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Nathan Smith

Doctor Cassel

ENG 1201

20 February 2022

“Will Cancer Ever Be Cured?”

Cancer has always been a major problem that’s still doing damage today. Whether you’re

born with cancer, or you somehow gain it through your walk of life. Some cancer can be treated,

but why not all of it?

There are lots of different types of cancers’, and lots of different treatments for them.

Surgery, which refers to a surgeon removing massive amounts of cancerous cells (A.K.A a

tumor) and surrounding tissue. There’s radiation therapy, which uses x-rays, particles, or

radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells. There’s also hormone therapy, which is used to treat

cancers that are fueled by hormones, such as breast, prostate, and ovarian cancers. It uses

surgery, or drugs to stop or block the body's natural hormones, which helps slow the growth of

cancer cells. (MedlinePlus)(“Cancer treatments”).

Other treatments such as targeted therapies are less dangerous than most. Lots of

treatments end up killing cancer cells and normal cells. But targeted therapies directly destroy

certain areas. Targeted therapies kill cancer directly. Trigger cells to die on their own (which is

known as apoptosis. Apoptosis is when a cell kills itself because it knows there’s something

wrong with it, but cancer is when a cell doesn’t already kill itself). And it may also turn off the

process in cancer cells that causes them to grow and spread.

While there are more unnatural approaches to dealing with cancer in the human body,

there are also natural body functions that are substantially helpful. One of these is the immune
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system. The treatment is more commonly known as immunotherapy. Immunotherapy stops or

slows the growth of cancer cells. Prevents cancer from spreading to other parts of the body. And

boosts the body's immune system’s ability to get rid of cancer cells. (MedlinePlus)(Kinch)

Lots of professionals support the use of immunotherapy, and this is largely because of the

fact that it uses the natural way that your body works, and gives it a little bit of extra drive.

Hormonal therapy is also a major go to for professionals because it’s also natural. Hyperthermia

is a major therapy as well. It doesn't use factors in your body. However it does use heat to kill

cancer cells, but at the same time, it doesn’t hurt normal cells while doing so.

However, while it’s great that there are so many different types of treatments, they can

also be harmful as well. Radiation therapy may kill cancer cells more than normal cells, it can

still harm normal cells. And though pills can be used to slow down and contain cancer, it isn’t

inevitable for the cancer to be able to spread and turn into something worse. And while

treatments can be done to slow down the progression of cancer, and sometimes get rid of a

specific type of cancer, there are almost always side-effects. Some may be minor side effects,

while others could be more drastic. (MedlinePlus)(Jonze)(CANCER RESEARCH UK)

And while cancer affects all age groups and genders, it especially affects women.

Cervical cancer is one of the gravest threats to women’s lives. It’s a malignant neoplasm of the

cervix uteri. It causes symptoms such as persistent pelvic pain, unexplained weight loss, bleeding

between periods and after sexual intercourse, unusual vaginal discharge, and pain after sexual

intercourse. Studies have estimated that over 80% of sexually active women could be infected

with genital HPV at some point in their lifetime. (Seifu, Fikru, Yilma, Tessema)

While there are lots of treatments that deal with cancer, who knows if there will ever

really be a cure. There has been lots of scientific research done to further the development for a
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cure to cancer, and everyday there’s something new that’s been discovered. It’s not completely

true that cancer will ever be cured, but there will forever be more and more research and trials

done to try.
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Works Cited

MedlinePlus. “Cancer treatments” National Library of Medicine, 18 February 2022,

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000901.htm Accessed 3 March 2022.

Jonze, Tim. “Sponges, blood cells and sound-art: the exhibition hoping to cure my cancer; The UK's first

ever cancer research exhibition pairs up patients with researchers to show the creative paths taken

on the cutting edge of human discovery.” Guardian News, and Media, 24 September 2021,

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/sep/24/art-meets-science-in-the-quest-to-cure-

cancer Accessed 6 March 2022.

CANCER RESEARCH UK. “Treatment for cancer” CANCER RESEARCH UK, 15 July 2021,

https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment

Accessed 6 March 2022.

Seifu, Benyam. Fikru, Chaltu. Yilma, Delelegn. Tessema, Fasil. “Predictors of time to death among

cervical cancer patients at Tikur Anbesa specialized hospital from 2014 to 2019: A survival

analysis.” PLOS ONE, 24 February 2022,

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264369 Accessed 6 March

2022 .

Kinch, Michael. “The End of the Beginning: Cancer, Immunity, and the Future of a Cure” Pegasus Books

Ltd. 2019