9781422280331

Chapter One

The C Word N ot so long ago, cancer was such a terrifying condition that it wasn’t even discussed openly. It was essentially the Voldemort of diseases. In fact, it was often called “the C word,” because people didn’t even want to say the name out loud. Things have changed a lot since then, however. Today, people talk openly about cancer, and there are frequent public relations campaigns to spread the word about treatments and screening. Better still, people are beating cancer at higher rates than ever before. It’s important to understand that there are many different types of cancer, and a person’s prognosis will vary on the type of cancer and the timing of the diagnosis. But in general, cancer is no longer the death sentence it was thought to be in the past. Since the 1970s, there has been a decrease in the number of new cases of most types of cancer, as well as an increase in the number of people who survive a cancer diagnosis. Cell Division Every person is composed of about 37 trillion cells, which come in more than 200 different types. These cells all have life spans, just like we ourselves do. We only

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