I was thinking, "Well what about cancer? Cancer... that's gotta be an extra part; gotta be a mistake, there can't truly be a purpose to cancer, can there?" So, I thought, I should try to understand cancer before I label it. Why do we get cancer? What causes it? How does CANCER happen?
Here's what I've come to understand. Cancer doesn't just happen. There are no cancer cells that magically appear in our bodies. Cancer cells begin as normal cells in our body. Maybe they were stem cells; maybe through mitosis (cell division); either way these cells began in normal fashion, and like all cells in our body, they follow a chain of command. That chain might be DNA driven specialization that created brain and stomach and skin cells when I was developing in my mother's womb. Or the chain of command may be environmentally driven stem cells transforming to replace the old cells who've done their job. In our bodies, new cells are constantly being developed and old cells are passing away. It's really an amazing thing when you pull back and look at it, and it works right every time.....EXCEPT.
Well, except, it doesn't work right every time. That's where cancer comes from. When these new cells are differentiating and dividing, something interferes with that chain of command. Something interferes with the communication needed for those cells to grow and function normally. They stop listening. In fact, not only do they stop listening to the chain of command outside themselves, but they stop listening to the chain of command inside too. You see, every cell in our body has a "suicide switch", a trigger that's supposed to go off if the cell is damaged. The process is called APOPTOSIS, but in cancer cells apoptosis doesn't happen, and these damages cells keep on living, and start damaging YOU. Now that "something" that caused all this is usually damage to the DNA inside the cell. But what caused that? The answer is usually the environment. Radiation, toxins, junk food, cigarettes, make-up, etc. etc. These rogue cells start living for themselves instead of the whole body (boy.. sounds like some people I know). They act on their own accord and start creating more of themselves, and given enough time they'll take over your body.
Back to my original question. Is cancer an extra part? NO. Cancer is a foreign part. It's the wrong part. It not supposed to be there, and wasn't in the design. Cancer in your body is like a virus on your computer, a mistress in your marriage, or the debt you carry on your credit card. A virus isn't in the computer's design and doesn't necessarily care if it destroys your machine. A marriage is designed for only two people, there's no room for a third. And there's nothing that will eat away more at financial security than debt. I didn't chose cancer any more than I chose my computer crashing, divorce, or bankruptcy, but in each case it's likely that something I did led to it. I downloaded the virus, I chose the mistress, I spent beyond my means.
I am not a victim of any of these. They are a natural process of choice. We are not victims of cancer, either. We have a say in this. Our choices in life affect the outcomes. When I choose to smoke, or drink alcohol or soda, or fatty fried food I increase my risk of cancer. When I choose water, or fruits and vegetables, or exercise I lower my risk of cancer. Chemicals on my skin or Sunburn: increased. Vitamin D: decreased.
I can't control everything in life, but as for those things I can....well, it's time to start make the right choices.
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