Some of the theories explaining the causes of cancer include:
Oxidative Theory: Oxidative processes in the cell can cause damage to parts of the DNA “turning on” oncogenes (cancer causing genes). One way to think of how oxidation works is looking at our car’s engine. When the engine gets oxidized it gets rusty or corroded. We have oil (an anti-oxidant) in our engine to prevent this, but if we do not change the oil regularly or we work the engine too hard oxidation can still occur. Similarly, in the engine of our cells there is a potential for oxidation and our cells have anti-oxidants like vitamin A, C, E , coenzyme Q10, n-acetyl cysteine and alpha lipoic acid to prevent this from occurring. Certain toxins in our environment cause problems in our body and increase risk for certain diseases like cancer because of their pro-oxidative effects.
Infectious Disease: Theory: Certain infectious agents, like viruses, have been shown to increase individual’s risks for developing cancer. Many of these agents cause cancer by disrupting the genes in healthy individuals and causing oncogenes to be “turned on”. Viruses like hepatitis B/C, HIV, HPV, etc. have all been shown to do this. Often cancer does not begin until many years after the initial infection. Individuals who have been exposed or have been tested positive for these diseases must be extra vigilant and employ various therapy strategies to reduce their risk.
Immune Theory: It is the immune system’s job to recognize and eliminate things that should not be in our body like virus, bacteria, etc. Since most tumors exhibit proteins that were expressed prior to the formation of the immune system in a fetus, the immune system should recognize them as being foreign to the body and eliminate them. It is postulated that this process or precancerous cells developing and being eliminated by the immune system occurs all the time. However, at some point one of these cells is not recognized appropriately and continues to go unrecognized and is not eliminated leading to the formation of cancer. In many individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer or pre-cancerous conditions there can be mild immune suppression.
Terrain Theory: This theory encapsulates elements of the prior three, but focuses in on the status of the internal environment or Terrain of the body. In this theory, excess acid, oxidation and toxic build up combined with reduced oxygen and impaired detoxification results in the shifting of the terrain to a cancer promoting environment. The terrain can also foster the development or progression of various infectious diseases. We know that subtle changes in the micro-environment of tumors can lead to an increase in the metastatic potential of a tumor.
Neither one of these theories on its own can truly explain the cause of cancer, but all play a part to some extent in each cancer process. At RHNHC we look to determine which factors are at play in your particular case and determine therapies that appropriately address each.
