CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Cancer - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z-DdVvE6sgYbqgNmk1HRBgAAARE","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Cancer","wgTitle":"Cancer","wgCurRevisionId":2689937,"wgRevisionId":2689937,"wgArticleId":5834,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Pages using DynamicPageList parser function","Biology","Cancer woo","Disease","Medicine","Human carcinogens"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Cancer","wgRelevantArticleId":5834,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[], "wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","ext.embedVideo.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","ext.embedVideo","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.embedVideo.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="If you are looking for the constellation of the same name instead, it's here"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Cancer"/> <meta property="og:description" content="If you are looking for the constellation of the same name instead, it's here"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Cancer"/>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Cancer rootpage-Cancer skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity</a>. </p> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><big><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">Fighting pseudoscience isn't free</a>.<br />We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with <img alt="PayPal Logo.png" src="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/61px-PayPal_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="61" height="17" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/92px-PayPal_Logo.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/122px-PayPal_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="883" data-file-height="244" />!</b></big><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=67BJMQC85CUFW" title="Donate via PayPal" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/100px-DonateButton.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="32" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/150px-DonateButton.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/200px-DonateButton.png 2x" data-file-width="759" data-file-height="241" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div role="progressbar" style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; position: relative; padding: 2px; border-radius: 18px;"> <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; left: 0%; margin: 0 0 0 10px"><b>Donations so far: $8765.50</b></span></a><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; right: 0%; margin: 0 10px 0 0"><b>Goal: $10000</b></span></a><div style="height: 28px; border-radius: 14px; background-color: hsl(70.124,100%,45%); width: 87.655%;"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">Cancer</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><table class="infobox" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="float: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 0.5em; text-align:left; border: 1px solid #33CC00; width:175px;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; color:White; background-color:#33CC00"><b>Live, reproduce, die</b><br /><a href="/wiki/Biology" title="Biology"><font size="4" color="White"><b>Biology</b></font></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="background-color:#e1ffd6;" align="center"><a href="/wiki/Category:Biology" title="Category:Biology"><img alt="Icon bioDNA.svg" src="/w/images/thumb/d/d1/Icon_bioDNA.svg/100px-Icon_bioDNA.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="100" srcset="/w/images/thumb/d/d1/Icon_bioDNA.svg/150px-Icon_bioDNA.svg.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/d/d1/Icon_bioDNA.svg/200px-Icon_bioDNA.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="200" data-file-height="200" /></a> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#33CC00; text-align:center;"><b>Life as we know it</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#e1ffd6;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Genetics" title="Genetics">Genetics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Evolution" title="Evolution">Evolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cell" title="Cell">Fundamental unit of life: The cell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zoology" class="mw-redirect" title="Zoology">Zoology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Botany" class="mw-redirect" title="Botany">Botany</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#33CC00; text-align:center;"><b>Divide and multiply</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#e1ffd6;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Speciesism" title="Speciesism">Speciesism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_descent" title="Common descent">Common descent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paleornithology" title="Paleornithology">Paleornithology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/HIV/AIDS" title="HIV/AIDS">HIV/AIDS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ebola" title="Ebola">Ebola</a></li></ul> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; color:White; background-color:#33CC00; text-align:center;"><b>Great Apes</b> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="font-size: 95%; background-color:#e1ffd6;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Stephen_Jay_Gould" title="Stephen Jay Gould">Stephen Jay Gould</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/PZ_Myers" title="PZ Myers">PZ Myers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pierre_Teilhard_de_Chardin" title="Pierre Teilhard de Chardin">Pierre Teilhard de Chardin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Richard_Lenski" title="Richard Lenski">Richard Lenski</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Denis_Noble" title="Denis Noble">Denis Noble</a></li></ul> <div class="vte plainlinks" style="font-size:smaller; text-align:center;"><a href="/wiki/Template:Biology" title="Template:Biology">v</a> - <a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Biology" title="Template talk:Biology">t</a> - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Biology&action=edit">e</a></div> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i>If you are looking for the constellation of the same name instead, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(constellation)" class="extiw" title="wp:Cancer (constellation)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Cancer (constellation)">it's here</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup></i> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/2/24/Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png/300px-Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="255" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/2/24/Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png/450px-Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/2/24/Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png/600px-Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="681" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Everything_you_eat_causes_cancer.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Everything you eat causes cancer <i>and</i> prevents it! (<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.vox.com/2016/2/23/11098968/health-journalism-ethics">Source</a>)</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>There are also people who say it's <a href="/wiki/Problem_of_evil" title="Problem of evil">God's curse on me</a> that I should have it near my throat because that was the organ of <a href="/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemy</a> which I used for so many years. I've used many other organs to blaspheme as well if it comes to that.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Christopher_Hitchens" title="Christopher Hitchens">Christopher Hitchens</a>, on the oesophageal cancer that later killed him<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Cancer</b> is an umbrella term for a class of diseases in which cells grow uncontrollably and spread throughout the body.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> Cancers are classified by the type of tissue and location in the body in which they originate,<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> though a cancer may spread (metastasise) to tissues other than those in which it originated. Cancer may be treated <a href="/wiki/Medicine" title="Medicine">medically</a> with surgery, <a href="/wiki/Radiation" title="Radiation">radiation</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Chemotherapy" title="Chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>. </p><p>Cancer sucks. The people who seek to profit from desperate cancer patients and their families by offering fake <a href="/wiki/Kevin_Trudeau" title="Kevin Trudeau">"cures"</a> also suck. </p><p>Due to the fear inspired by the disease, its victims are especially susceptible to charlatans. The number of quack treatments for cancer grows much faster than the number of real treatments. Purveyors of <a href="/wiki/Quackery" title="Quackery">quackery</a> are not limited to treatments <a href="/wiki/Scientific_method" title="Scientific method">tested scientifically</a>, which significantly speeds the marketing process. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Science.21"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Science!</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#In_a_nutshell"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">In a nutshell</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#Oncologists"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Oncologists</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Treatments"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Treatments</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Mainstream_.28working.29_therapies"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext"><i>Mainstream</i> (working) therapies</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Alternative_therapies"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Alternative therapies</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#List_of_quack_cancer_treatments"><span class="tocnumber">3.3</span> <span class="toctext">List of quack cancer treatments</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-8"><a href="#List_of_people_promoting_cancer_quackery"><span class="tocnumber">3.4</span> <span class="toctext">List of people promoting cancer quackery</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Cancer_and_chemophobia"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Cancer and chemophobia</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#Religion_and_cancer"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Religion and cancer</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Popular_sources_of_cancer_information"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Popular sources of cancer information</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-12"><a href="#Trustworthy_sources"><span class="tocnumber">6.1</span> <span class="toctext">Trustworthy sources</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="#Unreliable_trash"><span class="tocnumber">6.2</span> <span class="toctext">Unreliable trash</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-17"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span id="Science!"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Science.21">Science!</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Science!">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Cancer isn't a new thing. It's described as far back as antiquity in humans,<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> and it's been found at least as far back as the <a href="/wiki/Dinosaurs" class="mw-redirect" title="Dinosaurs">dinosaurs</a> in animals.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[note 1]</a></sup> And like many things in history, its origins have not been well understood. It has been attributed to countless (wrong) things — and still is in woo-land. </p><p>All normal (i.e., non-cancer) <a href="/wiki/Cells" class="mw-redirect" title="Cells">cells</a> in multi-celled animals undergo programmed cell death, called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/apoptosis" class="extiw" title="wp:apoptosis" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: apoptosis">apoptosis</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>. Between 50 and 70 billion cells (30 to 70 x 10<sup>9</sup>) per day die in adult humans due to apoptosis.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup> This is out of an estimated 3.7 × 10<sup>13</sup> cells in the human body<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[7]</a></sup>, so a complete cell turnover occurs about once every 2 or 3 years. </p><p>Apoptosis causes orderly cell death that enables phagocytes to clean up the dead cell before it damages neighboring cells.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a></sup> The process of apoptosis is encoded in <a href="/wiki/Gene" class="mw-redirect" title="Gene">genes</a> within <a href="/wiki/DNA" title="DNA">DNA</a>; if those genes fail, the cell may not die, and instead will continue reproducing itself. Defective apoptosis is a major causative factor in cancer.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> Carcinogens — substances that cause cancer — basically fall into five categories: </p> <ul><li>substances that cause chronic irritation, e.g. <a href="/wiki/Asbestos" title="Asbestos">asbestos</a></li> <li>chemical mutagens, i.e chemicals which cause damage to DNA directly or interact with DNA to cause errors in replication. These chemicals may be exogenous (e.g. benzo[a]pyrene in coal tar), or endogenous (e.g. reactive oxygen species produced by mitochondria)</li> <li>endogenous mediators which promote cell proliferation and/or inhibit apoptosis (i.e. hormones and growth factors)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Radiation" title="Radiation">radiation</a> (including sunlight and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cosmic_rays" class="extiw" title="wp:cosmic rays" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: cosmic rays">cosmic rays</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>)</li> <li>viruses (e.g., <a href="/wiki/HPV_vaccine" title="HPV vaccine">HPV</a> in anogenital cancers, EBV in certain lymphomas, HBV and HCV in hepatocellular carcinoma)</li></ul> <p>Genetic predisposition, typically involving inherited defects in tumor suppressor genes, is also a significant contributing factor to many cancers. For example, inherited mutations in the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1 increase the risk of developing cancer of the breast and other tissues.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a></sup> </p><p>One unusual source of cancer is inter-individual transmission of whole cancer cells, known as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/clonally_transmissible_cancer" class="extiw" title="wp:clonally transmissible cancer" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: clonally transmissible cancer">clonally transmissible cancer</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>. This has only been documented to occur in 4 species: Tasmanian devils (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_facial_tumour_disease" class="extiw" title="wp:Devil facial tumour disease" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Devil facial tumour disease">Devil facial tumour disease</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>), dogs (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/canine_transmissible_venereal_tumor" class="extiw" title="wp:canine transmissible venereal tumor" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: canine transmissible venereal tumor">canine transmissible venereal tumor</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>), Syrian hamsters (<i>Mesocricetus auratus</i>), and soft-shell clams (<i>Mya arenaria</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[11]</a></sup> One case of trans-species cancer was documented in an immuno-compromised man with both <a href="/wiki/HIV" class="mw-redirect" title="HIV">HIV</a> and cancerous cells from a dwarf tapeworm (<i>Hymenolepis nana</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[12]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[13]</a></sup> </p><p>Carcinogens have the potential to damage cells, and more specifically to damage the genes responsible for apoptosis. Carcinogens are unavoidable — they can be naturally-occurring or synthetic — but exposure to them can be reduced in some circumstances (e.g. not getting sunburned). </p><p>Regardless of the cause, if the immune system cannot <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_killer_cell" class="extiw" title="wp:Natural killer cell" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Natural killer cell">destroy</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> them <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytotoxic_T_cell" class="extiw" title="wp:Cytotoxic T cell" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Cytotoxic T cell">before</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, the cancer cell will start reproducing chaotically and stop being a productive member of the body. The bundle it creates as it does this is called a tumor, and is made up of fucked-up versions of the local tissue. The first effect is localized tissue disruption. As the tumor grows, it can become a large impediment to the transport of blood and other fluids. Cancer also doesn't always stay where it started. Metastasis is the name given to the process in which a cancer cell falls off the original group, travels through the bloodstream, and attaches elsewhere in the body. This causes destruction and, of particular interest to the patient, potentially requires more treatment in an area that was previously healthy. In many cases, the metastatic cells can do more damage than the original cancer. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="In_a_nutshell">In a nutshell</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: In a nutshell">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <center> <div class="thumb embedvideo autoResize" style="width: 648px;"><div class="embedvideo autoResize" style=""><div class="embedvideowrap" style="width: 640px;"><iframe title="Play video" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7tzaWOdvGMw?" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></div></div></div> </center> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Oncologists">Oncologists</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Oncologists">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>An oncologist is a <a href="/wiki/Medicine" title="Medicine">medical</a> doctor specialising in diagnosing and treating cancer.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[14]</a></sup> </p><p>Oncology is the medical branch of cancer treatment, focusing on <a href="/wiki/Diagnosis" title="Diagnosis">diagnosis</a> and <a href="/wiki/Chemotherapy" title="Chemotherapy">chemotherapy</a>. Surgical oncologists specialize in cancer operations, and <a href="/wiki/Radiation" title="Radiation">radiation</a> oncologists specialize in radiation therapy for cancer. </p><p>The field of oncology has made enormous strides in the last 10 years thanks to advances in <a href="/wiki/Molecular_biology" title="Molecular biology">molecular biology</a> and <a href="/wiki/Genetics" title="Genetics">genetics</a><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[note 2]</a></sup> that have allowed for more directed treatments of cancers. </p><p>As an example, Gleevec, used in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and a few other cancers, was developed as a targeted treatment,<sup id="cite_ref-gleevec_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gleevec-17">[15]</a></sup> an idea inconceivable 30 years ago. The genetic cause of CML was discovered to be a particular <a href="/wiki/Chromosome" title="Chromosome">chromosomal</a> abnormality, the so-called Philadelphia chromosome.<sup id="cite_ref-gleevec_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gleevec-17">[15]</a></sup> Gleevec specifically inhibits the protein made by this <a href="/wiki/Gene" class="mw-redirect" title="Gene">gene</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-gleevec_17-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gleevec-17">[15]</a></sup> This discovery would be impossible without the discoveries of modern genetics and <a href="/wiki/Biology" title="Biology">biology</a>, which in turn are a direct result of <a href="/wiki/Evolutionary_biology" title="Evolutionary biology">evolutionary biology</a>. </p><p>When discussing the relationship between <a href="/wiki/Abortion" title="Abortion">abortion</a>, pregnancy, and cancer of women's naughty bits, it is always advisable that the majority of your research comes from and is evaluated by oncologists. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Treatments">Treatments</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Treatments">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span id="Mainstream_(working)_therapies"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Mainstream_.28working.29_therapies"><i>Mainstream</i> (working) therapies</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Mainstream (working) therapies">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Surgery is the primary treatment modality for most solid tumors.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[16]</a></sup> It has the advantage of being potentially curative in cases where the tumor has not yet metastasized beyond its site of origin. Surgery may also be carried out with palliative intent.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[note 3]</a></sup> Which surgical options will be available to the patient will depend on the tumor type, the extent of spread (stage), the anatomical site involved, and the patient's fitness to undergo surgery. A particularly common and well known example is <a href="/wiki/Breast" title="Breast">mastectomy</a>. The reason why ablation is <i>better</i> is because it is definitive, reliable and other treatments affect the whole body as well as the affected zone. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Chemotherapy" title="Chemotherapy">Chemotherapy</a> refers to the treatment of cancer using chemical agents with selective toxicity towards neoplastic cells. This is a heterogeneous group of agents with a variety of mechanisms of action. Many of the older drugs work by attacking the faster-reproducing tumor cells, by either targeting the cell-division mechanism, or targeting the chemical process of cell division. Some of the newer chemotherapeutic agents target specific molecular alterations in tumor cells. These include small-molecule inhibitors (such as imatinib, targeted to the BCR-ABL fusion protein in chronic myeloid leukemia), and monoclonal antibodies (such as trastuzamab, targeted to the HER2 receptor amplified in subtypes of breast cancer). In the case of most solid tumors, chemotherapy is given as an adjuvant to surgery or radiotherapy, or as part of a palliative care regimen. Chemotherapy alone is rarely curative, with the exception of certain leukemias and lymphomas. Many chemotherapy drugs are either known or suspected carcinogens, so there is also a risk of treatment-related cancer occurring in later years if the original cancer is cured. As chemotherapeutic agents are generally toxic to non-tumor tissue, the dose needs to be carefully titrated so as to maximize treatment effect while keeping side effects to a tolerable level. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Radiation" title="Radiation">Radiation</a> is also a common treatment, and is more often used for localized cancers, such as prostate cancer. Most radiotherapy involves the emission of ionizing radiation from an external source. An alternative treatment is brachytherapy, in which a radioactive material is implanted directly into the tumor mass. Like chemotherapy, radiation is also carcinogenic and there is a risk of treatment related cancer occurring some years after the initial treatment. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Alternative_therapies">Alternative therapies</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Alternative therapies">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>There is a fine line between <a href="/wiki/Holistic_medicine" class="mw-redirect" title="Holistic medicine">holistic medicine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Woo" title="Woo">woo</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[note 4]</a></sup> If offered in support of standard medical care, and with the doctor's approval, things like massage, nutritional therapy, acupuncture, yoga, and meditation have been shown scientifically to have a calming effect, to have a restorative effect, and to offer a level of pain management for such chronic illnesses. Even things completely without actual benefit - like <a href="/wiki/Crystal_healing" title="Crystal healing"> crystals</a>, remote <a href="/wiki/Prayer" title="Prayer">prayer</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Magnetic_therapy" title="Magnetic therapy"> magnets</a> - might help to calm a patient, and they can do no harm. </p><p>The danger is when alternative therapies turn into woo. Look out for people telling you they "cure" you with their alternative therapies. Question how much they are charging for the services — is it a job,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[note 5]</a></sup> or are they profiting on your pain? Most importantly, anyone advising you not tell your doctor about the "treatment" or that you should do the "treatment" against doctor's orders — or the single worst, that you forgo modern medicine for the "treatment" — should be instantly decried. </p><p>It doesn't help anyone that 88% of treatment-related products and services advertised on cancer-care related websites aren't scientifically validated to help with the cancers they claim to.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[17]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="List_of_quack_cancer_treatments">List of quack cancer treatments</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: List of quack cancer treatments">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cansema" class="mw-redirect" title="Cansema">Cansema</a> or Black Salve (often used in conjunction with <a href="/wiki/DMSO" title="DMSO">DMSO</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Color_therapy" title="Color therapy">Color therapy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Faith_healing" title="Faith healing">Faith healing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fasting" title="Fasting">Fasting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gerson_Therapy" title="Gerson Therapy">Gerson Therapy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kabbalah_water" title="Kabbalah water">Kabbalah water</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kombucha" title="Kombucha">Kombucha</a> tea</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Laetrile" title="Laetrile">Laetrile</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lemonade_Diet" class="mw-redirect" title="Lemonade Diet">Lemonade Diet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oxygen_therapy" title="Oxygen therapy">Oxygen therapy</a> i.e. hydrogen peroxide and ozone</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ryke_Geerd_Hamer" title="Ryke Geerd Hamer">New German Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shark_cartilage" title="Shark cartilage">Shark cartilage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shiitake_mushroom" title="Shiitake mushroom">Shiitake mushroom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Escozine" title="Escozine">Escozine</a></li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="List_of_people_promoting_cancer_quackery">List of people promoting cancer quackery</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: List of people promoting cancer quackery">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Josh_Axe" title="Josh Axe">Josh Axe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ty_Bollinger" title="Ty Bollinger">Ty Bollinger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hulda_Clark" title="Hulda Clark">Hulda Clark</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phillip_Day" title="Phillip Day">Phillip Day</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Leonard_Coldwell" title="Leonard Coldwell">Leonard Coldwell</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Barry_Lynes" title="Barry Lynes">Barry Lynes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gary_Null" title="Gary Null">Gary Null</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anthony_William" title="Anthony William">Anthony William</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nasha_Winters" title="Nasha Winters">Nasha Winters</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Cancer_and_chemophobia">Cancer and chemophobia</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Cancer and chemophobia">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:1900-2010.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/4/48/1900-2010.jpeg/300px-1900-2010.jpeg" decoding="async" width="300" height="222" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/4/48/1900-2010.jpeg/450px-1900-2010.jpeg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/4/48/1900-2010.jpeg/600px-1900-2010.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="998" data-file-height="739" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:1900-2010.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Causes of death in the U.S in 1900 and 2010.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[18]</a></sup></div></div></div> <p>A very common claim is that there are more cases of cancer than ever before because people are now exposed to <a href="/wiki/Chemophobia" title="Chemophobia">synthetic chemicals</a> and artificial food additives more often than in the <a href="/wiki/Good_old_days" title="Good old days">good old days</a> when everyone <a href="/wiki/Appeal_to_nature" title="Appeal to nature">lived naturally</a>. The main problem with this argument is that the increase can be attributed to longer lifespans; cancer is primarily a disease of old age.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[19]</a></sup> In the "good old days", life expectancy was significantly lower. In the 20th century, infectious disease mortality in the United States declined from 797 to 59 deaths per 100,000.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[20]</a></sup> Childbirth carried a substantial risk of death, with a maternal fatality rate of over 400 maternal deaths per 100,000 births,<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[21]</a></sup> compared to 17.4 per 100,000 pregnancies in the US in 2018.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[22]</a></sup> Newborns had about as high a chance to see their fifth birthday as newborns today in many African countries. When the incidence of these diseases declined (or disappeared, in the case of smallpox) due to better treatment and prevention, including <a href="/wiki/Vaccines" class="mw-redirect" title="Vaccines">vaccines</a> and hygiene, the people who were saved went on to live into middle age, when they consequently got cancer. This is what happens when a disease is cured: the people who would have died from disease X go on to live longer, and eventually die of disease Y. There is thus a rise in the number of cases of disease Y, but not because there are more triggers for it. On the chart at right, you can see that there were indeed more cases of cancer in 2010 than in 1900. However, there are many diseases in 1900 that are completely absent in 2010, and the total number of deaths overall is much lower in 2010. </p><p>This is in fact a common theme in alternative medicine: hundreds of years ago, people weren't exposed to X, and they didn't get disease Y, and therefore modern cases of Y are because of the new factor X. In other words, correlation is taken to be proof of causation. In a world where cancer were cured, there would be many more cases of Alzheimer's than there are now, and (presumably) many more people would be saying, "People back then lived more naturally and didn't get Alzheimer's. Clearly, this disease must be due to synthetic chemicals," when obviously it's really because during those times of "natural" living, fewer people reached old age, when Alzheimer's strikes. A reversed form of this reasoning may also be used: "Back then, people were exposed to X, and they didn't get Y, so X doesn't cause Y." This may be used by some to argue, for instance, that exposure to the sun doesn't cause skin cancer. Of course, this is fallacious, as can be shown if X and Y are replaced with "tobacco" and "cancer". </p><p>Another major problem with this argument is that many of the top causes of cancer — <a href="/wiki/Tobacco" class="mw-redirect" title="Tobacco">tobacco</a>, <a href="/wiki/Alcohol" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>, an unhealthy diet, viruses — are perfectly natural. Tobacco is estimated to account for 25% of all cancer deaths and 86% of lung cancer deaths.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[23]</a></sup> </p><p>Certainly, this does not mean that pollutants are not carcinogenic, but their effect is relatively small. And the argument also fails to take into account that many pollutants are actually <i>less</i> likely to get into your body today than they were a hundred years ago. Chimneys now have filters, cars run on unleaded fuel and emission standards keep getting tougher. Fewer people work in "dirty" industries and those that do have <s>beautiful <a href="/wiki/Clean_coal" title="Clean coal">clean coal</a></s> stricter safety rules and better protection than ever before. In Roman times every mine calculated a number of workers to die per given time - and that's before accounting for the effect the dust had on the lungs of workers and all the other things that did them in if they didn't die in one of the frequent cave-ins. Furthermore, science keeps advancing and many substances that were once used with abandon (like <a href="/wiki/Lead" title="Lead">lead</a> or <a href="/wiki/DDT" title="DDT">DDT</a>) are now banned for almost all uses and many others are phased out. </p><p>One of the alleged causes of cancer is the synthetic pesticides found in non-<a href="/wiki/Organic" class="mw-redirect" title="Organic">organic</a> food. However, the amount of pesticide left in conventional food when it reaches the store is very small and <a href="/wiki/The_dose_makes_the_poison" title="The dose makes the poison">at a safe level</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[24]</a></sup> In addition, organic food also contains pesticides, since organic farmers are allowed to spray pesticides too; the only difference is in the <i>type</i> of insect poison they're allowed to use. This doesn't really help, because natural pesticides are at least as toxic as conventional ones.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">[25]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[26]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Religion_and_cancer">Religion and cancer</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Religion and cancer">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Because cancer and other forms of deformities are the results of the curse of sin, I believe that scientists are probably wasting their time in trying find cures. In the end, their efforts will either amount to nothing or they will invoke God's wrath.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Rapture_Ready" title="Rapture Ready">Rapture Ready</a>, "Does God approve of cloning and genetic research?"<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">[27]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>In his book, <i>More Than Just Comfort: An Answer to Cancer</i>, <a href="/wiki/Fundamentalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Fundamentalist">fundamentalist</a> <a href="/wiki/Christian" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian">Christian</a> <a href="/wiki/Ray_Comfort" title="Ray Comfort">Ray Comfort</a> recommended never taking pain medicine, and claimed it is better not to be cured of cancer than to go to <a href="/wiki/Hell" title="Hell">Hell</a> (i.e., that to accept medical treatment rather than hope for "a miracle cure from God" is to invite damnation).<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[28]</a></sup> That is some cold, cold comfort. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Popular_sources_of_cancer_information">Popular sources of cancer information</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Popular sources of cancer information">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Trustworthy_sources">Trustworthy sources</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Trustworthy sources">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="div-col columns column-count column-count-2" style="-moz-column-count: 2; -webkit-column-count: 2; column-count: 2;"> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cancer.org/">American Cancer Society</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/">Cancer Research UK</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cdc.gov/">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fda.gov/">Food and Drug Administration</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.iarc.fr/">International Agency for Research on Cancer</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/">Mayo Clinic</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mskcc.org/">Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cancer.gov/">National Cancer Institute</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/">National Toxicology Program</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Quackwatch" title="Quackwatch">Quackwatch</a></li></ul></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Unreliable_trash">Unreliable trash</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Unreliable trash">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="div-col columns column-count column-count-2" style="-moz-column-count: 2; -webkit-column-count: 2; column-count: 2;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/CANCERactive" title="CANCERactive">CANCERactive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cancer_Control_Society" title="Cancer Control Society">Cancer Control Society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cancer_Tutor" title="Cancer Tutor">Cancer Tutor</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/GreenMedInfo" title="GreenMedInfo">GreenMedInf</a><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.greenmedinfo.com">o</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Mercola" title="Joseph Mercola">Joseph Mercola</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NaturalNews" title="NaturalNews">NaturalNews</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ty_Bollinger" title="Ty Bollinger">The Truth About Cancer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Whale.to" title="Whale.to">whale.to</a></li></ul></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">Homeopathy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cancer_woo" title="Category:Cancer woo">Category:Cancer woo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Michael_Uzick" title="Michael Uzick">Michael Uzick</a>, an example of a cancer naturopath, AKA, quack</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Robin_Falkov" title="Robin Falkov">Robin Falkov</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cancer.org">American Cancer Society</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/cancer.html">Questionable Cancer Therapies</a>, <a href="/wiki/Quackwatch" title="Quackwatch">Quackwatch</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/harmquack.html">How Quackery Harms Cancer Patients</a>, Quackwatch</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/EnforcementActivitiesbyFDA/ucm171057.htm">187 Fake Cancer Cures</a> (FDA)</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2001/sep/06/medicalscience.healthandwellbeing">Everything gives you cancer</a>, which just goes to show that <a href="/wiki/The_dose_makes_the_poison" title="The dose makes the poison">the dose makes the poison</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/cancer/in-depth/cancer-causes/art-20044714">Cancer causes: Popular myths about the causes of cancer</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dinosaurs evidently didn't write any treatises on its causes and symptoms.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">fields that rely on <a href="/wiki/Evolution" title="Evolution">evolutionary</a> theory</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Palliative care is care targeted at relief from symptoms, rather than treatment of their underlying cause.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Start by seeing who is making money, and how much.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Everyone has a right to a decent living.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Miller, Drew. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210323213254/https://www.mic.com/articles/70111/6-wild-quotes-from-christopher-hitchens-that-will-remind-you-why-you-re-an-atheist">6 Wild Quotes From Christopher Hitchens That Will Remind You Why You're An Atheist.</a> Mic. October 26, 2013. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://mic.com/articles/70111/6-wild-quotes-from-christopher-hitchens-that-will-remind-you-why-you-re-an-atheist#.0aayCvRsU">the original</a> on March 23, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210916210414/https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer">What is Cancer?</a> National Cancer Institute. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer">the original</a> on September 16, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210818080725/https://training.seer.cancer.gov/disease/categories/classification.html">Cancer Classification.</a> National Cancer Institute. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://training.seer.cancer.gov/disease/categories/classification.html">the original</a> on August 18, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20960499">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20960499</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2003/oct/23/dinosaurs.science">Dinosaurs suffered from cancer too</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Karam, Jose A. (2009). <i>Apoptosis in Carcinogenesis and Chemotherapy</i>. Netherlands: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4020-9597-9.<i></i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23829164">An estimation of the number of cells in the human body</a> by E. Banconi et al. <i>An. Hum. Biol.</i> 2013 Nov-Dec;40(6):463-71. doi: 10.3109/03014460.2013.807878.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Arandjelovic, Sanja, and Kodi S Ravichandran. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210919002126/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4826466/">Phagocytosis of apoptotic cells in homeostasis.</a> Nature immunology vol. 16,9 (2015): 907-17. doi:10.1038/ni.3253. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4826466/">the original</a> on September 19, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/2/6/573">Why Target Apoptosis in Cancer Treatment?</a> by Shailaja Kasibhatla1 & Ben Tseng, <i>Mol. Cancer Ther.</i> June 2003 2; 573.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet">http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/genetics/brca-fact-sheet</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/contagious-cancer-found-clams">Contagious cancer found in clams: Third example of transmissible malignancy poses no threat to people</a> by Tina Hesman Saey (12:00pm, April 9, 2015) <i>Science News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.sciencenews.org/article/parasite-gives-man-cancer?mode=magazine&context=191158&tgt=nr">Parasite gives a man cancer: In rare case, a patient’s weakened immune system may have let tapeworm spread disease</a> by Tina Hesman Saey (5:00pm, November 4, 2015) <i>Science News</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505892">Malignant transformation of Hymenolepis nana in a human host</a> by A. Muehlenbachs et al. <i>New England Journal of Medicine</i> Vol. 373, November 5, 2015, p. 1845. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1505892.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Mandal, Ananya. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210411003315/https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Oncology.aspx">What is Oncology?</a> News Medical. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Oncology.aspx">the original</a> on April 11, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-gleevec-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gleevec_17-0">15.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gleevec_17-1">15.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-gleevec_17-2">15.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210916072529/https://www.cancer.gov/research/progress/discovery/gleevec">How Imatinib Transformed Leukemia Treatment and Cancer Research.</a> National Cancer Institute. April 11, 2018. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cancer.gov/research/progress/discovery/gleevec">the original</a> on September 16, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210916073315/https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/">Overview.</a> <i>Cancer</i>. NHS. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/cancer/">the original</a> on September 16, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/107/5/djv079.full">Products Advertised on Personalized Cancer Care Websites: True or False Claims?</a>, Oxford Journals, <i>Journal of the National Cancer Institute</i>, Volume 107, Issue 5</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1113569">The Burden of Disease and the Changing Task of Medicine</a>, N Engl J Med 2012; 366:2333-2338.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cd-mc/cancer/ccs-scc-2012-eng.php">Canadian Cancer Statistics 2012</a>, Public Health Agency of Canada.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Armstrong, G L et al. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210904162034/https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9892452/">Trends in infectious disease mortality in the United States during the 20th century.</a> JAMA vol. 281,1 (1999): 61-6. doi:10.1001/jama.281.1.61. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9892452/">the original</a> on September 4, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Irvine Loudon, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210614150146/https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/72/1/241S/4729611">Maternal mortality in the past and its relevance to developing countries today,</a> The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 72, Issue 1, July 2000, Pages 241S–246S, <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/72.1.241S">https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/72.1.241S</a>. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/72/1/241S/4729611">the original</a> on June 14, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210825175421/https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/index.htm">Maternal Mortality.</a> National Center for Health Statistics. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/maternal-mortality/index.htm">the original</a> on August 25, 2021.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-info/cancerstats/mortality/cancerdeaths/">Cancer mortality for common cancers</a>, Cancer Research UK.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html"><i>"Organic" Foods: Certification Does Not Protect Consumers</i></a>, Stephen Barret, M.D., <a href="/wiki/Quackwatch" title="Quackwatch">Quackwatch</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://c2cjournal.ca/2013/01/peeking-behind-the-veil-the-artificial-promises-of-organic-food/">Peeking behind the veil: The artificial promises of organic food</a>, Mark Hanson, C2C Journal.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.realclearscience.com/articles/2012/10/28/organic_food_lies_damned_lies__dr_oz_106392.html">Organic Food: Lies, Damned Lies & Dr. Oz</a>, Jeff Stier, RealClearScience, October 28, 2012.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-32">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq448.html">http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq448.html</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Comfort">Wikiquote: Ray Comfort</a></span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Cancer&oldid=2689937">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Cancer&oldid=2689937</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Biology" title="Category:Biology">Biology</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cancer_woo" title="Category:Cancer woo">Cancer woo</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Disease" title="Category:Disease">Disease</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Medicine" title="Category:Medicine">Medicine</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Human_carcinogens" title="Category:Human carcinogens">Human carcinogens</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden category: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_DynamicPageList_parser_function" title="Category:Pages using DynamicPageList parser function">Pages using DynamicPageList parser function</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-navigation"> <h2>Navigation menu</h2> <div id="mw-head">  <nav id="p-personal" class="vector-menu" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-personal-label"> <span>Personal tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="pt-anonuserpage">Not logged in</li><li id="pt-anontalk"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n">Talk</a></li><li id="pt-anoncontribs"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y">Contributions</a></li><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Cancer" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory">Create account</a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Cancer" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o">Log in</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="left-navigation">  <nav id="p-namespaces" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-namespaces-label"> <span>Namespaces</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Cancer" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Page</a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Cancer" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Talk</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-variants" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" /> <h3 id="p-variants-label"> <span>Variants</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation">  <nav id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-views-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-views-label"> <span>Views</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-view" class="collapsible selected"><a href="/wiki/Cancer">Read</a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e">Edit</a></li><li id="ca-history" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">Fossil record</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" /> <h3 id="p-cactions-label"> <span>More</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="p-search" role="search"> <h3 > <label for="searchInput">Search</label> </h3> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"> <div id="simpleSearch"> <input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search RationalWiki" title="Search RationalWiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/> <input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-panel"> <div id="p-logo" role="banner"> <a title="Visit the main page" class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page"></a> </div>  <nav id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal portal-first" aria-labelledby="p-navigation-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-navigation-label"> <span>Navigation</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li><li id="n-randompage"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random mainspace article [x]" accesskey="x">Random page</a></li><li id="n-New-pages"><a href="/wiki/Special:NewPages">New pages</a></li><li id="n-All-logs"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log">All logs</a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="RTFM">Help</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-support" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-support-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-support-label"> <span>Support</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Donate"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Site_support">Donate</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-community" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-community-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-community-label"> <span>Community</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Saloon-bar"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Saloon_bar">Saloon bar</a></li><li id="n-To-do-list"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:To_do_list">To do list</a></li><li id="n-What-is-going-on.3F"><a href="/wiki/WIGO">What is going on?</a></li><li id="n-Best-of-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Contents">Best of RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-About-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki">About RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-Technical-support"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Technical_support">Technical support</a></li><li id="n-Mod-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:All_things_in_moderation">Mod noticeboard</a></li><li id="n-RMF-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:RationalMedia_Foundation">RMF noticeboard</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-Social media" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-Social media-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-Social media-label"> <span>Social media</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/RationalWiki" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></li><li id="n-Mastodon"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@rationalwiki" rel="nofollow">Mastodon</a></li><li id="n-Facebook"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rationalwiki/226614404019306" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></li><li id="n-Discord"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Discord">Discord</a></li><li id="n-Reddit"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Reddit">Reddit</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-tb" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-tb-label"> <span>Tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Cancer" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Cancer" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="javascript:print();" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&oldid=2689937" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Cancer&action=info" title="More information about this page">Page information</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" role="contentinfo" > <ul id="footer-info" > <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 26 October 2024, at 20:42.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Unless explicitly noted otherwise, all content licensed as indicated by <a name="Copyright" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights">RationalWiki:Copyrights</a>. <br> For concerns on copyright infringement please see: <a name="Copyright infringement" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyright_violations">RationalWiki:Copyright violations</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" > <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Privacy_policy" title="RationalWiki:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:About" class="mw-redirect" title="RationalWiki:About">About RationalWiki</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:General_disclaimer" title="RationalWiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img src="/w/88x31.png" alt="CC-BY-SA 3.0, or any later version" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </footer> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.090","walltime":"0.159","ppvisitednodes":{"value":1170,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":14047,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":5205,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":10,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":16438,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 66.326 1 -total"," 47.26% 31.347 1 Template:Biology"," 43.46% 28.823 1 Template:Navsidebar"," 37.24% 24.703 2 Template:Navsidebar2"," 34.73% 23.036 2 Template:Randomarticles"," 14.52% 9.629 2 Template:Reflist"," 11.34% 7.522 2 Template:Collist"," 5.85% 3.877 2 Template:Div_col"," 5.20% 3.448 2 Template:Cquote"," 4.51% 2.990 8 Template:Wpl"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"apache5","timestamp":"20250324041934","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":266,"wgHostname":"apache5"});});</script></body></html>