#215 Is Cancer Genetic?

Horrible journalism strikes again with Global New's post:

 

"Reality check: Is cancer a disease that strikes at random?"

 

The article stinks because it's a misleading mess of context dropping and oversimplification of not only cancer, but of human physiology as well.

 

The article states that gene duplicating errors are responsible for cancer. Every time one of your body's cells need to grow and be replaced the body has to duplicate one of your existing cells. Sometimes there are mistakes or mutations when this cell copying takes place, and the study claims that those mistakes are responsible for the vast majority of those cancers.

 

Unfortunately, there are just a few (sarcastic) details left out of the equation.

 

Does the health of the cellular environment have an impact on the quality of replication?

 

Does the body have any mechanism (immune system, RNA molecules) of correcting those replication errors?

 

Does the quality of raw building material have anything to do what kind of cells you have?

 

What about all the data that states that cancer's have different genetic profiles?

 

I'm not suggesting for one second that cancer does not have a genetic component to it, I'm just saying this is article is bad, misleading and can direct you toward a hopeless victim mentality in no time flat.

 

Many good, strong and healthy people are diagnosed with cancer, while others who live unhealthy lives are not. The job of science is to find out why this is happening. 

 

What we cover:

• The physiology of cancer and why genes can or can't play a varying role. 
• Your genes are the loaded gun, but your lifestyle pulls the trigger - what you can do about cancer.
• Why having the "I can't do anything about it" attitude is a dangerous attitude to have, even if (in all reality) you can't do anything about it.

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