The big C.. Cancer

tonyheaney

Does anyone know when the first case of cancer was recorded. When and Where?

sean_b97

in history?

sean_b97

I'd be surprised if anyone could give an accurate answer tbh

sean_b97

seems like something where multiple cases would be claimed as the first (or none at all would be) and there'd be no real way to know

sean_b97

bet ill be proved wrong haha

tonyheaney

yes in history. Like for example back when the Egyptians built the pyramids, is there anything in the history book that say it could have been around then? or in Shakespeare times? or is Cancer a 20th century disease?

endacl

No. It's not a 20th century disease. There's no such thing as 'cancer', per se. It presents in different organs in different ways, and responds differently to different treatments. Each is different. 'Cankers' (from which we get the modern word) have been recorded throughout history. Some of those were undoubtedly what we would diagnose today as tumours, whether malignant or benign. Indications of bone cancers have been found in fossils. It may be a disease of the 20th century, though, in that it disproportionately affects the old, and there are more of us, and more of us living to an advanced age. And if course, being exposed to more carcinogenic substances for all of that longer lifespan.