Rishikesh Ram Motilall’s book “Understanding Cancer: Causes, Spread, and Control Measures” is a comprehensive yet simple description of what causes cancer and how humans can understand what is happening in their bodies. Although cancer is referred to as a disease, it is a part of life that includes growth and reproduction.

Any process of life that is repetitive has the potential to incur and repeat mistakes, but not necessarily in the same way every time. Cell division (which is an integral part of reproduction) is subject to mistakes. Generally, a misfit cell cannot survive. If it does, the human defense mechanisms can destroy it. However, if a nonidentical cell lives and propagates, cancer results. The cancerous growth, if able to proliferate, will function differently and interfere with organ or mass cell function.