Many, if not most, cancer deaths come as a result of
infection by bacteria, viruses, and fungi- microbes that
normally would be destroyed by the immune system. In the
case of cancer, the immune system becomes severely
suppressed, partly because of the systemic weakening brought
on by the cancer process and partly because of the negative,
toxic effects of conventional cancer treatment – essentially
chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation.
A tumour can directly interfere with the functioning of a
vital organ, such as the lungs, liver, pancreas, brain, or
kidneys, in effect, strangulating it. When a cancerous mass
becomes too large, it steals nourishment from the organ,
secreting toxins into it, or causing some form of physical
obstruction that effectively shuts the organ down.
Severe malnutrition or emaciation, which is a condition of
cellular starvation called cachexia (pronounced cah-
CHECK-see-yah) may affect up to 90% of all advanced cancer
patients and account for 50% of all cancer deaths. The
cancer process effectively starves cancer patients, using up
their energy reserves. These effects primarily result from
the body’s shifting to an inefficient use of fuel sources,
as well as the person’s loss of appetite.
Protein-calorie malnutrition is not uncommon among
hospitalized patients in general, and can lead to overall
weakness, apathy, increases in mortality and surgical
failure, a reduction in immunity, and poor responsiveness to
treatment. Some cancer patients die from hemorrhage
(uncontrolled blood loss from a failure of the blood to
clot), which is a frequent cause of death in leukemia, but
can also occur when a tumour grows into a large blood
vessel. Cancer can impair the blood’s ability to form clots
and internal bleeding can occur readily and persistently.
Cancer can also cause excessive clotting and the formation
of thrombi (plural of thrombus, which is a blood clot
attached to the interior wall of a vein or artery), cutting
off the blood supply to a vital organ.

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