Informative Speech On Lung Cancer

What is Cancer?

By Dasharath Paran, Year 10, Science 4

Cancer is a condition that affects many people worldwide, as many as 39.6% of people will be diagnosed with some sort of cancer throughout their lives. Cancer can simply be described as a disease in which the cells in our body multiply at an alarming rate. Cells generally multiply in accordance with our body's growth and development, however, mistakes happen with the genetic coding in our cells. This causes old and unhealthy cells to continue living and multiplying, or it could cause an abnormal growth of new cells where they aren't needed. Since so many new cells are being made every day mistakes in genetic coding may appear in different parts of our bodies. This causes the cells to multiply beyond control and begin spreading throughout the body, turning the healthy cells into cancerous ones as it progresses and thus spreading cancer around the body, fatal if near vital organs. Cancer can either be hereditary or caused by environmental and lifestyle choices. Most

However, it is possible to contract lung cancer from a parent or other close relative, although it is predominantly due to reasons within our control. The most common, yet easily prevented, a way of getting lung cancer is through smoking tobacco or inhaling other dangerous gases. Tobacco contains carcinogens which are substances that form cancerous cells in living tissues. Other things that emit carcinogens are asbestos, x-rays, arsenic, as well as car exhaust fumes. When we have been exposed to carcinogens a free radical molecule with an unpaired electron enters our body and attempts to steal electrons from other molecules. These free radicals damage the cells, especially the genes that allows them to multiply normally. This heavily increases cell multiplication, to the extent that a tumour of the cancerous cells starts to