2015-10-25

Understanding Cancer - The Cancer Series part 6


It was a while ago the Cancer Series made an appearance, so let me refresh your minds. In the latest part of the Cancer Series (part 5) we learned about oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. As you recall, oncogenes are like the gas is stuck on a car. Mutations in oncogenes changes the appearance of the protein the gene codes for so drastically that the protein that is supposed to turn it off cannot recognise it anymore. So the oncogene is stuck on "On" and tells the cell to grow and grow and grow... Tumour suppressor genes are like the brake of a car. They tell cells to stop growing. However mutations in tumour suppressor genes is like losing the brakes of the car, so suddenly there is nothing that can stop the cell.

There are many different types of treatments against cancer though. There is no real cure, because as you remember in part 3 we discussed how all cancers are unique. However there are different methods, with varying preciseness that exist against cancer. I thought we'd talk about the treatments that are used in this part.

The most obvious way to treat a cancer is to cut the tumour out of the body, which is called resection. Resection is not always possible, the tumour might be growing in a way where it is impossible to cut it out. And even when it is possible to resect the tumour, it is difficult to know if every single cancer cell has been resected, and cancers can grow back.

The next step of treatments are chemotherapy and radiation. Starting with chemotherapy; it's different types of drugs that is injected into the bloodstream and therefore affect the whole body. It's a very blunt and unprecise method. Chemotherapies affect all cells in the body that are growing rapidly. Which means that cancer cells are targeted, but also normal healthy cells that grow rapidly, for example hair cells, and cells inside the gut. This is the reason for the many horrible side-effects of chemotherapy, with e.g. digestive/intestinal symptoms and hair loss.

Radiation is also one method of treatment that is quite blunt. The radiation used for cancer therapy is ionising radiation. The way it works is that it tears DNA to pieces. The DNA in the cancer cells gets so mangled up that the cancer cell can no longer make copies of the DNA, which means it can no longer grow or divide, so it dies. However radiation does not target just cancer cells, but all cells it "touches". The radiation is of course aimed right at the tumour, but nearby healthy cells will be affected.

This time we discussed the methods of treatments that are available against cancer. We discussed how they are all quite blunt and unprecise methods. In the next part I will tell you about the new generation of treatments that are just starting to be used, and that has/will revolutionise cancer treatment!

On to the outfit...



This dress makes me smile because it's got all the things I love in a dress. It's got long, lovely sleeves, a cute little collar, beautiful pleats and the cutest polka dots! Also, it's pink, so you've got to love that too. And it's a nice mellow shade of pink, so I don't feel too "Barbie" wearing it, even thought it's terribly cute in every other way.



Dress: ModCloth (old)
Tights: Primark

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend!
Much love

12 comments:

  1. Amazing

    FOLLOW my Blog!!! Maybe we can follow each other!!!
    http://rimanerenellamemoria.blogspot.de

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  2. Thanks for this new cancer series post! Chemotherapy and radiations are quite dangerous in a way, as they can affect other aspects of the patient's health... I guess it's a blessing in disguise :(
    Your dress is super cute! It has everything that I like too :D the pleats add to the cuteness of the collar and dots!

    Julia xx

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    1. Aww, thank you! I wouldn't say they are dangerous, but most medicines are toxic in high doses, which is why the dosage is so very important. And that of course goes for chemotherapies as well. Both chemo and radiation have very horrible side effects, but then again all drugs have side effects, so in that case you would have to say that all drugs are dangerous. And it suddenly becomes very hard to treat patients if drugs are considered dangerous.

      Thank you so much. Ah, you like the same things as me in a dress! :D I agree, I think the pleats really added to it.

      Much love

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  3. Another post in which I learned something new. I have been aware of the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation but didn't know the exact cause..so, thank you for explaining that it also attacks other "rapidly growing cells in the body, like hair and cells inside the stomach."
    And that dress is so CUTE! You look so darling in it! And I love the way you styled your hair, too!

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    1. Oh yay! I'm glad you learned something new. Yeah unfortunately chemo targets lots of cells, and isn't specific at all. Which is horrible. But there's a few drugs out there now that are more specific than chemotherapies.

      Aww, thanks! I think it is very cute too. Thank you, you flatter me too much!

      Much love

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  4. Thank you for this post! I knew a little about chemo and surgery, but I didn't know how radiation worked at all. Having seen what chemo and radiation can do to someone, it makes me really happy that there are other treatments on the horizon. And as a bit of happy news, I found out this weekend that my grandma is in remission for lymphoma! Wooo!

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    1. Oh it was my pleasure writing it. I love that people are interested in these things.
      Yes, I agree with you. Chemo and radiation are horrible, and we need more precise methods of treating cancer.
      Oh yay! So happy for you and your grandmother, that's great news! Yaaay!
      Much love to you and your grandma! <3

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  5. thank you for the post Mona, i am finding these understanding cancer posts so interesting and learning something new with each one. also, lovely dress! :)

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    1. Thank you Beth! I'm so happy you are learning new stuff, that was my goal!
      Aww, thanks! I do care for it very much. It's cutesy!
      Much love

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  6. I'm really, really enjoying the cancer series Curls n Cakes!! I actually find it quite refreshing, and like how you have included your regular fashion post with each entry. I think this was a stellar idea and you are doing a great job of dumbing it down, because I think I'm actually understanding it. I'm looking forward to the next one.

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    1. Hey! Thank you so very much!
      I'm glad you are able to follow and understand it. That was always my goal for the Cancer Series. I'm so happy you like it. It's one of my big passions, so it means a lot to me to see the positive response to it!
      Thank you so much for leaving such a lovely comment. Have a nice day!
      Much love

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