The Link between Fat and Cancer by Jacque Wilson (Essay Sample)

Insert Name
Professor’s name
Course/class
Date
“The Link between Fat and Cancer” by Jacque Wilson
Cancer is one of the dreaded illnesses in the world. This is because once it reaches an advanced stage the victim has very little chance of survival. It is not known what exactly causes the ailment. However, researchers have been able to prove that some factors and behaviors significantly increase the likelihood of suffering from the disease. These include smoking and genetics (Anslem). Jacque Wilson wrote the article, “The Link between Fat and Cancer,” to shed light on one of the least known causes of cancer: high fat levels.
The writer starts out by presenting some startling statistics obtained from a recent study on the link between obesity and cancer. According to a renowned cancer specialist, a considerable number of Americans are unaware that there is a correlation between cancer and high fat levels. Yet tens of thousands of the cancer cases are attributable to obesity. Worse still, considering that the number of people who have excess fat is increasing, there is a chance that obesity may become the leading cause of the chronic ailment. In this respect, there is a need for a concerted effort in sensitizing the population, both in the US and worldwide (Wilson).
The researchers observed almost a million grownups for more than a decade and were able to record useful information (Wilson). It was established that obesity was the cause of the cancer cases that led to the deaths of at least ten percent of the women and men that were included in the sample. In this case, the high fat levels significantly increase the chances of suffering from more than 10 types of cancers.
According to the scientists, it is not absolutely clear how high fat levels cause the chronic ailment, but from their observations, they were able to come up with some suggestions. Firstly, it is possible that high body fat is a catalyst for rapid cell division and growth. The accumulation of cells causes swellings that may turn into cancerous cells. For women, the increase in fat leads to secretion of more estrogen, which is known to cause tumors in the mammary glands. In addition, high fat levels force the body to secrete more quantities of the hormones responsible for promoting or stopping the growth of cells, which in some cases makes it impossible to repair damaged cells and hence the affected cells become cancerous (Wilson).
Besides that, obesity has other negative consequences. The condition makes it difficult for patients and doctors to identify the early symptoms of cancer. Also, the dense layers of fat make the x-ray machines and other imaging devices in effective. That is, it becomes impossible to differentiate the cholesterol tissues from the tumors. In case the cancerous growths are detected, operating on the obese patients to remove the alien tissues is dangerous as such individuals can easily be affected by the viruses and bacteria that abound in medical theaters (Wilson). Worse still, even after the ...