re: Is cancer preventable or is it inevitable?

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I would like to know how many people would lose their job if there was a cure for cancer.

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I work in the cancer diagnostics industry. Most people don't understand that cancer is not just one thing. Different kinds of cancer are started for different variety of reasons. This also means that those types of cancers are only treatable for that specific kind.

Breast for example has many different hormones which can cause the beginning of a tumor. Depending on the type this then can metastasize and enter the blood stream which then spreads around the body. Even if it is now in the liver, it is still a breast cancer.

We have techniques to narrow down the exact types of cancer through a staining process which allows us to know a specific treatment will be effective.


To get back to your question, there will never be a "cure" for cancer. There will be treatments for every type of cancer which will become more and more effective. My job would not be affected since customers still need the diagnostic equipment.

I will say I would gladly give up my job if it meant even one strain of cancer was "cured".

Speaking as a cancer survivor, there is no clear cut answer to this question. Oncologists are usually careful about linking a cause of cancer to genetics. They usually say that the research is inconclusive to be able to pinpoint the cause of any kind of cancer.

Now, we know that there are factors that can enhance our chances of getting cancer. Diet, bad habits, constantly breathing in polluted air in a work environment, etc..

As for me, I attribute mine to a combination of genetics and stress. My mother, two of her sisters, her brother and her dad all died of cancer. And I built up a tidal wave of stress over the 5 year period before I got cancer that was very unhealthy. I am the first of my 4 siblings to get cancer but we are all in our 40s and I will not be surprised if any of them get it in the future.

Oddly, I have always been the most healthy and athletic of us all.

Well certain people are genetically more susceptible to some types of cancers than others. It's in no way "prevenintable," there are healthier ways to decrease your changes of getting cancer though. I don't really know what to say about if you live long enough it's "inevitable," this could be said about anything that might kill you.


there is also a scientific formula that was discovered last year. In simple terms, it involves the number of male facial hair in the month of November being subtracted from total male population then being divided by the number of pink knee high socks in the NFL. Quite brilliant

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As for me, I attribute mine to a combination of genetics and stress. My mother, two of her sisters, her brother and her dad all died of cancer. And I built up a tidal wave of stress over the 5 year period before I got cancer that was very unhealthy. I am the first of my 4 siblings to get cancer but we are all in our 40s and I will not be surprised if any of them get it in the future.

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If you dont mind me asking, what was the major source of your stress? Obviously you survived. How long has it been and how do you handle stress now?

I ask because (a) genetically speaking I am probably high risk and (b) stress has become a bigger issue for me in the past year or so.