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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009Benign Cancer ?
In an article published in today's (2009-07-29) online Globe & Mail (Canadian newspaper), Maria Cheng writes about the risk of cancer from tanning beds. One of her sentences includes the phrase "...most types of skin cancer are benign." Is this usage correct? Webster's Dictionary lists one meaning for "benign" astof a "...character that does not threaten health or life." Another meaning is listed as "...not becoming cancerous." I assume that Ms. Cheng meant to express the non-life threatening concept in her sentence but doesn't the "not becoming cancerous" definition preclude using "benign" to express the not life threatening concept when speaking of the severity of cancer? >In an article published in today's (2009-07-29) online Globe & Mail >(Canadian newspaper), Maria Cheng writes about the risk of cancer from [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >preclude using "benign" to express the not life threatening concept when >speaking of the severity of cancer? Maybe it's a mixup of techical and colloquial uses of "benign". There are a lot of google hits on "relatively benign". Maybe that would have been a better term.  SignatureJohn Quoth Mardon <mgb72mgb@hotmail.com>, and I quote: >In an article published in today's (2009-07-29) online Globe & Mail >(Canadian newspaper), Maria Cheng writes about the risk of cancer from [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >preclude using "benign" to express the not life threatening concept when >speaking of the severity of cancer? I think a tumour can be benign but not a cancer. The Wiki article for "Benign tumor" starts thus: "A benign tumor is a tumor that lacks all three of the malignant properties of a cancer." SignatureJames > Quoth Mardon <mgb72mgb@hotmail.com>, and I quote: > [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > "A benign tumor is a tumor that lacks all three of the malignant > properties of a cancer." The NSOED (1993 edition) defines "cancer (2)" as "A malignant tumour or growth of body tissue that tends to spread and may recur if removed; disease in which such a growth occurs". I suspect that this was the original meaning and that some careless soul equated "cancer" with "tumour" without appreciating that a tumour can be either malignant or non-malignant. This usage then metastasised and spread, leading the growth of such verbal abominations as "non-cancerous cancer". SignatureLes (BrE) Quoth Leslie Danks <leslie.danks@aon.at>, and I quote: >> Quoth Mardon <mgb72mgb@hotmail.com>, and I quote: >> [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >or non-malignant. This usage then metastasised and spread, leading the >growth of such verbal abominations as "non-cancerous cancer". It's just another case of non-lethal electrocution. SignatureJames > "A benign tumor is a tumor that lacks all three of the malignant > properties of a cancer." And most skin cancers have only one of the three, invasiveness into the surrounding tissue. So they're still considered malignant, but they're not going to kill or even disable you unless they happen to be in a spot where they'll invade some important organ. ¬R > In an article published in today's (2009-07-29) online Globe & Mail > (Canadian newspaper), Maria Cheng writes about the risk of cancer from [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > preclude using "benign" to express the not life threatening concept when > speaking of the severity of cancer? Looking at Web pages on medical terms, I see that the terminology is rather overlapping. You can have this apparent contradiction: skin cancer (the mildest form) that is not cancerous: ....Skin cancer is the most prevalent form of all cancers in the U.S. and the number of cases continues to rise. It is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal skin cells. This rapid growth results in tumors, which are either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous). ... "Cancerous" does not appear to mean "anything remotely related to cancer," but instead the same as "malignant." So yes, barring any further medical technicalities, the terms work. You can have skin cancer which creates tumors that are benign, which are also called "not cancerous." SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux > In an article published in today's (2009-07-29) online Globe & Mail > (Canadian newspaper), Maria Cheng writes about the risk of cancer from [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > preclude using "benign" to express the not life threatening concept when > speaking of the severity of cancer? Anything that's not malignant is benign, Jan |
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