A disturbing simulation has shown just how a person d.ies from can.cer.
The NIH estimates that a staggering 2 million Americans will be diagnosed with c.ancer in 2025 alone. According to their statistics, “breast, lung and bronchus, prostate, and colorectal c.ancers account for almost 50% of all new c.ancer cases in the United States,” while “lung and bronchus, colorectal, pancreatic, and breast c.ancers are responsible for nearly 50% of all deaths.”
According to Dr Paulien Moyaert, it’s not always the c.ancer itself that kills a person, but the side effects it causes in the body.
Explaining the grim process, the medic has unveiled a horrifying 3D simulation of the process on YouTube which walks through the disturbing stages of how c.ancer might kill you.
Metastatic c.ancer
The almost four-minute-long video kicks off by explaining metastatic c.ancer, described as ‘the most lethal’ as it involves a single cell breaking off, migrating and forming a tumor.
This tumor can then target any organ and prevent it from functioning.
Organ failure and pancreatic c.ancer
As an example, the scientific video shows how the c.ancer can grow and lead to organ failure – like if it goes into the digestive system, it can prevent digestion and the absorption of food.
A tumor can also block faeces from being expelled, which can perforate and quickly turn fatal without surgery.
Another example the simulation gives is when c.ancer affects the pancreatic ducts, horrifyingly causing the pancreas to ‘digest itself.’
Pancreatic c.ancer is therefore considered one of the most painful and deadliest types of c.ancer.
Lung c.ancer
When c.ancer is in the lungs, the simulation reveals patients can die from asphyxiation, where there’s not enough oxygen around the body.
This is the most common cause of death in lung c.ancer cases, the video reveals.
The second most common cause of death comes from infections.
“Having c.ancer impairs immunity,” the explainer continues, “and chemotherapy compounds the problem by suppressing the bone marrow – the factory where white blood cells are produced.”
Bone marrow
Not only can bone marrow be impaired by chemotherapy, but the ‘infiltration of c.ancer cells’ as well.
“When c.ancer grows in the bone marrow, there will eventually be inadequate bone healthy bone marrow to make blood cells,” the simulation shows.
Implications for affected bone marrow include anemia, a drop in white blood cells – which typically fight infection and keep bacteria under a control – and a decrease in platelets which prevents the body from controlling any abnormal bleeding.
Cachexia
The video explains cachexia involves ‘wasting’ away – where toxins released by the c.ancer cells suppress appetite and affect the digestion of food.
This is why many c.ancer patients suffer rapid weight and muscle loss.
This alone can prove fatal, as the video explains: “Cachexia is estimated to occur in 50 percent of all c.ancer patients and is thought to directly cause up to 30 percent of c.ancer deaths because of heart of respiratory failure related to muscle loss.”
It can also be attributed to 50 percent of deaths in patients with gastrointestinal tract c.ancers and up to 80 percent of deaths in patients with advanced pancreatic c.ancer.
Treatment can control it for ‘a long time’ but if the c.ancer continues to grow, ‘it can become too much for the body to cope with.’
At this stage, patients might be advised to focus on comfort and the quality of life they have left.
“No one with c.ancer should die in pain,” it adds.
Why is surgery difficult?
The simulation then answers why surgery to treat or expel c.ancer is particularly difficult.
It explains: “Because the major organs are so vital for life, these are all parts of the body that are had to operate on. Assuming the operation is successful and you remove the tumor without lasting damage to the organ, the tumor may grow back.
“All it takes is a few cells of the original tumor remaining in the body.”
That’s why chemo as well as surgery is vital to treat the disease.
Source: unilad.com