Canceris almost unspeakably awful, from the potentialhardships of treatmentto the prospect of leaving behind grieving loved ones.
This horrible illness has a sweeping reach.
Around 610,000 people were estimated to die from the disease by the end of the year.
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Is it due to the cancer itself?
Or is it usually a more indirect result of how cancer can affect a persons health?
And does it vary depending on the jot down of cancer a person has?
This can be a terrifying topic to discuss with a doctor or loved one, depending on your situation.
But sometimes you need answers to even the scariest questions.
Here, we spoke to several oncologists to explain how cancer can lead to death.
Cancer happens when cells grow out of control.
to function properly, these cells are constantly growing and dividing to form new cells, theNCIexplains.
Cancer forces this usual process to go terribly wrong.
These cells can start to divide uncontrollably and, as a result, form tumors, theNCIsays.
You might have heard of metastaticcancerbut not known exactly what it means.
These cells can then form tumors in their new locations.
For this reason, cancer staging is largely dependent onhow extensively the cancer has traveled.
Stage IV cancer, the most severe form, means the cancer has wound up in distant body parts.
But metastatic cancer doesnt kill people in any one specific way.
Instead, this disease can take a few avenues to end someones life.
These are the complications that are most likely to be fatal for someone with cancer.
That, in turn, can cause issues such as frequent nausea and vomiting.
But cancer-related digestive issues are most likely to become life-threatening due to malnourishment or dehydration.
This means that even if someone is receiving nutrients via IV, they can still die from malnourishment.
Malnourishment can be accompanied by difficulty maintaining fluid levels.
This can lead to dehydration.
Someone with advanced cancer may receive oxygen in a facility like a hospital.
Thats [almost] always fatal.
If this happens, it can lead to a host of life-threatening issues.
The likelihood of this varies based on the key in of cancer someone has, Dr. Edelman says.
When cancer damages a persons bones, too much calcium can leach into their bloodstream, theNCIsays.
This means that, in severe cases, hypercalcemia can lead to coma and death.
Early detection and treatment often lower the odds of these complications.
As Dr. Subbiah explains, These are not fixable problems when you put them all together.
That doesnt mean that all of these complications are unavoidable or even always deadly when they do happen.
Its also why there is hope for many people with cancer, especially in the earlier stages.
The [overall] rate at which people are dying of cancerhas fallen, Dr. McIver says.
Were getting much better at avoiding direct cancer deaths.
