Posted on 01/02/2015 6:32:36 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Plain old bad luck plays a major role in determining who gets cancer and who does not, according to researchers who found that two-thirds of cancer incidence of various types can be blamed on random mutations and not heredity or risky habits like smoking. The researchers said Thursday that random DNA mutations accumulating in various parts of the body during ordinary cell division were the prime culprits behind many cancer types.
They looked at 31 cancer types and found that 22 of them, including leukemia and pancreatic, bone, testicular, ovarian, and brain cancer, could be explained largely by these random mutations — essentially biological bad luck.
The other nine types, including colorectal cancer, skin cancer known as basal cell carcinoma, and smoking-related lung cancer, were more heavily influenced by heredity and environmental factors like risky behavior or exposure to carcinogens.
Overall, they attributed 65% of cancer incidence to random mutations in genes that can drive cancer growth.
"When someone gets cancer, immediately people want to know why," said oncologist Dr. Bert Vogelstein of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, who conducted the study published in the journal Science with Johns Hopkins biomathematician Cristian Tomasetti.
"They like to believe there's a reason. And the real reason in many cases is not because you didn't behave well or were exposed to some bad environmental influence, it's just because that person was unlucky. It's losing the lottery."
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Well, that was helpful! NOT!
What? It wasn't because someone three states away (downwind) thought about smoking a cigarette? It wasn't from hanging out in the sun? Or butter, or eggs, or red meat, or apples, or the mold on bleu cheese?
I sure am glad I have pretty much done whatever, anyway.
Exactly, saying it’s “random” is the opposite of citing a cause.
To understand God’s plan is impossible. Not everything will be discovered thru science but faith.
getting cancer is not like losing the lottery... it's more like winning the lottery... i say this because people win the lottery, but they do not lose it...
“The other nine types, including colorectal cancer.... were more heavily influenced by....factors like risky behavior....”
There is a message here that will not be put forth but is one that is quite clear to me.
Really.
Presumably bad luck random mutations occur very often—and the question is why those that take over do so.
Then why the H are we exposing our teens to Gardasil and it’s very terrible side effects? It has ruined my 16 yr old non sexually active granddaughters life. She is now on the lawsuit list. She developed RA which is progressive, FMS, and food issues plus some more stuff her mom does not tell us about. She has some good days, some bad, but her days as a active Ribbon Gymnast are done, as is her skying, horse back riding.
There is a cure on the way for this kind of “bad luck”
So cancer is caused by gambling?
so it must also mean it’s bad luck to be born in western countries in the last 50 years, because cancer was not as prevalent before that.
oh yeah, the luck theory makes a lot of sense. (and gruber thinks we’re stupid).
God’s plan includes random... Otherwise statistics would not work, nothing would be predictable.
Why do many Christians hate random chance? Random chance is part of the plan. Or random chance would not exist.
And pharmaceuticals....well, just look at the commercials....and the warnings.
Everyone's destiny is the same...if you live, you will die.
ignorant question, but would activities that increase the number of cell divisions increase your odds?
Coincidence is God in a plain brown envelope.
The last line in the book of life reads
NO ONE GETS OUT ALIVE
So enjoy it while you can.
Very encouraging. /sarc
I wonder how much they got in government grants to arrive at this conclusion?
It might be one of the few things worth it.
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