Cancer: The Scariest Disease in Humans | How to be Safe? 

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"Never drank alcohol, never smoked, but still got cancer. How is this possible?" "To understand cancer better, we need to understand the cells in the human body." "Every day 330 billion cells of our body die are are replaced." "When Yuvraj Singh got cancer, when Sanjay Dutt got cancer, he was exercising even while getting chemotherapy.

  

" "It is necessary to have this level of dedication to beat cancer." "Around 42% of the cancer cases globally are preventable." "And these are the 5 things you need to do if you want to avoid cancer." Hello, friends! Cancer is probably the most feared disease in the world. There was a famous dialogue in the film 'Queen' where the lead character Rani says, "Gupta uncle got cancer.

 

He never drank alcohol, never smoked, but still got cancer. He should've tried drinking at least." This Gupta uncle hadn't consumed alcohol or cigarettes ever, but he still got cancer. Rani says it would've been better if he consumed alcohol sometime. Obviously, it was a comedy scene, but many people actually think like this.

 

People might know someone who never even touched alcohol or cigarettes, but still got cancer. How is this possible? On the other hand, there are many people who spent their lives smoking and drinking, but never contracted cancer. Friends, the truth is that cancer is a complex topic. There is no doubt that drinking alcohol increases the risk of 7 types of cancer.

 

Like liver cancer, breast cancer, oesophagus cancer, etc. And smoking increases the risk of 16 different types of cancer, including lung cancer, mouth cancer, throat cancer, pancreatic cancer, etc. But, there aren't only 16 types of cancers. There are more than 200 types of cancer, depending upon the body part it starts in.

 

So, alcohol and smoking are definitely two of the major reasons behind cancer. But there are many other reasons for cancer apart from these. What are the reasons which you can eliminate to reduce the risk of getting cancer? How does this disease work exactly and why is it so harmful to humans? In today's video, let's understand cancer in depth.

 

A young child named Chirag, went through a routine checkup. It was found that his haemoglobin level was low. A test revealed that Chirag has a blood disorder called Thalassemia Major. "It was a random test, by which we came to know that he is Thalassemia Major. And then life took a turn." Because of this, the body is unable to produce haemoglobin and healthy red blood cells properly.

 

That means Chirag will need blood transfusion for the rest of his life. In India, every year, around 10,000 to 15,000 children are diagnosed with Thalassemia. It's not surprising that India is known as the Thalassemia capital of the world. This is an inherited disease. You have chances of contracting it only if your ascendants had it.

 

But Thalassemia can increase the risk of getting cancer. In a 2015 Taiwanese study, it revealed that compared to the general population, Thalassemia patients are 52% more likely to get cancer. Every three weeks, when Chirag was taken to the hospital for a transfusion, he asks his parents, his friends don't go to the hospital, so why do his parents take him? " But when Chirag was about 7-8 years old, he started to understand somewhat that the issue is within him, which is why he has to go to the hospital every 3 weeks.

 

With medicine, Chirag started to adjust with the transfusion procedure. When IV lines would penetrate his skin, he wouldn't cry. But the parents felt the pain. Then one day, a doctor told them about DKMS, a stem cell registry. Now, friends, to understand cancer, it is important to understand stem cells.

 

Because stem cells and cancer have a significant link. What are stem cells? You can take a guess from their name. Stem Cells. These are the cells that make other cells. They can evolve into different types of cells. Along with this, stem cells can even replicate themselves. These are the cells that make blood cells, skin cells, muscle cells.

These cells can repair damaged tissues. This is why, while treating blood cancer and blood disorders, stem cells are crucial. At the beginning of pregnancy, when a fertilised egg becomes a blastocyst, at the early stages before the embryo develops into a child, the stem cells found in the blastocyst are called embryonic stem cells.

 

These cells that can become any type of cell required by the body. But unfortunately, when humans grow up, adult humans do not have such stem cells, that can develop into every kind of cell. The stem cells in adults, also known as stomatic stem cells, can differentiate according to the tissues or organs of the body they are in.

 

For example, the stem cells in our brain can convert into brain cells only. The stem cells in our skin can convert into skin cells only. And the blood stem cells in our body, can be converted into different types of blood stem cells. Overall, friends, there are 400 types of cells in our body. Like red blood cells, white blood cells, nerve cells, fat cells, skin cells.

 

Look at this research from September 2023. According to this, the total number of cells in our body goes into trillions. A young child has 17 trillion cells. An average adult female has 28 trillion cells. And an average adult male has 36 trillion cells. 36,000,000,000,000. Every day, billions of cells die and billions of news cells are created.

 

Specifically, 330 billion cells, which is around 1% of the total number of cells in our body, are replaced every day. There is a popular philosophical saying, "You are not the same person you were this morning." "You keep on changing every moment like a river." This is literally true in the context of our body.

 

This changing every moment, cells regenerating every day, is done by stem cells. The regeneration in different tissues is undertaken by the stem cells of that tissue. But in all this, one organ of our body is very unique. Our liver. Our liver is a unique organ because in it, fully developed, fully specialised liver cells are also divided and can rapidly increase their number.

 

That means, our liver is the only organ in our body that acts like a lizard's tail. If you cut off a lizard's tail, it can grow again. Similarly, if you cut off 90% of our liver, it will grow again. But this does not mean that the liver cannot be damaged. If you say that beer is not an alcoholic drink, or that wine is good for your health, or if you are one of those people who are proud of their drinking capabilities, drinking alcohol has the worst effect on the liver and increases the risk of liver cancer.

 

But not just alcohol, if you keep eating junk food, your weight keeps increasing, keep consuming every random "herbal" thing, you can get liver problems. In India, every year, around 270,000 people die due to liver diseases. Which is 18.3% of the global liver disease-related deaths. But coming back to the topic of stem cells and regeneration, it is important to clarify one thing.

 

The various types of cells in our bodies, the rate of regeneration of each type is different. Like this major study from May 2008 has shown that every year, 10% of fat cells in the body are replaced. This means that to replace all the fat cells in our body, it takes 10 years. This is an interesting side topic; Can our brain cells regenerate too? There has been a scientific debate on this for a long time.

 

It is believed that most of the neurons in our brain are formed by the time of our birth. Approximately 100 billion neurons. But recent research has indicated that limited neurogenesis, that is, the regeneration of brain cells, is seen in only two parts of the brain. One was the hippocampus, which is involved in our memories, learning, and emotions.

 

And the 2nd is the olfactory bulb, which is responsible for smelling. The other neurons of the brain do not regenerate and remain the same throughout life. And apart from the brain, our spinal cord, heart, and joints show very limited regenerative capacity. This is why if these regions are affected by diseases or injuries, they can turn fatal.

 

On the contrary, there are many other body cells, that show rapid regeneration. They are completely overhauled within a short time. Like our skin cells. Our body sheds 500 million skin cells every day. Do you know what this means? This means that our skin completely regenerates every 4 weeks. 4 weeks is not even the fastest regeneration time.

 

The lining in our intestines can regenerate completely in just 5-7 days. 2 to 3 million red blood cells can be produced in a second. Their average lifespan is only 120 days. Stem cells have the potential to replicate themselves and self-renew. Just think about how amazing it is that our body constantly tries to make us as good as new.

 

Constantly regenerates new cells. This is why if you fall down and get a scratch, it's not a big deal because your skin cells regenerate. If you donate your blood, the blood volume or the plasma is restored in just 24 hours. The red blood cells you donate to others, will be replaced within 4 to 6 weeks.

 

This is all about replenishment, repair, and regeneration. But what if a cell's genes get damaged? If you remember, in the evolution video, I explained what DNA, genes, and gene mutations are. You can think of a gene as a program with a detailed set of instructions for the cell. If a cell's genes change or there is an error, it is called a mutation.

 

And because of this, cell growth can get disturbed. In such a situation, our body has some options. There are some mechanisms in our body which fight against gene damage. Like the P53 tumour suppressor gene, it is like a security guard. The protein produced by this gene can repair damaged genes. Similarly, there is a gene which works like a filter.

 

When a cell gets old or damaged, then the gene gives it the instruction to die. This process is called Programmed Cell Death or Apoptosis. The cells are literally told that their work is done and they need to die. There are some other genes that work like a mechanic. They repair damaged genes. So, broadly speaking, if there is any damage to our cells, our body has security guard genes, filter genes, and mechanical genes.

 

These genes can either stop the growth of the damaged cells, repair damaged cells, or remove them from the body. But the thing is that, what happens if these genes are damaged? What if the security guard, filter, or the mechanic gets damaged? Who will take over their work? Unfortunately, no one. This situation is known as Cancer.

 

If a cell's gene gets damaged due to mutation and it starts growing uncontrollably, then such a cell is called a Cancer Cell. Cancer cells are so out of control that they pose a problem to the normal healthy cells too. These cancer cells often have the ability to infiltrate other tissues. This is why cancer begins in a single part of the body, but gradually, if it is not stopped, it spreads to other parts of the body.

 

When a cancer cell from one body part spreads to other parts of the body, this process is called Metastasis. The normal functioning of our body gets completely disrupted because of this. At the end of the video, we'll talk about the exact reasons behind such gene damages and how can we prevent them. Now let's talk about treatment.

 

The most famous treatment of cancer is Chemotherapy. The process of killing cancer cells using a powerful chemical. This process is known as Chemotherapy. The biggest problem with this process is that though these powerful chemicals kill the cancer cells along with it, they kill some good healthy cells too.

 

Chemotherapy chemicals target those cells which are in the middle of the process of division. So, the fast-regenerating healthy cells of the body are also attacked along with the cancer cells. This is why people who are undergoing chemotherapy often become bald. Because our hair follicle cells are fast-regrowing cells.

 

Also, as I said that the cells in our intestines regrow rapidly. So during chemotherapy, there are digestive problems, like vomiting and diarrhoea. Apart from this, our bone marrow cells are also destroyed. Bone marrow is the soft spongy tissue found in our bones. One is the yellow bone marrow, where the stem cells turn into fat, cartilage, or bone cells.

 

Then there is the red bone marrow, the blood stem cells that turn into red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. As I said, our blood cells are fast regrowing cells, so they get damaged due to chemotherapy. Anaemia can occur due to the lack of red blood cells. Haemoglobin level often drops. Platelets help in blood clotting.

 

When we get hurt or have a wound, they come and heal that wound. But if we have insufficient platelets, it will lead to excessive bleeding. White blood cells help with our immunity. If we catch a cold, they help us fight back. But because of chemotherapy, if there are insufficient white blood cells, the chances of contracting other diseases increase significantly.

 

That is why doctors suggest that during chemotherapy, the patient needs a balanced, nutritious diet. They need to sleep well, stay away from stress, wash hands regularly, wear masks, use good hygiene to avoid bacterial and viral infections regular exercise becomes very important. During Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt's cancer treatment, his oncologist Dr.

 

Sewanti Limaye said that even on the days when he received chemotherapy, he could be found exercising on a treadmill. He used to exercise for an hour. Maybe that's why he could recover so well. Now, let's assume that cancer cells die due to chemotherapy. But the question is, the healthy blood cells that have been destroyed, how can that be restored? For this, we need a stem cell transplant.

 

Also known as the bone marrow transplant. This is a treatment option for patients with blood cancer and blood disorders. In some cases, the patient is given their own healthy stem cells. Such cases are known as Autologous Stem Cell Transplant. From an arm, the patient's blood is withdrawn and sent to an apheresis machine, the stem cells are separated in it, and the remaining blood is returned via the other arm.

 

Cancer cells are eliminated with chemotherapy and then the stem cells are returned. In many cases, another donor is needed because the patient's body does not have enough bone marrow. There aren't many healthy blood cells. Such cases are known as Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant. Just like it is necessary to match the blood group for receiving someone's blood, similarly, when receiving someone's stem cells, the HLA Typing needs to match.

 

The Human Leukocyte Antigen Typing. Without going into too much detail, know that HLA is an important part of the immune system. The probability of a perfect HLA typing match with your siblings is only 25%. It can never match your parents, because one part of it comes from one of your parents, and the other from the other parent.

 

So if there is no match with your siblings, then you have to get an HLA typing matched with an unrelated person. And the chance of getting a perfect match is very low. 1 out of 100,000. In the world, for every 100,000 people, there will be only one person with whom your HLA type will match. So how can one find matching donors in such cases? Friends, here comes the role of the Stem Cell Registry, DKMS.

 

This is a global non-profit organisation whose tagline is 'We Delete Blood Cancer.' They have created a worldwide database. From this database, a donor was found for Chirag. Chirag, whose story I told you at the beginning of this video. This donor was Roman Semenskiy, he is natively from Russia, and has been settled in Germany since 2005.

 

Roman is a precision mechanic but likes to do kickboxing. Once his kickboxing team donated blood. Roman has also been donating blood since his school days, so he joined them. They were asked if they would like to give a swab sample. A swab sample is taken from the inside of the cheek. Roman agreed to it. About a year after giving his swab sample, DKMS contacted Roman.

 

He was told that his HLA typing matched someone. He was eligible to donate his stem cells. For Roman, knowing about the recipient was not important. Rather, the only important fact was that, his donation would save someone's life. He agreed to it and donated his stem cells to Chirag. Apart from our bone marrow, stem cells are found in our peripheral blood too.

 

That is, the blood running in our heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries. Stem cell donation might sound like a major procedure, but it's actually a simple procedure of 3-4 hours. To donate stem cells, you just have to go to the nearest centre. and the rest of the process is as simple as blood platelet donation.

 

The only difference is that when your blood is taken out via your arm, the blood is first sent to a machine where the stem cells are separated. And then the blood is sent back to your body. Basically, only the stem cells are taken. And the blood content is returned to your body. This process is called PBSC, Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Method.

 

And as we know, stem cells can regenerate themselves, so after some time, the body can easily regenerate the stem cells. Similarly, Roman saved Chirag's life through stem cell donation. Chirag could then be completely healthy. After Chirag recovered, he wrote a letter to Roman, which brought Roman and his wife to tears.

 

In his letter, Chirag called Roman his brother and a hero. Roman said that he has a younger brother, who is actually the same age as Chirag. This year, in May, the two met for the first time. Friends, you too can save someone's life like this. You can become a godsend for someone. If all the viewers of this video register, we can fight blood cancer.

 

I hope that none of you have blood cancer or blood disorder, and may you never contract it. But you can still find out your HLA Typing. It might help someone if you do so. Click on the link in the description or the pinned comment to get to the online form. Fill in your basic details in the form, like your name, age, and address.

 

Within a few days of registering, you will receive a free swab kit. You will get 3 clean sterilised buccal swabs, buccal swab envelope, consent form and an instruction sheet. You would need to follow the instructions on the instruction sheet, to take your swab sample. Basically, you would need to rub your inner cheek with it.

 

Sign the consent form and place the it with the sample form in the given envelope. and then request a reverse pickup using the method shown on the screen. Your sample will be used to identify your HLA Type, And the entire process would take about 40 days. After this, you will receive an email from DKMS, on successfully registering with the World Stem Cell Donor database.

 

If you want to know your HLA type, you can email donor@dkms-bmst.org. If your HLA type matches with a blood cancer patient, you will get a call for stem cell donation. The possibility of getting a call is very low. It may take a week to a year to get a call. Or you may never get any call. If no one needs your HLA type.

 

But if you get a call for a donation, it would be up to you whether you are comfortable with the donation or not. This is a voluntary process. At that moment, you can decide whether you want to donate your stem cells or not. But the entire process is completely free. You don't need to pay for any of it.

 

The DKMS NGO bears all costs. Now let's come to the reasons for gene damage. What do some cells get gene damage? There are 3 main reasons. The first is Inherited Mutation. If you are born with a mutated gene. This usually happens when you inherit a damaged gene from your parents. In some cases, it can also happen if the mutated gene developed while you were an embryo.

 

Out of the total cancer cases in the world, 5-10% of the cases are due to inherited mutated genes. That means that these genes were with the patient since they were born. The second reason is age. With age, the genes start to wear out. That's why there are more cancer cases in elderly people. Look at this report from Cancer Research UK.

 

The cancer cases between 2017 to 2019 were studied, 90% of these cases, were in people aged 50 or more. With age how many people out of 100,000 will have cancer? You can see this incidence in this graph. You can see the curve going up. And the maximum incidence is seen in the interval of 85 to 89 years. That means the most chance of getting cancer is at the age of 80-90.

 

This is because gene damage keeps building up with time. A person may die young due to other factors like dengue or malaria, or they live a long life to end up as a cancer patient. This is why cancer is seen more in developed countries compared to developing countries, because in developed countries the incidence of other diseases is low.

 

People live longer and if they live longer then the risk of gene damage increases. So, unfortunately, the two reasons I have told you till now, nothing can be done about either of them. The genes you inherited, are already in you. You can't change anything now. And you will continue to age as long as your live, you can't stop it.

 

But the third reason, we can do a lot about it. These are lifestyle causes. Look at the 2017 analysis by the American Cancer Society. The good news is that 42% of cancer cases are preventable because they are cause due to lifestyle factors. 19% of cancer cases all over the world, are because of smoking. 5.6% are due to alcohol.

 

So it is absolutely clear that alcohol and smoking should never be a part of your life. Second, if you are overweight or obese, get your weight in the right zone. Because look at this, 7.8% of cancer cases are due to obesity. How can you reduce your weight? If you want a detailed scientific guide for this, then I have made this video, with a detailed, step-by-step approach, which explains exactly how you can do it.

 

Third: UV radiation, around 4.7% of cases are due to UV radiation. The harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. In the afternoon, check the UV index on your weather app. If it is higher than 5, then the ultraviolet rays can be damaging to your skin. The ultraviolet rays penetrate your skin and damage your DNA. They damage the genes which then leads to skin cancer.

 

Tanning or getting sunburnt repeatedly is a sign of UV radiation. And it is very harmful. There are two ways to avoid it. First, don't go out in the sun from 10 am to 4 pm. During this time the UV index is the highest, especially in the summer. It's not as high in the winter. So, enjoy the sun in the early morning or late evening.

 

And second, if you actually want to go out in the sun during this time, it is important to wear sunscreen. Fourth, around 5% of all cancer cases are due to physical inactivity and poor diet. Remove processed food and added sugar from your diet and include different types of colourful vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, herbs, whole grains, beans, milk, eggs, etc.

 

Packaged food often contains such chemicals that are carcinogenic and increase the risk of getting cancer. But often these things are discovered after a long time. Like in the bread video, I talked about potassium bromate, a famous additive which was added to bread and how it was used for a long time all over the world and it was discovered only in the last 10-20 years that it is actually carcinogenic.

 

The bread manufacturers promised that they won't use it going forward. But what about what you ate till now? After Tamil Nadu and Goa, Karnataka has now banned artificial food colouring. It was seen that in kababs the colours Sunset Yellow and Carmoisine were being used. Sunset Yellow is a chemical that when used in the European Union, comes with a label on the packet with a health warning related to children.

 

On the CSPI website, you will find a long list of such chemicals that were previously permitted, but were later banned by the USA. Like in 2018, styrene, myrcene, and benzophenone were banned. So the safest option is to not eat packaged food, and to eat natural food, fresh food, at local places. Physical activity and an active lifestyle is important.

 

Keep doing regular exercise, which includes stretching, cardio, and strength training, all three forms of exercises. Stretching is very obvious, in which you stretch your muscles. Cardio means the exercises like running or swimming where your heart beats increases and strength training done by lifting weights.

 

Then comes the angle of environmental exposure, air pollution and many pesticides which are used despite being carcinogens. In your working environment, is benzene, asbestos, vinyl chloride or arsenic being used? Because according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, all of these fall under the category of human carcinogens.

 

Cancer can be caused by the exposure to pesticides and fertilisers. You can't control air pollution, but you limit your exposure as much as possible. Then comes another major factor, which, especially in developing countries, is responsible for 20-25% of the cancer cases. Viruses. That's right. Different types of viruses can also cause cancer.

 

Like the Hepatitis B virus, Hepatitis C virus, HIV virus, Human Herpes virus, Human T Lymphotropic virus, Merkel cell polyomavirus, HPV virus. There is a simple solution to protect yourself against these, take the vaccines recommended by the doctor. Get the vaccine for Hepatitis B, the Hepatitis C vaccine. Often, these vaccines are given in childhood.

 

The HPV vaccine is new. It is necessary to get this vaccine to protect yourself from the HPV virus. So, friends, keep these in mind. If you follow these points properly, it will reduce the risk of cancer for you and your family to a great extent. And I told you how we can help the patients suffering from blood cancer.

 

Go and register with DKMS today. The link is in the description below. By doing this, you can give hope to millions of blood cancer patients. September is also called Blood Cancer Awareness Month. This is why I made this video in September. And now, if you want to know the real secret of the people who live long, healthy lives, and what can you learn from such people, I have explained it in this video.

 

 

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