Many people have cancer cells within their bodies without actually developing the disease. On occasion, microscopic colonies of cancer cells may develop that are called in situ tumors. Still, these remain disease free. In fact, very few of these situations result in the development of disease.
So, if a large percentage of people have cancer cells, why do only a tiny percentage develop fatal cancers? This is because the cancer cells in most people are dormant and need additional information and energy to continue to grow and become malignant tumors. It begins with our blood vessels.
Some diseases emerge because blood vessels become ‘out of control’
Here’s an amazing fact: your blood vessels are over 60,000 miles long. That’s long enough to encircle the earth twice. Most of these vessels are developed while a fetus is still in the womb. Under normal circumstances, the blood vessels in adults are largely unchanged, except for wound healing and tissue repair.
However, there are some times when blood vessels grow in women, such as during pregnancy when blood vessels form the placenta.
During the formation of new blood vessels, such as when a wound in healing, the body releases proteins called angiogenic factors. They help stimulate new growth. The size and number of these new blood vessels are according to a set standard, and their growth won’t become out of control. When the body does not need certain blood vessels, it releases natural angiogenesis inhibitors that keep the growth under check.
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