cancer

How does cancer cause death?

Every patient is different, and the way cancer causes death varies. The process can depend on the type of cancer, where it is in the body, and how fast it’s growing.

For some people, the cancer can’t be controlled anymore and spreads to healthy tissues and organs. Cancer cells take up the needed space and nutrients that the healthy organs would use. As a result, the healthy organs can no longer function. For other people, complications from treatment can cause death.

During the final stages of cancer, problems may occur in several parts of the body.

    Digestive system: If cancer is in the digestive system (e.g., stomach, pancreas, or colon), food or waste may not be able to pass through, causing bloating, nausea, or vomiting. If the cancer prevents food from being digested or absorbed, patients can also become malnourished.
    Lungs: If too little healthy lung tissue is left, or if cancer blocks off part of the lung, the person may have trouble breathing and getting enough oxygen. Or, if the lung collapses, it may become infected, which may be too hard for someone with advanced cancer to fight.
    Bones: If cancer is in the bones, too much calcium may go into the bloodstream, which can cause unconsciousness and death. Bones with tumors may also break and not heal.
    Liver: The liver removes toxins from the blood, helps digest food, and converts food into substances needed to live. If there isn’t enough healthy liver tissue, the body’s chemical balance is upset. The person may eventually go into a coma.
    Bone marrow: When cancer is in the bone marrow, the body can’t make enough healthy blood cells. A lack of red blood cells will cause anemia, and the body won’t have enough oxygen in the blood. A low white blood cell count will make it hard to fight infection. And a drop in platelets will prevent the blood from clotting, making it hard to control abnormal bleeding.
    Brain: A large tumor in the brain may cause memory problems, balance problems, bleeding in the brain, or loss of function in another body part, which may eventually lead to a coma.

In some cases, the exact cause can’t be pinpointed and patients simply decline slowly, becoming weaker and weaker until they succumb to the cancer.

Again, every patient is different and all processes have different stages and rates in which they advance. And some conditions have treatments that can help slow the process or make the patient more comfortable. It’s very important to keep having conversations with the patient’s health care team.


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