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NEWS > HEALTH > CANCER FOUND IN 2000 YEAR OLD MUMMY TOO ADVANCED TO CURE
CANCER FOUND IN 2000 YEAR OLD MUMMY TOO ADVANCED TO CURE
November 5 2011
Lisbon, Portugal – As much as things change they really do stay the same, especially when it comes to life and death. After all, no one wants to die even though we all know it is inevitable, prompting us to do whatever we can to stave it off, or even circumvent it completely, something which has never really worked out all that well.
In the modern era, we try things such as cryonic freezing to avoid the spectre of death, hoping that whatever kills us will be curable sometime in the future and giving us the opportunity at eternal life. For as long as burial rituals have been around some version of that, the quest for eternal life, has played a role.
That is best evidenced by a new discovery inside a 2250-year old mummy that was shown to have cancer, the second oldest case of the disease ever discovered. Unfortunately, for the man his quest for eternal life has failed with doctors stating that the disease is too far advanced, and alongside the removal of all the internal organs and brain, that the individual simply will not be revived.
“The bone lesions were considered very suggestive of metastatic prostate cancer. It is the oldest known case of prostate cancer in ancient Egypt and the second oldest case in history,” said lead researcher Carlos Prates.
The individual was between 51-60 years old, a very old age at that time, at the time of his entombment. It’s not clear how rapidly he was mummified after passing away which could impact treatment.
The complete lack of internal organs, common in mummification, would also make it difficult to return the man to health.
“This research is very valuable for the study of cancer, but as for any type of resurrection of these long-dead individuals, well that’s just not going to happen in this case. It would be great, honestly, because he could have given us great insight into the world he lived in but unfortunately he is just too far gone for that to happen,” said Scrape TV Historical analyst Lars Luger. “It’s too bad they didn’t have the type of advanced techniques in preserving bodies that we have today because having a touchstone to that time, well that would be an incredible historical document but that may never happen.”
In addition to organ removal, the dry and less than sterile conditions may make it impossible to resurrect any mummies.
“Perhaps somewhere down in the depths of a tomb somewhere we will find a mummy that we can in fact resurrect. Someone who died of a curable ailment or perhaps was mummified before actually dying. If that happens it will be a great opportunity to study the past first hand, but it is unlikely unfortunately,” continued Luger. “But you never know. We are finding new things in Egypt all the time. Maybe one day we will find the right body, the right mummy, and be able to bring it back to life. That would be a very cool day.”
It’s not clear if such a mummy would seek vengeance on us for one reason or another.
Lauren Hebert, Health Correspondent
NEWS > HEALTH > CANCER FOUND IN 2000 YEAR OLD MUMMY TOO ADVANCED TO CURE
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