Caitlin Flanagan has been a cancer survivor for 20 years. She wrote the following in “I’LL TELL YOU THE SECRET OF CANCER: It’s been almost 20 years since my diagnosis, and I’ve learned quite a bit:
When I began to understand that attitude doesn’t have anything to do with survival, I felt myself coming up out of deep water. I didn’t cause my cancer by having a bad attitude, and I wasn’t going to cure it by having a good one.
And then Coscarelli told me the whole truth about cancer. If you’re ready, I will tell it to you.
Cancer occurs when a group of cells divide in rapid and abnormal ways. Treatments are successful if they interfere with that process.
That’s it, that’s the whole equation.
The equation is missing a few things. I’m now six years cancer free. Something usually has to trigger the rapid division. Often the something is external. But, not everybody who is exposed to the trigger gets cancer.Ultimately, all cancer is genetic.
I smoked heavily for 59 years, never got lung cancer. Did get bladder cancer.