What Happens If You Don't Treat Cancer?

On the 20th of January, 2024, a friend of mine lost her aunt to Stage 4 breast cancer. In medical terms it is also called breast carcinoma. In a way, she's part of the hundred thousands of women who lose their life to breast cancer in Nigeria.

As to the main topic of Should cancer be left untreated, most individuals when aware that they've been diagnosed with a terminal disease the likes of cancer or HIV/AIDS lose all hope of ever getting better and would rather succumb to the misery of being eaten up by their hopelessness. Cancer is a disease in which cells abnormally mutate,multiply and destroy body tissue e.g breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc. Cancer is the 2nd leading cause of deaths globally. As of 2018 according to WHO(World Health Organization), 1 of 8 deaths are caused by cancer.

Variety of things can cause gene mutations which lead to development of cancerous cells, radiations, viruses, carcinogens(cancer causative chemicals), smoking, inflammation and a host of others. The popular myth of cancer being transmitted or contagious should also be debunked. Nothing will cause cancer to be transferred from one person to the other. Whether a person's cancer should be left untreated depends on the type of cancer, the stage of the cancer and the willingness of the patient to get treated as well as treatment facilities they can receive and live a healthy life after the crisis and other factors.

Some cancers more often than not can be treated/cured than others. Different types of cancer requires different forms of treatment as there's no one cure/treatment for cancer. Cancer is a progressive disease andval being treated for it is crucial for survival. Treatment for cancer should begin quickly and continue without interruptions. Some cancers are best left untreated such as testicular cancer which is unusual, there are evidences of some cancerous cells in the body abruptly stops or decline in production. For certain people, cancer spreads rapidly and takes up healthy organs or tissues in the body which further deteriorates the patient's health or lead to death. Cancer and the human body can be likened to the competition between plant and weed which fight/compete with the human body for space and nutrients and if left untreated or taken care of, overtakes the human body and thrives thereby making health organs or tissues to stop functioning. Questions such as how long can someone survive as a cancer patient without treatment,can you live with cancer for years...It is best more often than not to consult with your oncologist on ways to survive as a cancer patient, lifestyle to maintain,eating habits as well as a treatment plan. Whilst there are many decisions about treatment for cancer which has to be made quickly, there are times when you can afford to wait and even consider delaying treatment.

Active surveillance, or what you might call watchful waiting, may be a smart and reasonable option for some slow-growing cancers e.g prostate cancer, if your oncologist recommends active surveillance, regardless of whether there's a diagnosis of having a "nodule" or "cancer," it is necessary to take time and mediate what this course of action would mean for you. There are also situations where patients refuse to be treated as they are often aware of the complications that accompany their therapies or the futility of those intervention. More often than not after thorough cold calculations of not wanting to spend their last days wired to tubes or being injected as well as becoming burdens to their families make choices based on their values or principles and not based on medical interventions or scientific discoveries. Being diagnosed of cancer is not the end of the world, it can be treated as there are success stories of such patients. With cooperation from both the patient and their families, cancer can be treated.