10 Strange Facts About Cancer | Cancer slideshows | Body & Health Conditions center

Triangle of Death

The Italian mafia operates many criminal enterprises. One of the rackets in southern Italy is illegal waste disposal. On the western tip of the boot of Italy, in the province of Campania, a triangle formed by the towns of Acerra, Nola, and Marigliano forms a deadly cancer triangle. In this area, waste removal companies owned by the Camorra crime family have dumped millions of pounds of untreated industrial sludge, with the result that residents of this triangula della morte have about 3 times the national rate of brain, bladder, and liver cancer, men affected more than women. The dioxin dumped by the crime syndicate is found on about 3% of all farms in the triangle.

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Photo courtesy of Robert Palmer by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/robertpalmer/3336116758/

Teratoma

Cancer stories always horrifying, but some kinds of cancer are more terrifying than fiction. A teratoma is a cancer of a human egg while still in the ovary, the tumor sometimes growing human body parts such as hair and teeth while it is still in the woman's body. Eyes, limbs, and even a malformed brain have been found in teratomas, and the tumor can spread to an unborn baby while still in the mother's womb. Doctors in Colorado found an a teratoma inside the brain of a newborn infant in 2008, complete with parts of two feet, a thigh, and a hand. The only good thing about teratomas is that they are encapsulated, so they do not spread through the entire body.

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Photo courtesy of Billie Owens by Wikimedia Commons : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ovarian_teratoma.jpg

Retinoblastoma

Have you ever had a photo that showed you having red eyes? Most of us have. The phenomenon is due to the reflection of light from the retina at the back of the eye through the lens, and it is more common in smaller eyes, that is, in children. But most us don't have one eye that always shows up as red in photographs, and one that does not. This condition is a sign of a relatively rare kind of cancer of the eye called retinoblastoma, an especially aggressive tumor that does not allow light to be reflected normally. If you notice your child has one red eye and one normal eye in photograpahs, see a doctor right away.

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Photo courtesy of Morleyj by Wikimedia Commons : commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rb_Retina_Scan.jpg

Pinkwashing

In some cities in North America, you will see pink ribbons tied to trees. You will see women wearing pink racing gear running down the street. And almost anywhere in the United States your will find yogurt, Ford automobiles, and American Express displays using "pinkwashing" to advertise their products, licensing the logo from Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The Race for the Cure is not without its critics. In recent years it has pulled funding from Johns Hopkins University, one of the most prestigious research centers in the USA, because it also does embryonic stem cell research. It will not pay for mammograms at Planned Parenthood. And CEO Nancy Brinker is reported to earn $684,000 a year, a not insignificant portion of the organization's revenues.

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Photo courtesy of Paul Falardeau by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/pfala/4001173179/

Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon was widely considered to be a rock and roll genius. Many of his songs featured creepy or macabre lyrics, for example, "Werewolf of London." In 2002, Zevon developed an aggressive, untreatable asbestos-related form of cancer known as peritoneal mesothelioma, and because he believed that chemotherapy would keep him from making one final album (with superstars Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty), he refused treatment. Mesothelioma typically kills within weeks when it is not treated, and within months even if it is, but Zevon not only lived long enough to complete his album, but also lived long enough to see the birth of his grandsons and to see the opening of long-awaited James Bond film, Die Another Day.

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Photo courtesy of Klaus Hiltscher by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/khiltscher/3253434501/

E-Cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes, are a new approach to dealing with smoking addiction. Not a device that enables its users to quit smoking, the e-cigarette delivers a hit of nicotine and smoke by vaporizing a drop of resin in an electronic device, making it possible to experience the feel of smoking without most of the dangerous chemicals in tobacoo. E-cigarettes are addictive, too, because they offer a hit of nicotine. Countries and states all over the world are having difficulty classifying e-cigarettes. Some treat them as if they were tobacco, and ban them in public places, while others permit them to be sold to minors. Recent studies have found that e-cigarettes, too, contain measurable amounts of carcinogens.

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Michael Douglas

Best known for his role as Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street, veteran actor Michael Douglas has also become well known for his announcement of a dangerous cancer that wasn't. In 2010, tabloid newspapers reported that Douglas had been diagnosed with stage IV, that is, inoperable and untreatable throat cancer. Douglas, however, managed to recover from his cancer, and even gave interviews in which he said he got throat cancer from the human papillomavirus contracted while performing oral sex on his wife, and that giving his wife oral sex also cured his cancer. In 2013, however, Douglas admitted that he never had throat cancer, but instead had a much more easily treated cancer of the tongue. There is no evidence for his claim that oral sex can cure the throat cancer he never had.

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Photo courtesy of David Shankbone by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/6943413744/

Tasmanian devil

First discovered in 1996, an especially aggressive form of cancer called devil facial tumor disease (DTFD) has nearly wiped out the Tasmanian devil on the island of Tasmania, off the southern coast of Australia. This animal cancer is spread from devil to devil when they bite and scratch during mating rituals and compete for food. The immune system of the Tasmanian devil does not recognize the tumors as foreign bodies, and never activates to fight them. The mouth and breathing passages are closed off, and 100% of animals infected with the disease die. Scientists are looking for a cure before the Tasmanian devil becomes extinct in the wild.

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Bizarre Behavior Changes Caused by Brain Tumors

Even slight changes in the structure of the brain can cause enormous changes in behavior. A cancerous or even non-cancerous tumor in the brain can result in bizarre behaviors that no one would ever expect. These changes are not always bad. Sometimes people who develop brain tumors or who suffer brain injuries actually develop new talents or overcome disabilities. But in other cases, a brain tumor can lead to criminal behavior. Neurologists Jeffrey Burns and Russell Swerdlow describe the case of a 40-year-old teacher, a devoted husband, a respected person in his town. who developed a brain tumor. He developed an obsession with child pornography and consorted with prostitutes. Put on trial for porn, he was allowed to attend 12-step Sexaholics meetings, but he hit on another member and was kicked out. Then he tried to rape his landlady. At this point doctors ran a brain scan and found a tumor the size of an egg in his frontal cortex. The tumor was removed, and the behavior stopped, but when it grew back, the man resumed having uncontrollable urges.

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Photo courtesy of Indi Samarajiva by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/indi/4287276533/

Dwarfism

There are a number of genetic conditions that can cause a person to grow only to diminuitve size, to become a dwarf. One of the more interesting forms of dwarfism is a condition called Laron Syndrome, found in families in Ecuador, which not only prevents maturation to normal size, but also blocks the development of age-related diseases, including cancer and diabetes. Most dwarves have one or more genetic abnormalities that prevent their bodies from producing growth hormone, but people who have Laron Syndrome are unable to respond to growth hormone. Scientists caution that athletes and others who use growth hormone for rejuvenation may also be exposing themselves to an increased risk of cancer.