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theganglyone t1_j7m01am wrote

Unfortunately no.

In an autoimmune disease the immune system targets a protein that healthy cells produce. Because this targeting is highly specific, it doesn't carry over to viruses, bacterial, or cancer cells.

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Aganihm1 t1_j7mj7nf wrote

Even worse, some autoimmune diseases might even increase your chances of getting cancer. An example is Crohn's, which, if it affects your colon, can put you at a higher risk for colon cancer.

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scotianheimer t1_j7mq5kr wrote

Likewise for ulcerative colitis, an increase in risk of colon cancer after you’ve had it for 10 years or more.

Having said that, a certain percentage of people with ulcerative colitis will have their colon removed, which drops their colon cancer risk to zero. I’m unsure if this has been factored in to the risk calculations…

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WanderlustLife4Ever t1_j7o6h00 wrote

To add to this, having one autoimmune such as Hashimoto’s can also increase your risk of developing another autoimmune like Lupus. So even if one is relatively treatable, another that co-occurs may not be medically managed as well or have it’s own medical conditions associated with it.

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WhiteRabbitWithGlove t1_j7p92ih wrote

Or a Hashimoto's favorite - insulin resistance. Once your body starts to hate you, it will hate you in many different ways.

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dug99 t1_j7osf5c wrote

Also the steroids used to treat it in past years cause massive increased in cancer risk. Watched a friend with Crohn's die slowly and painfully from cancer 4 years ago. It was all over his body.

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Bax_Cadarn t1_j7oxi3j wrote

That's actually interesting. Can You present data about how steroids affect the development of cancers?

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[deleted] t1_j7o6ley wrote

[deleted]

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Huppah t1_j7obdcn wrote

Allergies aren't autoimmune disorders?

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WhatANiceCerealBox11 t1_j7odfmy wrote

You’re correct and that’s the misconception at work here. It’s often taught (incorrectly) that autoimmune diseases are caused by the immune system being overactive. That’s similar to how allergies are taught which is why this person equated the two

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Huppah t1_j7ofzsc wrote

Ah that's interesting. Thanks for explaining!

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