In response to the question of what cancer is, Dr. Ruben Ventura replies that it is a disease that arises as a consequence of being alive.
He indicates that cancer is a problem with our genes which, for some reason, have mutated. From there, cancer cells become especially active, divide uncontrollably, and this is what causes them to spread throughout the body and, in some cases, ultimately lead to death. He also points out that certain human behaviors contribute to the development of the disease, as external agents such as excessive sun exposure or smoking promote these alterations.
Scientific Definition of Cancer
Dr. Josep Baselga, founder of FERO, in his acceptance speech for the investiture as Doctor “Honoris Causa” by the University of Valencia, compared cancer to having the enemy at home, as it provokes a civil war against sister cells and against the mother organism.
He defined it as a disease characterized by the uncontrolled growth of a single cell. This growth originates as a consequence of mutations in our genetic material, DNA, which affect the genes responsible for cell growth.
Cancer cells grow faster, are more adaptable. They are an improved version of ourselves, albeit with antisocial behavior that leads to the destruction of the organism where they originated.
Defining Cancer for All Audiences
For his part, Dr. Ruben Ventura, Director of the FERO Foundation, offers us another definition:
“Cancer is a disease of our genes. To put it in perspective, our genome is composed of 3,000,000,000 chemical letters, which could be equivalent to a copy of Don Quixote. Every time one of our cells divides into two, the cells have to copy that Don Quixote. If, when copying it, it makes a mistake in any letter (what we know as a mutation), which is very possible, considering that it has to copy 3 billion letters, it is likely that cancer will appear.”
Cancer, in fact, appears with the accumulation of several of these mutations. Fortunately, our body has mechanisms to repair these errors. However, another cause of cancer is when these repair mechanisms do not work correctly and therefore we are unable to correct the mutations.
The Goal is to Cure Cancer
As we have indicated in previous posts such as “Latest advances in cancer research,” almost 10 million people die of cancer each year worldwide. In Spain, one in three women and one in two men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. And in developed countries, between the ages of 45 and 65, this disease is responsible for more deaths than heart disease and strokes combined.
Despite these striking figures, Dr. Rubén Ventura points out that we are currently able to cure more than 50% of tumors (on average overall), and by 2030 we have set the goal of curing 70% of tumors. He adds that “the challenge for research is that in 20 years we will be able to control the vast majority of cancers”; in many cases, we will cure them, and in others, we will make them chronic, allowing people to die with cancer, but not from cancer.
