How inflammation causes cancer
No one wants to get cancer. There’s something indescribably awful about knowing your cells are multiplying out of control and feeling helpless to do anything about it. And the conventional treatments for cancer are downright toxic. They don’t distinguish between cancer cells and healthy cells — they just kill them all. Many times, the side effects of these toxic medications are so severe they actually kill the patient, or at least cause them extreme suffering.
One of my life’s goals has been to help cancer patients fight their best fight against the disease. And just as important, I want to help people who are cancer-free now stay cancer-free in the future. That way you’ll never have to go through the debilitating effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Whether you are fighting cancer now, or want to prevent it, here’s what you need to know. Colon cancer, stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer have all been linked to inflammation. This is great news, because it means that cancer doesn’t just strike out of nowhere. It’s preventable!
So how does cancer start? The first stage in cancer development is when a normal cell mutates into a precancerous cell. Any number of things can cause a cell to mutate, including chronic inflammation, toxic chemicals, viruses, UV radiation, or aging.
But just because you have a mutated cell doesn’t mean you’ll get cancer. If the body is working according to plan, it will seek out and destroy the mutated cell. Or, the mutated cell may sit dormant until some trigger (often the same inflammatory trigger that caused the mutation in the first place) causes it to change from a harmless deformed cell into a harmful malignant one. It’s at this stage that the abnormal cell starts multiplying and forming a tumor. In the final stage of cancer development, the tumor gets larger and larger.
All types of inflammation can cause cancer. Lung cancer can be caused by chronic smoke-induced inflammation. Esophageal cancer can be caused by acid reflux-induced inflammation. Stomach cancer can be caused by H. pylori (the bacterium that causes ulcers)-induced inflammation. Bladder cancer can be caused by urinary tract infection-induced inflammation. Liver cancer can be caused by hepatitis B or C-induced inflammation. Lymphoma can be caused by Epstein Barr (the virus that causes mononucleosis) -induced inflammation. Cervical cancer can be caused by Human papillomavirus (the virus that causes genital warts)-induced inflammation. Kidney cancer can be caused by kidney stone-induced inflammation. And colon cancer can be caused by irritable bowel syndrome-induced inflammation. Whether the inflammation is caused by an infection (such as hepatitis), a mechanical irritant (such as kidney stones), or a chemical irritant (such as stomach acid), the result is the same. Chronic, low-grade inflammation greatly increases your risk of developing cancer.
