So very sad and both so very, very young…
With all the speculation in the media and elsewhere concerning the cancer diagnosis it is wise to note that any cell in any person can become cancerous at any time. Despite all the research cancer is still not fully understood and diagnosis frequently comes too late. I have lost several family members to cancers of differing types - some operable, some not - and despite the best efforts of the medical profession they could not be saved. No-one can predict if any individual will get cancer but the number of detected cases is on the increase. All you can do is hope that you, or someone in your family is not unlucky enough to be diagnosed - and if they are that it can be treated.
A lot of people will have cancerous cells in their bodies but damaged cells are routed out by the immune system or they die off naturally. The problem is when they don’t.
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Apoptosis!
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There is no such thing as a cancer cell per se . Cancer occurs when any cell goes through abnormal growth. Basically, the cell grows more than it is designed to and doesn’t die off naturally (all cells have a pre-programmed lifespan). These cells continue to grow and divide despite the body giving them contrary signals. The cells can then invade surrounding tissue, or spread by metastis - i.e. through the circulatory system or lymphatic system. My daughter is a doctor specialising in cancer and has given me a lot of insight into this terrible condition. As I said before, any cell potentially can become cancerous. it is believed that the cell receives a corrupted set of information when it is formed which is why it grows abnormally - a bit like copying or faxing a document and the copy has marks on it that weren’t on the original.
Condolences, it is always grim. 
I’m sorry to hear that and hope you are ok - or as well as can be expected x
Yes indeed, I have edited my reply to better reflect that point. Organs that dont have dividing cells like the heart are unlikely to develop cancerously so its the auto cell death and replication switch thats broken.
The cancerous cells switch off autophagy apparently.
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I’m so sorry, my sincere condolencies.
Sorry for your loss, hairbear. I hope your memories can bring you comfort.
Hi Corona,
Yes, the process is called autophagy - I didn’t want to put too many medical terms in my reply. Actually the heart can develop tumours - most fortunately are benign but some are malignant and it’s only a small percentage of all cancers. Most are only diagnosed post mortem but since the advances in imaging (MRI, CT, PET scans etc.) of a patient with a heart condition a tumour can be identified and treated. Since all cells in the body are replaced several times during your life (average lifespan of a human body cell is about 7 years) your perfectly functioning but old cells could be replaced with new cells that don’t behave and become cancerous at any time - like getting a new tyre for your car because the old one is wearing thin, then the new one has a blowout long before it’s worn out. Some are lucky and never have have cancer - some develop it due to lifestyle choices (exposure to known carcinogens etc.) and some are just plain unlucky despite all measure they take to minimise their risk. It’s just a very unfair lottery.
Spelling and grammar seem to be a problem for some Ingerlish “patriots”.
Not sure what has happened here, not a thread title that I am automatically attracted to but somehow I was drawn to it this morning. So how have I been alerted to it when the last post was on the 28th of March?
Never mind an explanation, just to say that it is my explanation for not knowing about @hairbear’s brother in law, so just wanted to say how sorry I was to read it and I hope his family have loads of support still.
Same also for me, as didn’t see the thread until this morning, so delayed condolences and very sorry about your loss @hairbear
Thanks all. Went back to the UK for the funeral and spent some good time with the family. My sister, although now almost completely blind, has loads of support from the many friends they both have/had close by. She lives quite a way away from most of the family so the fact that there is a group of close friends looking out for her is comforting.
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