Cause of death from Cancer

Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 16

Hi all,

I was just wondering exactly what the cause of death from cancer is. I mean, we all have heard that someone died "from" cancer, but is that really the cause of death? Or does cancer act on the body in some other way to eventually cause the person to die?

Is every cancer the same, or is it the case that some cancers cause death by some means while others do so by other means?

I just really can't understand how prostate cancer would "kill" you, if you know what I mean? Is it just because it will eventually metastize to somewhere else?

Thanks, and sorry if you have to get really technical to answer this... I'll try to understand, honest! Razz

brainman · Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:41 am Post subject: Re: Cause of death from Cancer

Very good and appropriate question.

No cancer that I can really think of kills a person directly but indirectly by causing a system failure of some kind. Even Breast Cancer only kills when it spreads to other organs like the lungs. Brain Cancers cause death by putting too much pressure on a vital part of the brain. Other cancers affect the blood decreasing ones blood counts to dangerous or deadly levels. Pancreatic Cancer kills by negatively affecting the vital functions of the pancreas. I could go on and on. But you get my point.

I might have missed a cancer that does kill by a direct means but I cannot think of one. Some one please correct me if I am wrong.
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Ereshkigal · Regular Joined: 19 Jun 2008 Posts: 16

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the reply.

I am left wondering, though: It seems as breast cancer is especially deadly... since it does not itself kill a person, it must be that it has a might rate of metastasis to areas that [i]are[/i] fatal? (I confess to not knowing much about that particular disease)...

Vee Smith · Moderator Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 817 Location: UK

It is the metastases that kill, not the original tumour in the breast. I think that as cancers go, lung, liver and pancreatic are more "dangerous" than straightforward breast cancers.

judithscott · New User Joined: 06 Sep 2008 Posts: 2

hi,

i am to be saying that causing of death for cancer is being naughty cell red bloods that attacking very nice and pretty cell white bloods.

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Replicant · Moderator Joined: 01 Nov 2006 Posts: 271

As far as I know, prostate cancer patients usually suffer from a wasting syndrome--that is more or less the mechanism of death. The medical term is cachexia.

See a post by an oncologist about this here:
http://www.revolutionhealth.com/blogs/michaelglodemd/how-does-prostate-can-7932

The American Cancer Society concurs with this view about how men die from prostate cancer.
http://tinyurl.com/5zffea
"Usually death comes as a results of the body shutting down, a type of wasting away."
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