Paranoid about oral cancer11/12/2023 ![]() Factors related to the tissues of the body (“hostile microenvironment”).They are kept in check by a mix of the following elements: What keeps these micro-cancers in check?.An only a fraction of them develop into secondary tumors (metastases). These are known as disseminated tumor cells or DTCs. However, only a portion of these cells will enter and persist in distant parts of the body. It is also known that circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are present in many cancer patients. This has led to a recommendation option of active surveillance as opposed to treatment. A not-insignificant percentage of these cancers, when localized and low risk, do not progress to overt cancer during the person’s lifetime. ![]() Even the majority of heavy smokers who bombard their lungs with carcinogens and tumor promoters over many years remain cancer-free.Ī systematic review revealed that prostate cancer’s incidental findings at autopsy ranged from <5% in men under age 30 to almost 60% by age 70. But, the other side of that coin is that two out of three people remain unaffected. The article makes the point that approximately one in three people will be struck by cancer in their lifetime. George Klein (1925-2016) was Professor Emeritus at the Microbiology and Tumor Biology Center at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden when he published a fascinating article in The Scientist. So, should we worry more about getting cancer? This may seem unrelated to worrying about cancer, but the underlying neurobiological mechanism is the same. But if portrayed as proximal in time and place, more people are willing to act with urgency. For example, research has demonstrated that most people are not willing to take urgent action on climate change if it is presented as a distant threat. Risks and threats far into the future don’t get as much priority in our constellation of daily fears.Įxamples of this from our daily life abound. ![]() We are hard-wired to fear clear and present dangers. Why is it not an active fear for the bulk of the population? It is likely because in people without any signs of cancer, it is not perceived as an imminent threat. Luckily, as the survey demonstrated, most of us are not overtly phobic about cancer, even though it may be lurking deep in our subconscious. This article will explore why most of us probably don’t need to worry about getting cancer. Despite this, people with this condition are unable to be reassured about their clean bill of health for any length of time. It may lead to repeated medical examinations that fail to reveal a malignancy. When the persistent fear of cancer rises to the level of an overt phobia it is known as cancer phobia or carcinophobia. In fact, a population-based survey found that although a third of respondents never worried about getting cancer, more than half worried occasionally and 6% worried often. Some people continuously worry about getting cancer.
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