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The Contagious Taste of Cancer

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Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#4

Holy nightmare fuel jumpscare. Why would someone do this but at the same time knowing humans of course someone would do this.

In the case of transmissible diseases like smallpox, controlled exposure ends up being protective. It was widely practiced prior to development of modern vaccines.

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#5

Holy nightmare fuel jumpscare. Why would someone do this but at the same time knowing humans of course someone would do this.

Newton poked a needle into his eye socket to study the resulting visual distortions. I'd rather lick the cancer juice.

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#6
It doesn’t seem completely out of the question that he could have received a contagious cancer. There are examples in the animal world. I believe Tasmanian devils spread facial tumors through biting. And I have heard dogs have certain transmissible cancers as well.

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#7
post #6

It doesn’t seem completely out of the question that he could have received a contagious cancer. There are examples in the animal world. I believe Tasmanian devils spread facial tumors through biting. And I have heard dogs have certain transmissible cancers as well.

It stands to reason in my decidedly non-expert opinion. Many cancer cells have "forgotten" how to differentiate properly. Why should such a cell care if it's in the proper host any more than it cares it's in the proper place within that host?

I am a bit surprised that his own immune cells wouldn't stop it, but if cancer were easy for the immune system to deal with nobody would die of it.

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#8
We have one solid example of cancer caused by members of the HPV family. The disease can be transmitted via body fluids and/or contact. So there's that.

My laymans take: Cancer is a disease of the DNA of a cell. Viruses survive by altering cellular DNA. It begs the question: How many other viruses cause cancer?

It also seems clear to me that the virus may not be the sole cause since not everybody gets cancer so it is a multi-variable problem.

Virus + X = cancer

This will be harder to nail down but with modern data tools we should be able to get there.

Makes me wonder: Is the cancer "industry" searching for causes or just after-the-fact treatment?

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#9
post #3

Samuel Smith appears to have been infected by a fatal meme. I am obnoxiously in favor of free speech, but I can't deny ideas can kill in more ways than Chuck Norris.

It is also possible that he was bound for his deathbed regardless, and confused correlation and causation here. Perhaps his desire to taste other people's cancer was an early symptom of some mental decline that had already started?

Doctors of that era, especially those who weren't too keen on hygiene, probably did not have exceptionally great life-spans.

Re: The Contagious Taste of Cancer

#10
post #8

We have one solid example of cancer caused by members of the HPV family. The disease can be transmitted via body fluids and/or contact. So there's that. My laymans take: Cancer is a disease of the DNA of a cell. Viruses survive by altering cellular DNA. It begs the question: How many other viruses cause cancer? It also seems clear to me that the virus may not be the sole cause since not everybody gets cancer so it is…

Makes me wonder: Is the cancer "industry" searching for causes or just after-the-fact treatment?

Why brag that you are uninformed?

Some of the more successful interventions for cancer are preventative (for example removing polyps during colonoscopies) and genetic counseling is common.

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