About 25 percent of these malignant growths are triggered by a genetic predisposition that has been present since birth. The rest of the time, normal genes become damaged with age or exposure to the toxic brew of wastes that collect in the colon, she learned. For Hummell to learn about her father's lung cancer, Hess arranged an interview with Dr. Elizabeth Dixon, the Hummell's family's physician. I asked Dr. Dixon what caused my father's cancer. She said that she didn't know, that there was no obvious immediate cause, it was just something he was exposed to.
Cancer can form in almost all tissues of the body.
Most of these cells form tumors, which invade normal tissues and disrupt body functions. The body is constantly forming new cells to replace old cells and to repair or grow tissue, as the body needs it. Hess also arranged for Hummell to access her father's Hospice records. As I read them I felt like I was reliving my father's last days with him, and I really understood what a lung cancer patient experiences. It was a good transition of death and dying.