Cancer is a condition that makes cells grow and multiply out of control in specific bodily areas. It could begin in one place of the body before spreading to others. Cancer can therefore severely affect the tissues and organs nearby.
Cancer continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States despite significant funding and years of research internationally.
All traces of cancer may be eliminated from the body with successful treatment. This situation is what doctors characterize as remission. After remission, cancer might recur some time later in the future.
CAN CANCER BE FULLY CURED
It is possible to cure someone’s cancer depending on the type and stage of cancer, the type of treatment the patient can receive, and other considerations. It is more likely to cure some malignancies than others. But different treatments are required for certain cancers. However, cancer has no single or specific treatment.
When cancer has been successfully treated, there is no longer a need for further therapy, and there is no chance of the disease returning. The likelihood of cancer returning is quite slim. To determine whether cancer might return in most situations, you will need to subject it to time.
However, the likelihood that cancer won’t return, increases with the length of time that a person has been cancer-free. Instead of saying the cancer is “cured,” doctors more frequently describe it as “in remission” when therapy seems to be working.
WHAT DOES REMISSION OF CANCER MEAN
When the cancer is responding to treatment or is under control, this state is known as remission. Remission may not necessarily mean that cancer has been cured, despite what some people believe.
Cancer remission is classified into two, complete (full) and partial remission. In complete remission, all indications and symptoms of cancer disappear, and no tests can detect cancer cells. A partial remission occurs when cancer lessens but does not totally disappear.
Remissions may continue for a few weeks or many years. Depending on the type of cancer present, treatment might or might not go on during a remission. Years of complete remissions may pass before the cancer is eventually believed to have been cured. With additional treatment, another remission may be possible if cancer recurs.
WHAT CURES CANCER CELLS
Cancer cells are majorly cured when they are exposed to high doses of radiation used in radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) to destroy cancer cells and shrink tumors. Modest quantities of radiation are used to see inside your body. Radiation is also used when taking x-rays of your teeth or broken bones.
At high doses, radiation therapy kills cancer cells or slows their growth by damaging their DNA. Cancer cells whose DNA is damaged beyond repair stop dividing or die. When the damaged cells die, they are broken down and removed by the body.
Cancer cells are not immediately destroyed by radiation therapy. Before DNA is sufficiently degraded to cause cancer cells to die, days or weeks of treatment are required. Afterward, weeks or months after radiation therapy has finished, cancer cells continue to perish.
Cancer is best cured when diagnosed early. It has been advised that people go for check-ups regularly, especially if they have a history of cancer so that it can be checked and put under control.