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TL;DR Doctors consider renaming low-risk prostate cancer to something else, because calling it “cancer” prompts aggressive treatment that doesn’t improve the ou

TL;DR Doctors consider renaming low-risk prostate cancer to something else, because calling it “cancer” prompts aggressive treatment that doesn’t improve the outcomes. Since other low-risk cancers were already renamed, it does not seem controversial. Perhaps a more correct way forward is to stop assuming cancer = death, but that seems unlikely. I wonder if the stress from knowing you have cancer contributes to stress, inflammation, and as a result worsens the illness or makes it less likely to resolve.

beAbU 3y ago
It's only years later, well into my adult life, that I learned that "melanoma" was actually skin cancer. I always thought it was just a nasty mole. Various members in my family and circle has had a melanoma, my father had two in the last 10 years. It was only when a friend of mine was diagnosed very late, after the damn thing spread to his lymph system when I realized "holy shit this is actually cancer". Another friend had a "cancer scare" and broke contact with all of us for months while she was dealing with the trauma and anxiety. Only much later did we learn she had a /possible/ melanoma. Most of us were kind of baffled by the reaction. It's interesting how naming scary things sometimes greatly contributes to the actual scare-factor of the thing. Where if it's unnamed, or receives a benign name, then most ignore it.
- tptacek 3y ago
  Melanoma is the scariest kind of skin cancer, for what it's worth; it's a term that technically should scare you more than "skin cancer".
  - dehrmann 3y ago
    It's certainly scary, but it's on the skin, so it's easy to spot, and when spotted early, it's easily cured. Lots of qualifiers there, so check those moles.
  - Sebb767 3y ago
    > it's a term that technically should scare you more than "skin cancer". For the unitiated: Why?
    - chriskanan 3y ago
      Other skin cancers have a low mortality and can mostly just be chopped out because they don't tend to invade other tissues and spread throughout the body. Most skin cancer deaths are from melanoma because it often invades and spreads. The mortality rate has gone down a lot for melanoma due to treatments, but it can't be caught too late and even then the treatments are much more intense than just an excision.
    - Testator 3y ago
      If your cells are not dividing correctly so much so that the skin cell replication is disrupted then your skin as one of the largest organs your body has will replicate the cancer very very fast. But lets call it what it really is in most cases, the protein of cells being replaced by glyphosphates. Your body not producing enough enzymes, chlorine dioxide, to replace the glypohsphate protein which is causing uncontrollable cell division with not enough healthy proteins through anaerobic means e.g exercise, replacing them fast enough. Usually hiding in fat or muscle cells. Your body is so fargone if you have melanoma even with strict diet change and a very careful and strict exercise regiment its already too late since your doctor will be pumping you full of chemotherapy/poison to kill the cancer, killing you in the process.
      - beAbU 3y ago
        I'm interested in learning more about what you are saying here. In most of the cases I have direct experience with, the melanoma is "simply" removed, and /maybe/ some local radiotherapy in extreme cases. No-one I know of received chemo. Nor was bad diet or unhealthy lifestyle blamed for the appearance of the melanoma.
        greedo 3y ago
        I wonder if "melanoma" is a catchall for all types of skin cancer in your family. Melanoma itself is one of three primary skin cancers, and the most lethal, while the other two are generally less threatening.
  - beAbU 3y ago
    Is this because things like regular moles are also technically a form of cancer/tumor? And a melanoma is a mole that evolved into full malignant your-life-is-in-danger cancer?
  - wglb 3y ago
    However, it is very survivable if caught early. Ask me how I know, and I'll tell you about a nine-fingered person.
    - tptacek 3y ago
      If it's you, I'd never noticed. If it's recent, I'm glad you're OK!
      - wglb 3y ago
        Ex-wife, had very unusual brown stripe on fingernail. Proactively removed finger, did perfusion. Total recovery. Predates our two children.

beAbU 3y ago

It's only years later, well into my adult life, that I learned that "melanoma" was actually skin cancer. I always thought it was just a nasty mole. Various members in my family and circle has had a melanoma, my father had two in the last 10 years. It was only when a friend of mine was diagnosed very late, after the damn thing spread to his lymph system when I realized "holy shit this is actually cancer". Another friend had a "cancer scare" and broke contact with all of us for months while she was dealing with the trauma and anxiety. Only much later did we learn she had a /possible/ melanoma. Most of us were kind of baffled by the reaction. It's interesting how naming scary things sometimes greatly contributes to the actual scare-factor of the thing. Where if it's unnamed, or receives a benign name, then most ignore it.

tptacek 3y ago
Melanoma is the scariest kind of skin cancer, for what it's worth; it's a term that technically should scare you more than "skin cancer".
- dehrmann 3y ago
  It's certainly scary, but it's on the skin, so it's easy to spot, and when spotted early, it's easily cured. Lots of qualifiers there, so check those moles.
- Sebb767 3y ago
  > it's a term that technically should scare you more than "skin cancer". For the unitiated: Why?
  - chriskanan 3y ago
    Other skin cancers have a low mortality and can mostly just be chopped out because they don't tend to invade other tissues and spread throughout the body. Most skin cancer deaths are from melanoma because it often invades and spreads. The mortality rate has gone down a lot for melanoma due to treatments, but it can't be caught too late and even then the treatments are much more intense than just an excision.
  - Testator 3y ago
    If your cells are not dividing correctly so much so that the skin cell replication is disrupted then your skin as one of the largest organs your body has will replicate the cancer very very fast. But lets call it what it really is in most cases, the protein of cells being replaced by glyphosphates. Your body not producing enough enzymes, chlorine dioxide, to replace the glypohsphate protein which is causing uncontrollable cell division with not enough healthy proteins through anaerobic means e.g exercise, replacing them fast enough. Usually hiding in fat or muscle cells. Your body is so fargone if you have melanoma even with strict diet change and a very careful and strict exercise regiment its already too late since your doctor will be pumping you full of chemotherapy/poison to kill the cancer, killing you in the process.
    - beAbU 3y ago
      I'm interested in learning more about what you are saying here. In most of the cases I have direct experience with, the melanoma is "simply" removed, and /maybe/ some local radiotherapy in extreme cases. No-one I know of received chemo. Nor was bad diet or unhealthy lifestyle blamed for the appearance of the melanoma.
      - greedo 3y ago
        I wonder if "melanoma" is a catchall for all types of skin cancer in your family. Melanoma itself is one of three primary skin cancers, and the most lethal, while the other two are generally less threatening.
- beAbU 3y ago
  Is this because things like regular moles are also technically a form of cancer/tumor? And a melanoma is a mole that evolved into full malignant your-life-is-in-danger cancer?
- wglb 3y ago
  However, it is very survivable if caught early. Ask me how I know, and I'll tell you about a nine-fingered person.
  - tptacek 3y ago
    If it's you, I'd never noticed. If it's recent, I'm glad you're OK!
    - wglb 3y ago
      Ex-wife, had very unusual brown stripe on fingernail. Proactively removed finger, did perfusion. Total recovery. Predates our two children.