• Question: why is Cancer called cancer

    Asked by genius to Mario on 28 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Mario Ruiz

      Mario Ruiz answered on 28 Jun 2013:

      I’ve just checked it and it seems that the word ‘cancer’ comes from the latin for ‘crab’. At the beginning of the diagnosis of the diseases, doctors saw that the veins and arteries around the organ/tissue that was affected with cancer cells were a bit swollen and they took the shape of the legs of a crab. That’s why they decided to call the illness ‘cancer’ (‘crab’).

      It’s not that I like cancer at all, but it’s a very interesting story about the origin of the word, don’t you think?

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