<h5>What is cancer?
</h5>  <p>Cancer is a disease that makes somebody's cells grow out of control. There are billions of cells in the human body. Most of these cells repeatedly reproduce. This process is managed by the body. However, in some people, certain cells multiply too much and produce tumours.</p>
<p>While some tumours are harmless, some are very dangerous. Healthy cells and organs nearby can be destroyed by them. Cancer is the name given to these harmful tumours. Sometimes the cells from these tumours spread to different body parts and develop new tumours. Cancer causes a lot of deaths across the world.</p>
<p>There are a few common symptoms of cancer. These symptoms include discomfort, unexplained weight loss, fever, exhaustion, etc. But, it’s still better to consult a doctor as they know more about diseases and how to treat them than we do.</p>
<p>Some cancers can be cured, while some cannot (oh no!). Recently, a groundbreaking new kind of therapy has successfully treated a teenage girl's cancer (yay!).
</p> <h5>What kind of treatment was used on the girl?
</h5> <figure>
        <img src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/new-treatment-cures-a-girl-s-cancer%2F3333333.jpeg?alt=media&token=4fdec92d-3167-47da-9e63-5dd49baa1629" alt="What kind of treatment was used on the girl?
" >
        <figcaption>Alyssa being treated at the hospital. Photo by Great Ormond Street Hospital.</figcaption>
      </figure> <p>For Alyssa's leukaemia, every previous treatment had failed. So, using a new treatment, named “base editing,” doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London, the United Kingdom (UK), treated and cured her. Alyssa is still being watched in case cancer reappears, even though it is no longer detectable six months later.</p>
<p>Alyssa, a 13-year-old, was identified as having T-cell leukaemia in May 2016. T-cells are meant to act as the body's guardian, spotting and destroying threats, but in Alyssa's case, they had turned dangerous and were out of control. Her cancer spread quickly. The bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy treatments failed to remove it from her body.</p>
<p>The only alternative left without the new treatment would have been to just keep Alyssa as comfortable as possible as she slowly approached death. If the doctors did not use “base editing” it would not have been possible to save her.
</p> <h5>What is base editing?
</h5>  <p>Bases are the language of life. The building blocks of our genetic code are bases. The billions of bases in our DNA spell out the instructions for our body, just as letters in the alphabet make out words with meaning.</p>
<p>Thanks to scientific advancements, it is now possible to focus on a specific location in the genetic code and change just one base's structure. This changes the instructions. The doctors were able to base-edit a new type of T-cell that would not harm healthy cells in Alyssa's body.</p>
<p>It would survive chemotherapy, and seek out and destroy all other T-cells in Alyssa's body (both healthy and cancerous). After this treatment was successful, Alyssa underwent a second bone marrow transplant to rebuild her immune system and healthy T-cells that wouldn’t harm her anymore. Thus, the kid was saved.
</p> <h5>What did we learn from this article?
</h5>  <p>We learned that both doctors and science are essential to medicine. Science helps create new medications, treatments, and technologies that help improve the health and quality of life of people all over the world. Doctors treat patients using the information and methods that have been created through scientific research.</p>
<p>So, do you want to become a doctor or a scientist when you grow up? Please tell us in the comments section.
</p>

Cancer is a very dangerous disease that affects a lot of people in the world. Recently, a 13-year-old girl recovered from cancer due to a new kind of treatment. Let’s read to find out more.

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