What Is Cancer? There are some people who believe that Native Americans do not get cancer as much as the other populations of the United States.  However, this is not the case. According to the Native American Cancer Research website, cancer has become the third highest cause of death among Native Americans.  But what is cancer?  To answer that, we must take a cellular look at the human body. Happy Helping Cells Losing Control Within a population of cells, you can observe cells living, working, and meeting the needs required by a human.  After some time, the cell will divide and replace itself so that a balance is maintained within the body (Fig. 1).  However, an abnormal cell does not follow these guidelines, but rather divides at an accelerated rate.  This fast growing “bunch” of cells is what we may consider a tumor (Fig 2). The Role of Contact Inhibition However, just because our cells divide rapidly does not necessarily mean they cause a problem. Tumors can be benign, meaning that they have grown, but are not spreading and causing health problems. A problem arises when fast-growing cells to not abide by contact inhibition.  When a group of cells come close together, signaling will occur among them, and growing will stop—this is contact inhibition.  Cancerous cells do not abide by contact inhibition, but continue to grow, and invade neighboring spaces within the body (Fig 3).  This continuing invasion is what causes health problems.  As these wild cells grow, they take up nutrients, but do not provide any beneficial support to the surrounding tissues or organs and may instead prevent your body from working properly. Tumors that invade and harm an individual are termed malignant. Spreading of the Cancer Cells Over time this invasion, termed neoplasia, may result in the spreading of the cancerous cells.  At a certain point in the development of a tumor, metastasis, or the spreading of the cancerous cells, can occur, thus making the condition more serious (Fig 3).  Once the cancerous cell has spread and “implanted” in another organ or tissue, the same cycle continues until, once again, metastasis occurs.  Often times, the outcome of whether the patient will survive the struggle against cancer depends on when cancer is first detected and addressed. Where We Are Today Today, there is a great deal of research aimed at preventing and treating various cancers. Despite our best efforts, the fight against cancer continues to this day. Recently, it has been found that cancer rates overall in the United States have declined.  However, it is still imperative that the proper mindset of prevention and early detection be considered.  Right now, the best advice on cancer is to maintain a proper diet and exercise routine to avoid what can be a dangerous life situation.

Fig 1. An example of normally dividing and unique cells that work with the body. Fig. 2 An example of normal cells of the body transforming into mean, ugly cancer cells.  Cha-hey! Fig. 3 What cancer can look like and what the cells can do.  Click on the picture to take a bigger look and for more information.

While each section within our website will deliver some extraordinary content on each type of cancers, we thought it would be best to begin with some introductory information on the topics associated with cancer. Below are some articles concerning Native Americans and cancer. Enjoy and remember, as you read, don’t forget what you know, because The Game at the end will test your cognitive skills—so good luck!