genetic aspect.
I have done a thread search prior to starting this thread, but have not found anything that could answer my question on the subject. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/21/2007 10:05:53 PM | Single word search: cancer
That brought up the two threads I listed above, Don. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/21/2007 11:48:42 PM | | I'm pretty sure there is a genetic link in some cases. I supect that's the case with a lot of diseases. I've heard of seemingly healthy women being advised to have mastectomies as a precautionary measure - just because breast cancer runs in the family. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 8:48:48 AM | Of that I have no doubt. 'Cancer' is a huge health topic, and the OP's topic is about one major aspect, the genetic issues involved.
No one on this site has a thread discussing cancer just from a genetic perspective, though I've no doubt, that's been touched upon several times in other threads about Cancer generally.
To figure, the OP shouldn't start a topic about "the genetic issues of cancer", is imo, like saying, no one should start a discussion about something regarding Food, because Food has already been discussed before (in over two dozen topics when I do a title search merely on "Food").
Single word search: cancer
That brought up the two threads I listed above, Don. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 5:58:02 PM | The orgin of every single disease is genetic.
Our genes are the code to everything in our bodies...good and bad. Without genes there would be no cancer, no obesity, diabetes or heart disease. Without genes their would be no life.
But...
Genes don't determine disease on their own...they must be activated or expressed.
If they aren't activated or expressed, they remain biochemically dormant.
Dormant genes don't have any effect on our health.
To use an analogy, think of genes as a gardener thinks of seeds. Seeds won't grow without nutrient-rich soil, water and sunshine.
So...how are genes activated....environment...where we live, what we do....but the most important factor is diet...what we eat and how much of what we eat.
Don...you used "Food" in your analogy...how appropriate!
OP...excellent question! | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 6:45:13 PM | Well, I believe the term "origin" misleads the reader, as clearly 'environment' is the origin, not the genes. The genes are merely an element or 'weakness' or 'predisposition' to react poorly to a toxic environment, towards allowing the disease or a cancer to take hold.
And, I don't think this is a 'what came first: the chicken or the egg' type of conundrum. To my mind, the clear 'origin' is the environment, along with whether or not, our body has the genetic capability to do well or poorly, in resisting the impact of the environment.
So, what does this in effect mean for the OP? Eat smart, live a healthy active life with minimal pollution, stress and radiation. You'll reduce your risks of cancer enormously in my estimation.
btw, even if someone was not a smoker, if they worked indoors with smokers, or, lived with smokers, we all ought to know that 'second hand' smoke has a potency to cause cancer (guessing, as I've not looked the stats up) at almost exactly half the likelihood of the extremely high incidence for smokers compared to the general population.
The orgin of every single disease is genetic.
Our genes are the code to everything in our bodies
Genes don't determine disease on their own... | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 7:07:05 PM |
Genes don't determine disease on their own...they must be activated or expressed.
If they aren't activated or expressed, they remain biochemically dormant.
Dormant genes don't have any effect on our health.
Here's a scenerio... I was just informed that a friend of mine has cancer. He doesn't smoke, doesn't live with anyone who smokes, lives a healthy lifestyle, eats well....etc. The only thing is his mother died of cancer.
Can this disease pop up in people who have done all the right things in life and still have it become dormant no longer.
I have seen people who smoke all their lives and not ever develop any type of cancer...then I seen people who don't smoke and they develop cancer.
It leaves me confused to see so many people suffer from cancer without having done anything to initiate and growing cells and it also infuriates me to know that the Cancer Association relates lung cancer to smokers. As soon as anyone know someone who has lung cancer, they automatically assume it's because of smoking which in some cases it is not. Why are they, in these cases, being singled out?
I want to thank all the posters here for their comments, advise, opinions, and suggestions. I really appreciate everyone's take on the subject.
Sue | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 7:48:03 PM | We all have genes...it's our environment (food being critical) that activates them.
Genes are not merely an element...genes are who we are....genes don't "react" to environment....environment activates them.
Environment can't be the orgin, for without genes, there is no environment for genes to grow.
Well, I believe the term "origin" misleads the reader, as clearly 'environment' is the origin, not the genes.
It's not so much about whether a gene causes cancer....more to do with IF it's activated. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/22/2007 8:37:21 PM | Sue....defining a healthy lifestyle and eating well can be conumdrums...just what are "all the right things in life"....scientists and philosophers have been working on it for millenia....I think it all boils down to body, (food) mind, (thought) and soul (etheral)...and how you act and react within (and to) these interactions.
From what I understand, smoking related statistics work like this...if 100 people died from lung cancer, and 60 of them were smokers, those 60 died because of smoking. period. All other factors excluded. Smoking is bad...no doubt about that....but....
"there are lies, damn lies and statistics"
Benjamin Disraeli | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/23/2007 5:29:23 AM |
Do a thread search next time, if you don't want your thread deleted for redundancy
I really don't get what the big deal is about if someone starts a thread on the same topic as another one. For petes sake, who gives a rats ass. I think your comment was rather harsh. What's the arm in trying to find information, and as she stated, she had done some type of search and didn't find exactly what she wanted. It's an important subject, every thread about it is good information in my eyes! | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/23/2007 7:19:50 AM | | ^^^^ I wouldn't worry so much about what sombient has written here. His post is a prime example of someone who doesn't read what he actually quotes. No worries....this thread is staying. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/23/2007 10:47:54 AM | | I have had cancer. It is not genetic. We all have the same chances of getting cancer. I asked that same question to my Doc, and that is what she told me. The advice I can tell you that she told me was to eat right and exercise. Don't smoke and drink in moderation. | |
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| Cancer: Is it genetic?
Posted: 4/23/2007 2:24:06 PM |
I wouldn't worry so much about what sombient has written here. His post is a prime example of someone who doesn't read what he actually quotes
I would like to apologize for my neglect to observe who is sombient. Please accept my apologies...I didn't realize you were female. Everytime I tried to look at your profile it kept telling me to log in and wouldn't let me view it. Again, my apologies. | |
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