Posted on 01/25/2006 3:08:04 PM PST by blam
Can you catch cancer?
In the early 1980s, US doctors began to notice a strange phenomenon. A rare form of cancer, once confined to elderly Jewish men in Europe, was suddenly cropping up among young gay men. The explanation? By catching a new virus, called HIV, they were also developing cancer. Now doctors believe that other infections, even simple coughs and colds, can trigger everything from childhood leukaemia to cervical cancer. Should we be worried? Sarah Boseley investigates
Tuesday January 24, 2006
The Guardian (UK)
Within a few years, girls will be vaccinated against cancer. Not every cancer - at least, not yet. But the cervical cancer jab is well on its way. There are currently 3,000 new cases of cervical cancer a year in the UK. A couple of shots in the arm, perhaps, and young women may never have to think about it again. That is possible because cervical cancer is spread by a virus called HPV, or human papilloma virus. You can catch it by sleeping with somebody who has it, so women with more sexual partners are more likely to get it. The vaccine does not act against cancer per se, but protects against the virus which causes it. Which makes cervical cancer, effectively, an infectious disease.
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
There may be something to it. On a slightly different tack, when my aunt died of cancer, it was remarked that the cancer occurred right where she had been complaining for years of a pain in her back, where she had experienced a muscle strain.
Ah ha, proves what I've suspected for many years now. And with more and more viruses out there, who knows what they'll trigger in our systems.
Amazing reading...they might be onto something.
Still nothing to suggest that you can catch cancer. Though there are several viruses that when combined with other factors enhance the likelihood you'll develop cancer - and these you most certainly can catch.
Certain types of repeated tissue trauma can leave cells damaged and either become cancerous directly, or be more sensitive to carcinogens.
The short answer is yes, at leas for some cancers. Kaposi's sarcoma as the article mentions, for one, and it is proven that Feline Leukemia is transmissible.
One of my conspiracy theories is that this was done to the guy (forget name) who shot Oswald. He looked like a typical hit man, and died from cancer not long after they put him in prison. I figure it was to prevent him from saying who hired him. I remember reading about testing cancers given to lab mice somewhere about that same time.
So, if you have insomnia you'll be safe?
I believe that also. Did you know that Cancer patients are not supposed to give blood? Why is that? Mmmmm....
'scuse me, I should have said, "Donate blood".
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