Take this today, cancer is not a contagious disease

Last weekend; while hanging out with friends somewhere in Kinondoni , Dar es Salaam, a talk about cancer popped up.

It all started when one of my friends, Thomas, came up with a sensitive story about his friend who had been diagnosed with vaginal cancer. He was facing a dilemma.

Initially, as we talked, Thomas appeared not to be his usual self. He held his cheek; his eyes not blinking. I was easy to tell that he was in deep thoughts.

I had to intervene, straight way. “Thomas, what’s up?” . As if waking up from a slumber, Thomas quickly replied to me,” Nothing at all.” But I had to probe further, and that’s when he talked of his girlfriend, who had been troubled after discovering that she had a swelling in the birth canal, that would later suggest she had vaginal cancer.

It was not easy for him to reveal his story but in the end, he appealed for moral support on how he would confront his girlfriend’s family on the matter.

Already, word had spread in his neighborhood that Thomas transmitted the cancer to his girlfriend, and that’s where his challenge began.

Well, looking at Thoma’s scenario, I get to remember that there are misconceptions about cancer that society ought to deal with. Not only about vaginal cancer. Often times, it’s hard to differentiate the facts from fiction. That’s why it’s important to clear up any confusion about what you may have heard or read about cancer.

That’s why I am writing about the matter today to clear the air on some common cancer misconceptions.

Cancer is not contagious.

Unlike what my friend and his family perceived, no type of cancer is contagious.

A healthy person cannot catch the disease by breathing the same air or coming into contact with a person who has cancer. However, there are some cancers caused by contagious viruses.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis C increases the risk of developing certain cancers such as cervical, anal and liver cancer.

You can reduce your risk of cancer

In most cases, we doctors may find it hard to point the exact causes of particular types of cancers, however ,there are well known risk factors for it. Leading a healthy lifestyle can help reduce your risk of developing certain cancers. Eating a healthy diet, exercising, abstaining from tobacco products, and using sunscreen to protect your skin from sun damage are some measures you can take to significantly lower your cancer risk.

But having the same cancer as someone else, doesn’t mean you’ll get the same treatment.

I remember during our conversation on that day, the other friend told me, “There is this man I know he was battling with cancer, but he died when he was at his second round of radiation therapy. Am pretty sure this type of treatment worsened his disease.” Was this friend right?

If I get cancer today, I would rather die than going through treatment that burdens the disease,’’ he continued.

But the one thing everyone to know is, treatment is not a “one size fits all” approach.

Depending on your cancer, where it is and how it’s affecting your body and health, your doctor will discuss with you the treatment plan that is best for you. Not every test, treatment or procedure is right for everyone.

Cancer is not one disease.

Cancer is a broad term that defines a large group of diseases in which abnormal cells multiply out of control with the potential to invade other parts of the body.

There are more than 100 types of cancer. The name of each cancer is typically based on the area of the body—the organ or type of cell—at which this rapid cell division is happening. For instance, lung cancer is within the lungs, prostate cancer within the prostate, and so on. However, even within these “cancer sites” there are numerous sub-types and variations, many of which are not even classified or yet understood. It is this diversity and variation that poses one of the greatest challenges to our goal of understanding, preventing and curing cancer.