Curious About Cancer

PODCAST 220: CURIOUS ABOUT CANCER

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18TH, 2022

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST. JUST TO GIVE YOU A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES AT CURIOUS KID PODCAST HEADQUARTERS, WE OCCASIONALLY GET EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS THAT MAKE US A BIT NERVOUS.  I REMEMBER WE FELT THIS WAY WHEN WE STARTED GETTING A LOT OF SUGGESTIONS TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS BACK IN EARLY 2020.  WE ALSO PUT A LOT OF THOUGHT INTO GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT OTHER TOPICS, LIKE THE TITANIC FOR EXAMPLE.  ANYTIME WE FEEL THIS WAY, WE ASK A FEW PEOPLE CLOSE TO US WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD COVER THE SUGGESTED TOPIC IN AN EPISODE.  WHEN WE ASKED AROUND ABOUT THIS WEEK’S TOPIC, WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO GO FOR IT, BECAUSE THE TOPIC OF THIS WEEK’S EPISODE IS REALLY IMPORTANT, EVEN IF IT MIGHT NOT BE A VERY UPLIFTING TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT.  

O:  TRIPLE-MAILBAG!

D:  TRIPLE-MAILBAG!

“HI JACOB AND OLIVIA!  MY NAME IS RIDGE AND I AM A 6 YEAR OLD FROM MONTANA.  I LOVE LISTENING TO YOUR PODCAST ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL WITH MY NANNY.  I ALWAYS LEARN SOMETHING SO COOL!  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT VIRUSES AND CANCERS.  WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A VIRUS AND A CANCER?  I AM ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT HOW CARS WORK.  THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS.  HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

RIDGE”

“HI OLIVIA.  MY NAME IS MICHELLE AGE 9 FROM SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA.  I LOVE THIS PODCAST.  PLEASE GET CURIOUS ABOUT CANCER.  MY GRANDPA DIED FROM CANCER.  LOVE THE PODCAST.

MICHELLE”

“HELLO OLIVIA AND JACOB!  MY NAME IS OLIVIA.  I AM 9 YEARS OLD AND I LIVE IN TENZA, COLUMBIA WITH MY SISTER SOFIA, 10 AND BROTHER OLIVER, 7.  WE LOVE YOUR PODCAST BECAUSE IT IS FUN, SHORT, AND SUPER INTERESTING!  WE HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM LISTENING TO YOU ON OUR CAR RIDES.  I AM CURIOUS ABOUT BETELGEUSE (THE STAR), VEGETARIANISM, AND WHY PEOPLE GET CANCER.  THANK YOU!!

OLIVIA”

O:  WOW, THOSE WERE SOME AMAZING EMAILS FROM SUPER FANS OF THE PODCAST.  IT’S A COINCIDENCE THAT A 9 YEAR OLD OLIVIA LISTENS TO ME, A 9 YEAR OLD OLIVIA.  MICHELLE, WE ARE SORRY FOR YOUR LOSS.  LOSING SOMEONE SPECIAL IS VERY HARD.  THIS WEEK, WE ARE GETTING CURIOUS ABOUT CANCER FOR RIDGE, MICHELLE, OLIVIA, SOFIA, AND OLIVER.  

D:  WHY DON’T WE GET THINGS STARTED WITH THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK?

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANCER WORLDWIDE?

D:  THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER BECAUSE CANCER IS ACTUALLY A COLLECTION OF DISEASES THAT ARE DIFFERENT, BUT HAVE SOME KEY SIMILARITIES.  

O:  THERE ARE OVER 100 DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER.  WHAT THEY ALL SHARE IS THAT THEY HAVE TO DO WITH CELLS.  CELLS ARE THE SMALLEST UNIT OF A LIVING THING THAT HAS THE BASIC PROPERTIES OF LIFE.  A HUMAN IS ESTIMATED TO HAVE ABOUT 37 TRILLION CELLS.    

D:  WHEN CELLS ARE ACTING NORMALLY, THEY GROW, THEY DIVIDE, AND THEY DIE.  CANCER CELLS DON’T ACT LIKE NORMAL CELLS THOUGH.

O:  UNLIKE NORMAL CELLS, CANCER CELLS WILL KEEP GROWING, DIVIDING, AND SPREADING.  THEY ALSO TEND TO COME TOGETHER, FORMING A GROUP OF CANCER CELLS CALLED A TUMOR.  

D:  A TUMOR HAS THE ABILITY TO DESTROY NORMAL CELLS NEARBY.  THIS CAN MAKE THE PERSON WITH CANCER VERY SICK.  NOT ALL CANCERS FORM TUMORS.  SOME COMMON CANCERS THAT DON’T FORM TUMORS INCLUDE LEUKEMIAS, DIFFERENT TYPES OF LYMPHOMA, AND MYELOMA.    

O:  IN MORE SEVERE CANCER CASES, CANCER CELLS WILL BREAK AWAY FROM THE TUMOR AND SPREAD TO DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE BODY.  IN THEIR NEW SPOT, THEY ARE ABLE TO CONTINUE GROWING AND EVEN COME TOGETHER TO FORM NEW TUMORS.  

D:  WHEN TUMORS SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE BODY, THE MEDICAL TERM YOU WILL OFTEN HEAR IS METASTASIS.  THAT JUST MEANS THAT THE CANCER MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION OUTSIDE OF THE PLACE WHERE IT STARTED.  WHEN THIS HAPPENS, IT OFTEN MAKES THE CANCER MORE DIFFICULT TO TREAT.    

O:  OUR AWESOME LISTENER, RIDGE, WANTED TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRUSES AND CANCERS.

D:  VIRUSES AND CANCERS ARE ACTUALLY VERY DIFFERENT.  TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VIRUSES, CHECK OUT THE EPISODE WE DID JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO ON GERMS.

O:  ONE OF THE BIG SIMILARITIES BETWEEN VIRUSES AND CANCERS ARE THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF BOTH.  

D:  THERE ARE OVER 200 DIFFERENT TYPES OF VIRUSES THAT CAN INFECT HUMANS.  HERE ARE SOME VIRUSES YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF:  THE FLU, MEASLES, RABIES, HAND FOOT MOUTH DISEASE, AND CORONAVIRUS.  

O:  THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER INCLUDE BREAST CANCER, KIDNEY CANCER, LIVER CANCER, LUNG CANCER, AND SKIN CANCER.

D:  BUT ONE HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VIRUSES AND CANCERS IS THAT VIRUSES ARE CONTAGIOUS, MEANWHILE CANCERS ARE NOT CONTAGIOUS AT ALL.

O:  THAT MEANS THAT YOU CAN CATCH A VIRUS FROM SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS THAT VIRUS, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT CATCHING CANCER FROM ANYONE, BECAUSE IT IS NOT CONTAGIOUS.  IF IT ISN’T CONTAGIOUS, WHAT CAUSES CANCER?

D:  THE ANSWER IS DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER, BUT THERE ARE SOME GENERAL THINGS THAT INCREASE THE RISK OF SOMEONE HAVING CANCER.  THOSE RISK FACTORS INCLUDE SMOKING, OBESITY, HAVING A FAMILY HISTORY OF CANCER, OR SIMPLY BEING OLDER, AS OLDER PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO HAVE CANCER THAN YOUNGER PEOPLE.  

O:  WHEN SOMEONE THINKS THEY MIGHT HAVE CANCER, THEY USUALLY SEE A SPECIAL DOCTOR, CALLED AN ONCOLOGIST.

D:  ONCOLOGISTS ARE DOCTORS WHO SPECIALIZE IN TREATING DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER.  THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO LOOK  FOR TO FIGURE OUT IF SOMEONE MIGHT HAVE CANCER. 

O:  IN ORDER TO FIND OUT IF SOMEONE HAS CANCER, AN ONCOLOGIST MIGHT DO A TEST CALLED A BIOPSY.  IN A BIOPSY, THE ONCOLOGIST WILL TAKE A SMALL SAMPLE OF THE TUMOR, OR SPOT IN THE BODY WHERE THE CANCER MIGHT BE, AND THEY WILL EXAMINE THAT SAMPLE UNDER A MICROSCOPE TO SEE IF THERE ARE CANCER CELLS.  

D:  IF SOMEONE HAS CANCER, THERE ARE THREE MAJOR TREATMENT OPTIONS THAT MIGHT BE AVAILABLE.  

O:  MOST PEOPLE THAT HAVE CANCER WILL HAVE SURGERY TO TRY AND REMOVE THE CANCER COMPLETELY.  

D:  A SECOND TREATMENT OPTION IS CALLED CHEMOTHERAPY.  THAT’S JUST THE WORD USED TO DESCRIBE MEDICATIONS THAT ARE TAKEN TO TREAT CANCER.  

O:  EVEN THOUGH CHEMOTHERAPY IS USUALLY VERY HELPFUL IN TREATING CANCER, IT CAN ALSO CAUSE UNPLEASANT SIDE EFFECTS.

D:  LIKE WE LEARNED A COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO, THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CANCER CELLS AND NORMAL CELLS IS THAT CANCER CELLS DIVIDE AND GROW LIKE CRAZY.  WELL, LOTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY WORKS BY DESTROYING CELLS THAT DIVIDE AND GROW RAPIDLY.  

O:  THE BIG PROBLEM IS THAT NOT ALL CELLS THAT DIVIDE AND GROW RAPIDLY ARE BAD.

D:  FOR EXAMPLE, HAIR CELLS DIVIDE AND GROW RAPIDLY.  THAT MEANS THAT WHILE YOUR CHEMOTHERAPY MEDICATIONS ARE HARD AT WORK DESTROYING CANCER CELLS, THEY ALSO SOMETIMES ATTACK OTHER CELLS THAT ACT LIKE CANCER CELLS, BUT ARE HARMLESS, LIKE HAIR CELLS.  THAT’S WHY MANY PEOPLE THAT ARE DOING CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENTS ALSO START LOSING HAIR.  

O:  OTHER COMMON SIDE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY INCLUDE LOSS OF APPETITE AND BEING VERY TIRED.

D:  THE THIRD COMMON CANCER TREATMENT OPTION IS SOMETHING CALLED RADIATION.

O:  IN RADIATION, HIGH-ENERGY WAVES, LIKE X-RAYS FOR EXAMPLE, ARE USED TO DESTROY CANCER CELLS.  IF RADIATION TREATMENT IS SUCCESSFUL, THE TUMOR MIGHT SHRINK OR EVEN GO AWAY.  

D:  JUST LIKE CHEMOTHERAPY, PEOPLE CAN HAVE SIDE EFFECTS FROM RADIATION TREATMENTS THAT ARE VERY SIMILAR TO THE SIDE EFFECTS WE DISCUSSED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY.  

O:  HOW DO ONCOLOGISTS DECIDE WHICH OF THE THREE TREATMENT OPTIONS; SURGERY, CHEMOTHERAPY, OR RADIATION, IS MOST APPROPRIATE FOR THE PATIENT?

D:  GREAT QUESTION.  THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THEY USUALLY CONSIDER WHEN DECIDING WHAT THE PATIENT SHOULD DO.  ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS THE TYPE OF CANCER THAT IS BEING TREATED.  ANOTHER IS HOW WIDESPREAD THE CANCER IS.  

O:  IN OTHER WORDS, IS THE AREA WITH THE CANCER VERY SMALL AND IN JUST ONE PART OF THE BODY?  IF SO, SURGERY MIGHT BE A GREAT OPTION.

D:  OR, HAS THE CANCER SPREAD, OR METASTASIZED, AND THEREFORE IT CAN BE FOUND IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE BODY?  IF SO, CHEMOTHERAPY OR RADIATION MIGHT BE MORE APPROPRIATE.  WHATEVER TREATMENT OPTION IS SELECTED, THE GOAL OF ANY OF THE TREATMENTS IS SOMETHING CALLED REMISSION.  

O:  REMISSION MEANS THAT THE PATIENT IS CANCER FREE, OR NO LONGER HAS CANCER.  EVEN ONCE A PATIENT IS IN REMISSION, THEY OFTEN FOLLOW UP WITH THEIR ONCOLOGIST FREQUENTLY FOR AN AMOUNT OF TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CANCER IS COMPLETELY GONE.

D:  THE PATIENT MAY EVEN CONTINUE CHEMOTHERAPY OR RADIATION TREATMENT FOR A BIT, WHILE IN REMISSION, TO HELP MAKE SURE THE CANCER DOESN’T RETURN.  

O:  IT TURNS OUT THAT ONE OF THE RISK FACTORS FOR CANCER IS PREVIOUSLY HAVING CANCER.

D:  THAT’S TRUE, BUT IT ALSO TURNS OUT THAT THE LONGER SOMEONE IS CANCER FREE, THE LESS LIKELY IT IS THAT THEIR CANCER WILL RETURN.  MOST CANCERS THAT COME BACK DO SO WITHIN TWO YEARS OF TREATMENT.

O:  AS MEDICINE AND TECHNOLOGY GET MORE ADVANCED, NEWER AND BETTER WAYS TO TREAT CANCER ARE BEING DISCOVERED.

D:  ONE OF THE VERY PROMISING AND NEWER TYPES OF CANCER TREATMENT IS SOMETHING CALLED IMMUNOTHERAPY. 

O:  WHEN MEDICATIONS ARE TAKEN FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY, THEY HELP YOUR OWN BODY’S IMMUNE SYSTEM FIGHT THE CANCER ITSELF.  

D:  IMMUNOTHERAPY HAS PROVEN TO BE A GREAT OPTION FOR PEOPLE WITH MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER, INCLUDING BLADDER CANCER, KIDNEY CANCER, AND LEUKEMIA.  

O:  STUDIES ARE ALWAYS BEING DONE TO CONTINUE TO FIND NEW TREATMENTS TO HELP THE MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WITH CANCER FIGHT THEIR CANCER.

D:  THERE ARE DIFFERENT STEPS WE CAN TAKE TO HELP PROTECT OURSELVES FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER, INCLUDING THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANCER.  OLIVIA, WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANCER WORLDWIDE?

O:  THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANCER IS SKIN CANCER.  THE RISK OF SKIN CANCER CAN BE REDUCED BY PROTECTING YOUR SKIN FROM ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT.  GO BACK AND CHECK OUT EPISODE 34 OF THE PODCAST, CURIOUS ABOUT SUNSCREEN, FOR DIFFERENT TIPS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTECT YOUR SKIN FROM THE POWERFUL SUN.  

D:  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  220 - CANCER.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB TO RIDGE, MICHELLE, OLIVIA, SOFIA, AND OLIVER FOR GIVING US A SUPER IMPORTANT HEALTH-RELATED TOPIC TO GET CURIOUS ABOUT.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE, WE HAVE AN INCREDIBLE LISTENER TO THANK.

O:  THANK YOU TO MINNIE FROM VIETNAM FOR LEAVING US A 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “BEST PODCAST EVER!  HELLO!  MY NAME IS MINNIE AND I’M FROM HANOI, VIETNAM.  I FIRST LISTENED TO YOUR PODCAST A YEAR AGO AND I WAS HOOKED!  NOW I LISTEN TO YOUR PODCAST ON THE ROAD TO AND FROM SCHOOL.  I’M ALWAYS WAITING FOR NEW EPISODES!  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!”

O:  THAT WAS AN AWESOME REVIEW, MINNIE.  WE CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH.

D:  AND, YOU NEVER HAVE TO WAIT LONG FOR NEW EPISODES.  WE RELEASE NEW EPISODES EACH AND EVERY SUNDAY, AND WE’VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 220 WEEKS IN A ROW NOW.  OH MY GOODNESS.  JOIN US NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT SUBMARINES FOR LISTENERS IN MASSACHUSETTS.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.