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Cancer isn't war, it's evolution.
I do have to admit, Hans Casteels' Substack writings about Prostate Cancer are some of the most imaginative alternative thinking I've seen anywhere.
His newest post is definitely a thought provoker. Rather than saying we're at war with cancer or that patients are responsible for being heroic in their battle....or even worse, patients are at fault for their cancer, Hans says we might just be thinking about cancer in the wrong way.
Perhaps cancer is just evolution....just not evolution in a way that cares about whether it kills the host of not.
Definitely food for thought and worth a read if you want a different perspective that says, "Hey, it's not our fault."
I like his close, "“Evolution, my friends, is not progress. It is merely what survives.”
To which the patient might reasonably respond: “Fine. Then let us become very, very inconvenient to kill.”"
https://nutmegphantasy.substack.com/p/a-slightly-evocative-thought-about?
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It is always in the service of the species.
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2 Reactions@benz57
Exactly lol, as biologist I have to agree, not good analogy.
But, I guess we all have different ways of dealing with our mortality so whatever mindset helps us with going forward is OK.
I definitely see this as a battle with ominous mutant adversary. My husband likes to think of it as "inconvenience" and "small *explicit* that shall not rule his life". I wish I have my husband's mind 🥰.
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3 Reactions@surilftohealth88 no, I just meant strictly speaking, that anything develope in the evolution of a species has to be in the service of a species. I don't think cancer is really one of those things, in fact, it is the immune system that kills cancer cells that was evolved to keep the organism alive in order to reproduce. Some view cancers as an organism that evolved to, for example, trick killer Ts into leaving them alone. Surviving a cancer is always a good thing.
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2 ReactionsI think Hans Casteels is a great writer and wordsmith. He makes me laugh right out loud at his observations, his dry delivery and absurd, yet at the same time, reasonable subject matter. Every one of his essays is thought provoking, well written and a pleasure to read. I have been reading reams of information for months, it is good to take a break and have a lighter moment. Thanks you Hans Casteels for taking time to show me that perhaps laughter IS the best medicine....
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1 Reaction@benz57
That is what I meant - evolution is always "to the " and "for the" benefit of a species. As I said, I am biologist so human physiology and anatomy (and also animal comparative anatomy and physiology, as well as plant one ) is something that I know extremely well . LMAO.
Now, seeing cancer as separate "organism " is really out there *insert X-files music here lol but I agree, it is very interesting take in context of literary or philosophical expression of thought.
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1 ReactionI agree that cancer is not evil. That is attributing characteristics it does not have. Cancer can be dangerous, deadly, etc. but not evil. Evolution is also a characteristic that cancer does not have since the mutations are not affecting the germline DNA. It is still stuck within the organism might be killing. Now if a cancer develops the ability to spread to others through a sneeze or cough that could be evolutionary.
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2 Reactions@stage4lovolmetpc Yes and yes! I don't always agree with him...but I appreciate that he speaks his mind in a humorous way on some really tough subjects. Good to shake things up and escape for just a bit.
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1 Reaction@jim18 That last sentence is terrifying....glad that hasn't happened.
Just sharing a comment from Laurel Felsenfeld on Hans' post
...."Your post echoes what I learned in college in biological anthropology: cancer is what happens when the majority of humans stop dying before reproductive age. In other words cancer is the price we pay not succumbing to saber toothed tigers, famine, disease, and infections. Great book on the biology a d history of cancer diagnosis and treatment "Cancer--the Emperor of all Maladies"
I'll just share that the book she references, "The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer" is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a NY Times Top 100 book of the century. Gonna give it a read. New edition has four new chapters on latest cancer research.
It sounds like cancer has been with us as long as there has been humans. A sad legacy, but we've come a long way.
Certain types of cancer may be genetically based, but that still wouldn't make them evolutionary. A genetic defect is evolutionary only if it affects the ability to reproduce (by death or sterilization). Since the vast majority of cancers affect one's health far beyond the age to reproduce, they are not evolutionary & don't participate in any kind of "natural selection".
By contrast, any gene that causes people to participate in risky behavior at a young age (eg, racing motorcycles), could be evolutionary. 🙂
A couple years ago I paid four (early teens) boys to do some extensive yard work for me. I thought teenage girls were chatterboxes, but these boys had them beat. They were all discussing their broken bones. I offered that I had never broken a bone in my life. One boy popped up & said, "neither have I", to which another replied, "yes, but you are 13, & he is 80."
So, I have the "cautious gene". 🙂 I suppose it affects my decision to remain on ADT & suffer side effects.
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