Additional Information and Other Common Questions (2)

Can we do something about the “bad luck”

Let’s ask ourselves, even though we have no choice for the trip provided to us (the journey of our lives provided by nature), there is a lot we can do to make the trips safer and with fewer chances of getting involved with accidents.  For example, we can make sure the car is well maintained and we can drive more carefully by not speeding and not tailgating.  I believe that this strategy works similarly in reducing the risk of cancer. 

We can reduce bad foods and eat healthful foods; we can do regular exercise instead of being lazy; we can relax as needed instead of being under stress all the time; we can get rid of our bad habits (e.g., smoking and heavy drinking); we can avoid exposure to carcinogens and bad living environment.  All these could make the journeys of our normal/stem cells (i.e., cell cycles) safer and with fewer accidents, i.e., lower the chances for cell mutation to become cancerous. 

In addition, by doing the right things onto ourselves (eventually onto our normal/stem cells), we can maintain healthier cell cycles for our normal/stem cells so that the check points in the cycles (G₁, G₂, M check points) are less prone to mistakes.  If the check points are not healthy, they tend to allow damaged cells to continue the cell cycle to grow or divide and they might become cancer cells.  The other aspect about stem cells is the duration of cell cycle.  Some stem cells in the body don’t reproduce as quickly as the others; some stem cells may be stimulated by the environmental factors to grow and reproduce faster.  In this case, some things can be done to reduce the stimulation and then slow down the growth/replication of stem cells.  Therefore, it is possible to take some actions to reduce the chances of bad luck from happening.

In short, don’t be discouraged by the two-thirds of bad luck; many of them are attributable to macro- and micro-environmental factors, on which we do have some control.

Yes, accidents do happen in many aspects of one’s life.  Theoretically, anyone may be subject to the possibility of an accident such as earthquake, tornado, flood, robbery, car accident, etc.  However, one can always reduce the chances for the accidents to happen.  For example, one does not have to live in an earthquake zone; one can also live in an area with lower frequency of tornados, a higher area with lower flood opportunities, and areas with lower crime rates.  By doing so, can anyone say that he or she is 100% free from of any accident?  The answer is NO.  That’s why we need life insurance, home insurance, and auto insurance.  However, the chances of accidents happening can be significantly reduced by one’s proactive actions. 

I think you’ll agree that there is no guarantee for anything.  Unfortunately, that is how life is.  For cancer prevention, all we can do is to reduce the chance of getting it.  With today’s knowledge derived from the research work by thousands of scientists, we can really significantly reduce the chances of getting cancer.

In summary, although no one can guarantee that he or she will never get cancer, but there is a lot one can do to significantly reduce the chances of getting cancer. 

© Jiajiu Shaw, 2018

Disclaimer: This blog is written solely for informational purposes. It does not constitute the practice of any medical, nursing or other medical professional health care advice, diagnosis, or treatment. All contents posted are extracted from the book I wrote, "IS CANCER IN US", published recently.