# Dying of Cancer Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572 "2009-05-15T21:20:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EasyPhil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47c2d/32.png) [@EasyPhil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EasyPhil)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/1 "2009-05-15T21:20:55Z")
When people die of cancer what actually kills them? Do chemotherapy agents accelerate death in some instances? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/2 "2009-05-15T22:24:52Z")
> **[About Cancer](https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer?page=2561)** > > Find out about possible causes of cancer, how cancer starts and grows, tests to diagnose it, and general information about treatments. That’s a first cut at an answer. Lots of ways. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/3 "2009-05-15T22:28:10Z")
Previous thread on this topic, with some good info: [How does cancer kill you?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=166148) From that thread: > [@How Does Cancer Kill You?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-does-cancer-kill-you/158015/8): > > Cancer kills in many ways. Depending on the specific type, all or some of the following may apply: > > 1. Cancer, at its primary site can cause lethal problems eg. lung cancer blocking a bronchus (breathing tube) leading to pneumonia, eg. cancer of the bile ducts blocking off the liver > > 2. Cancer can spread locally and kill, eg. a lung tumor that eats it way into a blood vessel or into the heart lining > > 3. Cancer can spread far beyond its primary site and do damage there, eg. breast cancer spreading to the liver and causing liver failure, or eg. breast cancer spreading diffusely through the lungs, or eg. lung cancer spreading to the brain > > 4. Cancer weakens the body, sometimes in obvious ways such as malnutrition, and sometimes in subtler ways such as inhibiting the immune system. In either case, infections result and are much more severe than in “normal” individuals. > > 5. Cancer makes the blood clot more readily. Blood clots kill. (The association between cancer and clots is quite common but not generally appreciated, IMO, by lay people) > > (N.B. Both #5 and #6 are made worse by the immobility of advanced cancer patients) > > 1. Cancer replaces the bone marrow causing fewer white blood cells and/or platelets to be produced. Infection and/or bleeding results. > > 2. Cancer can leads to bizarre, unpredictable, and sometimes mysterious effects in the body, eg. lung cancer causing “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, eg. kidney cancer causing high blood calcium levels, eg. myeloma (a type of bone marrow cancer) causing breakdown of the nerves in the body (neuropathy), eg. lymph cancer leading to kidney failure > > I’m sure there are even more mechanisms. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/4 "2009-05-16T11:12:40Z")
I’ve heard that one common mechanism is that tumors outgrow their blood supply, so that down in the center of the tumor (where the shortfall is worst) cells die. The mass of dead tissue there decomposes, which poisons the blood supply. ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2009, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/5 "2009-05-16T12:53:08Z")
> [@EasyPhil](#): > > When people die of cancer what actually kills them? Do chemotherapy agents accelerate death in some instances? Other posters have covered the first part pretty thoroughly. To answer your second question, yes sometimes the side-effects of chemotherapy can result in death. Many types of chemotherapy weaken the immune system, and the gastrointestinal side effects can worsen malnutrition, making the patient more prone to infections which can kill. However, even in terminal patients chemotherapy can do good by extending life and giving the patient more time to live. It can also improve quality of life by reducing tumour burden, and hence reducing pain and other problems caused by the tumour(s) themselves. The benefits vs the risks need to be weighed up individually for each patient and are often continuously re-asssessed, depending on things like side-effects and evidence of how well it’s working. It’s not uncommon for treatment to be temporarily suspended, for example if blood tests show that white cell count is too low, or stopped completely, for example if scans show the tumour(s) are not shrinking or have grown. ---
**Author:** ![AbbyF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AbbyF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbyF)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/6 "2014-03-18T11:24:56Z")
Not everyone is ready to read about what happens when someone is dying. . . ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/7 "2014-03-18T11:38:08Z")
Those people aren’t likely to do a search that returns a five year old thread discussing the issue. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/8 "2014-03-18T12:25:47Z")
> [@AbbyF](#): > > Not everyone is ready to read about what happens when someone is dying. . . Welcome to the board **AbbyF**. You have revived what is called a Zombie thread, one that hasn’t been discussed for several years. Generally we don’t bring these back up unless we have something to add to the original question. Sounds like you may be searching for answers to questions that you didn’t really want to know details about but needed to know. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/9 "2014-03-18T12:35:26Z")
That was a nicer way to put it. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/10 "2014-03-18T13:20:31Z")
This also the 4th or 5th cancer related zombie thread that \*\*AbbyF \*\*has revived since joining a few weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-cancer-question/496572/11 "2014-03-18T14:10:37Z")
> [@AbbyF](#): > > Not everyone is ready to read about what happens when someone is dying. . . **Moderator Instructions** **AbbyF** , as has been pointed out, you have been reviving old cancer threads for no good reason. While we permit the revival of old threads in order to add new information, we prefer that you not do so pointlessly. If you do this again, you may be subject to an official warning. This thread is closed. Colibri General Questions Moderator