How why does cancer kill you

The bone marrow if a spongy material that fills the bones. It produces very early cells called stem cells which then develop into new blood cells. Eventually, you might not have enough healthy bone marrow to make new:. The liver is the chemical factory of the body. It carries out many tasks and is very important in maintaining the balance of body chemicals. A cancer that has spread to the liver can upset this chemical balance. Cancers can grow into and damage blood vessels in a vital part of the body.

This can cause bleeding. For example bleeding in the brain is a stroke, which can be fatal if the body can't control it. Many treatments can control cancer for a long time, even if they can't cure it. But if a cancer continues to grow, then it can become too much for the body to cope with. Talking about dying can be very difficult and people often avoid the subject. Sharing your feelings can help everyone involved to cope better. Dying is something most people worry about at some point.

Talking about the way the cancer is affecting your body can help to lessen at least some of those worries. What happens in the last days of life is different for everyone. Many people are relieved to find out that they, or their relative, are likely to become unconscious shortly before they die. When someone is dying with cancer, they and their carers can get help and support. While the emotional and physical tolls of cancer are often clear, it can be confusing as to how, exactly, cancer kills someone.

Is it due to the cancer itself? And does it vary depending on the type of cancer a person has? This can be a terrifying topic to discuss with a doctor or loved one, depending on your situation. But sometimes you need answers to even the scariest questions. Here, we spoke to several oncologists to explain how cancer can lead to death. It can be easy to forget how intricate human biology is, but your body is made up of trillions of cells.

In order to function properly, these cells are constantly growing and dividing to form new cells, the NCI explains. In the normal cellular cycle, cells that become old or damaged die off and get replaced by newer, healthier versions. Cancer forces this usual process to go terribly wrong. These cells can start to divide uncontrollably and, as a result, form tumors, the NCI says.

You might have heard of metastatic cancer but not known exactly what it means. Metastatic cancer happens when cancerous cells disperse into surrounding tissues or even travel to other parts of the body through the blood or lymph systems, according to the NCI.

These cells can then form tumors in their new locations. So, if you had ovarian cancer that spread to your stomach, it would be considered metastatic ovarian cancer, not stomach cancer. We will then determine the genes that allow the animal to live with their tumor.

By essentially studing animals "tolerant" of their tumors, we will uncover the specific mechanisms by which most animals die from cancer. Because death from metastasis cuts across all species, we hope that what we learn in this fish will allow us to discover methods to allow humans to live with their cancer cells, rather than dying from those cancer cells.

The vast majority of cancer treatments aim to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapies act to simply kill cancer cells faster than normal cells. More modern "targeted" therapies aim to kill cancer cells due to specific genetic vulnerabilities. In all cases, these approaches are thwarted by resistance to the drugs, likely because we try to kill billions of cells which are incredibly adaptable and aim for their own survival.

A very different way of trying to treat cancer is to "teach" the body to live with the cancer cells. In this paradigm, we would not aim to kill cancer cells; instead we would teach the normal cells of the body how to avoid dying in response to the cancer cells. Although initially this sound unappealing, we all live with cancer cells at some point in our lives - our bodies are constantly generating mutated pre-cancerous cells, but these cells rarely kill us. Our studies in the zebrafish aim to identify specific genes and pathways that allow the animal to live with widely disseminated, metastatic cancer, without negatively affecting survival of the animal.

Although we cannot always extrapolate from a fish to a human, we feel that by discovering these basic mechanisms of cancer tolerance, we can rapidly apply this knowledge to human patients with metastatic cancer. The ultimate goal is two-fold: 1 understand the basic mechanisms underlying why the body can sometimes live with cancer, and 2 can we identify drugs that can educate any person to become "tolerant" to their cancer without affecting their survival?

This study is aimed squarely at patients with metastatic cancer. Our initial studies will focus upon metastatic melanoma, but we believe that the underlying principles that regulate why organisms die from disseminated cancer will apply to most solid tumors such as pancreatic, breast and colon cancer, for example.

This is a very difficult question to answer, since cancer can exert a multitude of effects on the body, and induces changes in metabolism, blood flow and brain function. With this systemic concept in mind, we decided to use a cancer model that allows us to study the entire organism at the same time. Hormone therapy, also known as endocrine therapy, is used for cancers that are dependent on certain hormones to grow, such as:. Some therapies that are more targeted may also be used for specific types of cancer.

For example:. Localized therapies treat a particular part of the body, either to slow the growth of cancer or to relieve symptoms. Surgery to remove tumors can help improve the functioning of organs or relieve pain and pressure. Surgery may also be needed to clear the digestive tract or kidney obstructions. Radiation therapy can target a specific area to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. A variety of drug therapies and complementary therapies can help relieve some of the most common side effects of cancer treatment such as:.

Your doctor may be able to help you find trials that are a good fit for your type and stage of cancer. Cancer can kill when tumors affect the function of major organs. Life threatening complications can also occur due to malnutrition, a weakened immune system, and lack of oxygen. Cancer is often survivable, especially when treated in early stages.

Discuss cancer risk factors with your doctor and find out what screening tests are appropriate for you. To understand diagnoses, you should understand breast cancer staging and what each means for overall outlook. Make note of all your symptoms. Metastatic breast cancer can affect your quality of life, which includes your mental health, pain levels, and ability to function on a day-to-day…. Cancer spreading to your lymph nodes may require additional treatment to prevent its progression.