Cancer is a disease.

Normal tissue in the human body have certain characteristics controlled by genes. Normal cells are programmed to die after a certain length of time to be replaced by new cells, the highest turnover being in the skin, blood and the gut. Normal cells are highly specialised and never migrate outside the organ designed for their functioning. Thus breast tissue is never found in the liver and kidney tissue will never be found in the brain. When cells become malignant genetic changes make the cells avoid programmed death so the cells become autonomous. They multiply by dividing into daughter cells, the time taken for each division depends on how aggressive the cancer is. This is called " doubling time " and it takes the same time for one cell to become 2 as it takes for 1 billion cells to become 2 billion. Doubling time for adenocarcinoma is around 90 days while glioblastoma may double in 10 days. Cancer cells also do not obey boundaries of organs and spread locally into surrounding tissues, into regionally draining lymph glands and to other parts of the body called " metastases ". Since they are autonomous they divert the body's nutrition for their own growth at the expense of normal body tissue ultimately resulting in the death of the individual. When cancer is small and localised it may be removed completely and the patient maybe cured. Unfortunately patients realise something is wrong when they start getting symptoms either locally or from spread by which time the cancer is already so big that treatment may just extend life for a few years or months at the cost of serious side effects. As it grows the cancer diverts more and more nutrition to itself at the cost of normal tissue resulting in loss of weight, often severe. It is impossible to have " advanced " cancer and still look nicely rounded and well nourished. However, a rumor of cancer enables a person to travel abroad for " treatment " and " check up ". If the person is the most powerful in the country a special plane is arranged at taxpayer's expense. It is then possible to carry any amount of expensive luggage to be left behind in a western country in case power is lost and children have to do a runner. Meanwhile Pakistan has got a Lt Gen Islam as chief of the notorious terrorist agency, the ISI. This fellow exactly resembles Mr Mogambo from the Bollywood hit movie Mr India. A villain to run a criminal organisation. Perfect choice.