Why cancer was called cancer: a story from Hippocrates to the present

Sometimes people do not even think about the history of the origin of some of the familiar terms. For example, a disease called cancer, which causes a shiver throughout the body in people suffering from carcinogenesis. Hides deep meaning in history, because there is a reason why cancer was called cancer.

The Hippocratic Times

The Great Hippocrates described over a thousand diseases that have come down to us. His eye did not pass over cancer patients, in particular, women suffering from neoplasm in the area of ​​the mammary glands. But why was it called cancer?

The story says that the great healer gave the name because of the characteristic seal, which, according to Hippocrates, was reminiscent of arthropods. In Latin, cancer is called cancer, which is why cancer is called cancer. Since then, the disease was considered incurable, it continued until the beginning of the formation and development of surgery, when finally the doctors were able to remove the malignant formation.

The mechanism of the appearance of tumors

The science that studies the causes, as well as the treatment of tumors, is called oncology. The causes of the disease can be listed for a very long time, however, scientists agreed that the uncontrolled process of cell division is caused by their mutation. Substances that cause changes in cell DNA are called carcinogens. In a role of carcinogens absolutely any substances act, all depends individually from a genotype of the person.

The viral theory of cancer is also proved. According to her, there are certain viruses that can act on cells in such a way that they "cut" the place in the DNA molecule responsible for apoptosis( cell death).Such viruses include:

• human papillomavirus;
• hepatitis B viruses, C.

In numerous studies, the relationship between ionizing radiation and cancer has been proven. This is justified, since radioactive isotopes damage a DNA molecule, destroying its bonds.

Food plays a significant role in human life, because no living organism can live without nutrients. It is known that some products can activate the oncological process in the individual.

Prospects for treatment

The most terrible part of medicine is oncology, the reasons for this lie in the prevalence and regular death of people. It is believed that every eighth inhabitant of the planet dies from this terrible disease. None of this is insured, so the main investments of rich people are directed to projects that can find a panacea for cancer. It is known that the cancer cell behaves very aggressively, and it is almost impossible to save a person in the late stages, that's why cancer was called cancer. After all, most doctors can detect the development of the process already in the third stage.

To date, medicine is able to cure absolutely any cancer in the early stages. There is an effective treatment for cancer patients, giving a positive effect, even the true cancer( melanoma) scientists managed to overcome in the initial stage, until the tumor spread to the organs.

The problem in the medical world is the fact that cancer cells in the human body are formed every minute. True, the immune system and programmed cell death are capable of stopping the process on their own. Nevertheless, in some people there is a failure in the body, when the immune system ceases to fight with atypical cells.

How to diagnose a disease?

The first criterion that encourages people to visit a doctor's office is bulging or pain in various parts of the body. Ignoring the planned medical examination leads to the fact that doctors detect a tumor at a late stage. Carcinoma in the early stages gives general clinical manifestations:

• increased fatigue;
• disability reduction;
• general malaise;
• pallor of the skin;
• discomfort in the body.

Some tumors are manifested by a specific clinic, it all depends on the histological structure of the tumor, localization. That's why cancer was called cancer, because it's the only disease that does not have pronounced clinical manifestations, slowly killing a person. To make sure that this is a cancer, it is necessary to conduct a biopsy, and only this study will be able to fully indicate the nature of the neoplasm.

In addition, as the DNA molecule was deciphered, scientists were able to detect oncological genes, which they called oncomarkers. They allow you to make sure of a predisposition to a specific type of cancer.

Prevention measures

Prevention is the future of medicine. Mankind has learned to prevent dangerous diseases by vaccination. Unfortunately, this could not be achieved with cancer cells, since there is a completely different, more complex, development mechanism that requires innovations in genetic engineering. It was possible to create a vaccine against cervical cancer, but it is at the stage of clinical testing and does not give a full guarantee that the disease can not hit the woman.