Cancer

Timeline

• 1600 BC1600 BC in the Egyptian Edwin Smith Papyrus and describes breast cancer.
• 370 BC370 BC) described several kinds of cancer, referring to them with the Greek word καρκίνος karkinos (crab or crayfish).
• 25 BC25 BC – 50 AD) translated karkinos into Latin as cancer, also meaning crab and recommended surgery as treatment.
• 1600The word was introduced in English in the modern medical sense around 1600.
• 1871This view of the disease was first formulated by the English surgeon Campbell De Morgan between 1871 and 1874.

Read

• Noli Me TangereJosé Rizal · 1902Book
• Tropic of CancerHenry Miller · 1934Book
• Раковый корпусАлександр Солженицын · 1968Book
• Advances in cancer researchConn · 1977Book

Listen

• Thrive Through and Beyond CancerSeason JohnsonPodcast
• The Cancer Secrets PodcastDr. Jonathan StegallPodcast
• Cancer Straight TalkMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterPodcast
• Cancer Actually F**king SucksCAFSPodcast

Voices to follow

• Valerie Speirs@profvals · XProfessor of experimental pathology & oncology
• Sabine Hauert@sabinehauert · XScientist
• Katherine Christian@KatherineChri15 · XResearcher
• Marcel da Câmara Ribeiro-Dantas@mribeirodantas · XResearcher

By the numbers

• 73.5Global life expectancy (yrs) — global, 2024 (World Bank)
• 10.1Health spend (% GDP) — global, 2023 (World Bank)

Debates

• Should universal cancer screening be implemented for all adults?One view: Universal screening can detect cancers early, leading to more effective treatments and improved survival rates. · Another: Widespread screening may result in overdiagnosis, false positives, and unnecessary medical procedures, causing undue stress and cost.Open question
• Is personalized cancer therapy always the superior approach compared to standard treatments?One view: Tailoring treatments to an individual's genetic profile can target specific cancer mutations, improving efficacy and reducing side effects. · Another: Personalized therapies are often very expensive, not universally available, and their long-term benefits are still being evaluated for many cancer types.Open question
• Should gene editing technologies be used to prevent inherited cancer risks in embryos?One view: Gene editing could eliminate genetic predispositions to severe cancers before birth, preventing future suffering for high-risk individuals. · Another: Altering the human germline raises significant ethical concerns about unintended consequences, societal equity, and the concept of 'designer babies'.Open question

Glossary

• CancerA disease where abnormal cells grow uncontrollably and can spread to other parts of the body.
• TumorAn abnormal mass of tissue that forms when cells grow and divide more than they should.
• MetastasisThe process by which cancer cells spread from their original site to other parts of the body.
• OncologyThe branch of medicine focused on the study, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
• BiopsyA medical procedure involving the removal of a small tissue sample for examination to diagnose disease.
• ChemotherapyThe use of powerful drugs to kill fast-growing cancer cells throughout the body.

Careers

Roles this can lead toward

Student research

Published policy papers by One Young India delegates — every delegate leaves published under their own name.

• AI-Augmented Multimodal Risk Prediction of Breast Cancer Using Polygenic Scores, Lifestyle Data, and Temporal EMR ModelingAnjali Desai
• The Role of Mental Health in Shaping Young Adults’ Positive Attitude and Emotions for Holistic Development: The India ScenarioAmartya Krishnaditya
• Universal Healthcare- Best Practices around the World and in IndiaSyed Fazil Shariq SA

Threads 5

Where this connects to other fields — and why it's worth knowing.

• Optimization Mathematics

  The same body systems that stop cells from turning into cancer also help wear us out as we age. It's a tuned trade-off. Push too hard to block cancer and you tend to speed up aging, and vice versa.

• Philosophy of Language Literature

  We call cancer a 'battle,' but that word quietly does damage. If treatment is a fight, people who die are framed as 'losers,' as if they didn't try hard enough. And 'battle' language pushes money toward dramatic attacks on cancer instead of the boring prevention that actually saves more lives.

• Game Theory & Strategy Mathematics

  Your body is a giant deal between trillions of cells: each one agrees not to grab all the food and multiply endlessly, so the whole team can live. Cancer is just one cell that breaks the deal and starts taking everything for itself. It's a cheater walking out of a very old truce.

• Intellectual Property and Copyright Law

  A company once patented a human gene linked to breast cancer, meaning only they could test for it. That gave them a monopoly on your own body's code. Then courts said no: you cannot own a piece of a person's genome.

• Evolution Science

  Blast a tumor with the strongest chemo and you kill the weak cells but breed the tough survivors, which then take over. So some doctors now treat lightly on purpose, keeping the beatable cells alive to crowd out the dangerous ones. It's using evolution against the cancer.