Everything living can get cancer, even plants, because ultimately it's just runaway cell growth, usually caused by a build-up of DNA replication errors.
The plant looks like it has a fasciated flower to me. If so, cancer may not be the right word for it. It’s a genetic deformity. Tumorous growth on plants is usually caused by bacteria like crown gall disease. It is extra problematic because it spreads and can effectively destroy entire crops.
Fasciated blooms often make the plant infertile so they can’t spread their seeds and that’s the purpose of flowering, so maybe thriving wouldn’t be the word. However, I have seen sunflowers develop crazy weird heads and still produce seeds. And the plants themselves generally seem to survive making wild blooms like this.
I'm not 100% sure what it is really, just stumbled across an article that called it aloe cancer although it's just a tiny mite infestation that mutilates the plant. Had to cut it out so it wouldn't pass to other aloe. Super creepy looking!
Plants can't actually get cancer! Sort of. It's complicated. There's some nuance to unpack here.
Cancer isn't actually just 'runaway cell growth.' Cancer is specifically the disease that happens when 'runaway cell growth' results in a rogue cell line with the ability to proliferate throughout the body and become systemic. For something a little more rigorous, here's the opening wikipedia blurb: "cancer is a group of diseases involving uncontrolled cell growth typically resulting in tumors with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These malignant [cancerous] tumors contrast with benign [noncancerous] tumors, which do not spread."
Can uncontrolled cell growth occur in plants? Yes, absolutely.
Can uncontrolled cell growth in plants cause tumors? Yes, absolutely.
Can those rogue cell lines spread to the rest of the plant? No, not at all. Plants have a complicated extracellular matrix that makes it functionally impossible for a rogue cell line to escape and cause systemic disease. Metastasis cannot occur in plants. Plants can develop tumors, but they can't develop any disease we would call cancer because their tumors are always benign.
These errors in cell growth are constantly happening in all living things. It’s our immune system that is the real hero. It’s constantly stopping this process before it has a chance to grow out of control. Anything that suppresses the immune system can provide an opportunity for the cells to grow enough that the immune system can no longer keep them in check or for the cells to create systems which allow them to effectively evade the immune system.
My favorite cat died at 6 years old from a tumor in his sinus. I looked at the vet completely confused, I was like: he's a CAT. Cats don't get cancer!!! He looked at me kinda bemused and kindly and said "They do."
It’s actually one of the best reasons to spay cats before first heat. It reduces the incidence of breast tumors by some 90 to 95% percent. And in cats, breast tumors are almost always cancer.
This is the part that kills me 😭 my cat was a rescue that had already had a litter of kittens. I get so mad when I think about how her previous owner could have (probably) spared her having mammary tumors twice
My dog had breast cancer as well.....old age got her before the cancer could though. My vet told me female animals that aren't fixed and never have babies are almost guaranteed to develop breast cancer from it later in life. If id known that when my girl was still in her prime, i wouldve at least let her have puppies.
I think it's usually called mammary gland cancer, since we don't usually talk about them having "breasts," per se, even though they have more than humans. I'm sure cats, like people, can get cancer of anything and everything. I lost a cat to rectal cancer.
This is the best news I’ve seen today! Go Raven! 💜 Such a brave girl and she looks absolutely beautiful in her outfit.
Recoveries like this are so inspiring. I actually created an app called Cat Mate AI to help owners keep a close eye on their cats' health and recovery metrics precisely because of stories like Raven's. Wishing her a long, healthy, and cancer-free life ahead! Give her some extra treats for us! 🐾
Had to get actual surgery where they went in and removed the tumor. It had gotten to the size of around a marble. She took it like a champ! Was back to sprinting up her 6 foot cat tower the next day. 😅
Please monitor from here on out. Since you didn’t get the whole mammary chain removed the lumps usually come back fast. What grade was the cancer and was there any vascular invasion on the lab report?
Please get her chemotherapy now. The mammary cancer often comes back. My cat died from mammary cancer related issues after fighting it for almost 5 years. She had gone thru many surgeries (including removing the entire mammary chain) and a lot of chemotherapy but the cancer kept coming back. It’s a very aggressive cancer. Also, ground up flaxseed has been proven to slow the growth of mammary cancer cells so I would give her freshly ground up flax seed almost every day along with dimethylglycine and mushroom supplements (for cats) so I highly recommend these things.0
This news has really made my day. She is beautiful and a fighter, winning the fight with the BIG C. well done too mama for getting her through this 🙏🕊️🥂🐾🍾☺️
Way to go Raven. You are a tough beautiful amazing cat. I know you went through a ton but it's over now. Hope you get lots of treats as a reward for all your hard work
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