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It is the most tragic of truths, understood from years of observation, the examinations of families and their grief: disease is hereditary. While there are occasional moments of fate simply being fickle (the unexpected bursts of panic), illness is too often passed between bloodlines; with the generations of the present mimicking ones of the past. A singular genetic failing can be found in countless individuals – all who share the same last name. It’s the unfortunate burden. It’s the cellular mistake.
And it is the reason screening becomes so vital.
When an individual is discovered to have cancer (or any devastating disease), an Oncologist will quickly consult the history of that individual’s family. Questions will be offered – concerning relatives, past deaths, connected worries. And often a pattern will emerge, proving what was already known: the same illness was experienced by others and should have been prepared for.
Cancer tends to leap through the helix structures of Deoxyribonucleic acid (more commonly named DNA). It bounds across the molecules, hiding itself inside them. It can remain there for decades without appearing, before suddenly making its presence known. And the cost is a virus that cannot be contained. This is a tragedy that shouldn’t happen.
Oncology is more than the study of cancerous cells. It is instead the promotion of screening and vigilance. Individuals are to be aware of their family, the history that can dominate. Prevention may not be able to occur; but early detection can. When a specific type of illness is recognized, its symptoms can then be found far sooner than common testing allows. It can be diagnosed quickly and treated before it has the chance to spread. And this is essential in saving lives and working toward a cure.
Those with generations of illnesses are therefore advised to seek out the aid of an Oncologist and determine their chances of contracting cancer. Screening is not to be ignored. It’s instead to be demanded.
