Cancer is one of the most dangerous diseases that has been spreading like wildfire in society across the decades. Every year, roughly 10 million souls leave this Earth, hopefully for a better place, as a result of cancer illness.
Despite the fact that medical science has been through major improvements in recent years, cancer remains one of the largest health problems in the world, and it represents the cause of about 1 in 6 deaths.
Therefore, the million-dollar question is this: Why is cancer so hard to treat by doctors? Why can’t the world come up with a cure? Let’s try to find out!
Metastasis:
One of the main reasons why cancer is such a deadly disease is its ability to spread from its original location to other parts of the patient’s body. This process is medically known as metastasis. Therefore, metastatic cancer is often more difficult to treat because it targets multiple areas of the body.
Resistance to treatment:
Cancer cells are so stubborn they can develop resistance to chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and even targeted therapies over time. As a result, the treatment will be less effective, and the cancer can keep dwelling in the patient’s body and wreak havoc. Genetic mutations, tumor heterogeneity, and tumor microenvironment can be to blame for this resistance.
Immune evasion:
Cancer cells can evade the immune system surveillance mechanism, which means that they will grow unchecked in the patient’s body. Immunotherapy aims to overcome this by boosting the immune system’s ability to recognize and destroy cancer cells. However, even under these circumstances, not all patients will respond well to immunotherapy, while some will develop resistance.
Limited understanding:
The medical world has been through significant progress when it comes to cancer research. However, even so, there’s still a lot of information we don’t understand about the disease, such as its risk factors, mechanisms, and optimal treatment strategies. As a result, there’s no wonder why it becomes extremely hard to come up with a certain cure for cancer patients.
Late diagnosis:
Unfortunately, a lot of people still have a phobia of doctors, meaning that they will go to the doctor only if they are seriously bothered by health problems. It’s the same when it comes to cancer as well, even though that is not actually a rational way of reckoning the situation. As a result, many types of cancer are diagnosed when the patient is in advanced stages and when it is more difficult to treat the disease. On the other hand, early detection and diagnosis of cancer should improve outcomes. In other words, it can be crucial to go to the doctor for a quick and basic medical checkup even if nothing doesn’t apparently bother you, as it could save your life.
Even though, for the moment, defeating cancer is extremely hard in the medical world, we can be optimistic that ongoing advances in science and technology could improve outcomes and even eventually find a certain cure in the near future.
