When Did I Start Getting Cancer?
March 15, 2025 at 01:27AMIn March 2013, Alison Spodek was diagnosed with leukemia, a cancer of the blood. As an environmental chemist, she was uniquely qualified to investigate what caused the gene mutations that allowed the disease to develop. Was it something she inherited? Was it exposure to a cancer-causing chemical as a child? Exposure as an adult? Faced with treatment and the unknown, she turned to science to understand what went wrong.
Mutations are copy-editing mistakes in the DNA instructions, and happen frequently as cells divide and differentiate. Many mutations get corrected quickly by the mind-blowingingly complex self-correction systems within our cells. Some do not. Some mistakes are random. Some mistakes are prompted by exposures to DNA-damaging substances, like solvents and radiation. Some mistakes don’t matter, while others have profound consequences—like leukemia.
More picks from Nautilus
Scent Makes a Place
“How the desert taught me to smell.”
My Brain Doesn’t Picture Things
“How can someone even function as a human being without the ability to imagine pictures and sounds?”
The Once and Future Woods
“Cathedrals, seed banks, and oaks: How to live in times of change.”
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/03/14/when-did-i-start-getting-cancer/
via IFTTT
Watch