Spider Cancer

Spider Cancer, while sounding like a silly thing, is actually one of the most dangerous types of cancer there is. The disease is passed down from generation to generation and can become active at any age. It can also be obtained by being injected by the cancer spider venom. The disease is still relatively new, only about fifteen years old.

Transmission & Vectors

There are two main ways Spider cancer is transmitted. Venom injections and passed down from a relative.

Venom Injections

When someone has recently died from Spider Cancer, spiders will begin to crawl out of their body. These arachnids, labeled as Cancer spiders, contain venom to inject Spider Cancer cells into a creature. Their fangs can poke through any type of skin and fabric, but not leather or metal. Even A small amount of the venom will cause the cells to start producing. Depending on the species and age, it can take a longer or short time for the cancer cells to grow to a sizable amount.

Passed down

Spider Cancer can also be passed down genetically since it's able to appear at any age. The cells are passed down from the parent into the child. The cells passed down to the child ten to stay dormant until their teen or adult years, but can become activated when greeted with similar diseases.

Symptoms

While regular cancer and Spider Cancer have similar symptoms, there are some key differences

Stage 1

• Unexpected weight loss
• Excessive fatigue
• Constant stomach aches
• Changes in the skin coloring

Stage 2

• Cough that's getting worse/ won't go away
• A lump that has grown larger
• Emesis contains small black pods

Stage 3

• Coughing up larger black pods
• Increase in appetite
• Stool contains black pods

Stage 4

• Loss of all energy
• Loss of all appetite

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After the patient reaches stage 4, they have anywhere from an hour to ten minutes to live. After they die, Cancer spiders begin to crawl out of their bodies and begin to look for more people in inject their venom into

Treatment

The treatment found most effective so far is to inject the patient with a special type of bug spray that target's the eggs and Spider Cancer cells. Since the sickness is still relatively new, they are still researching new ways to fight against this disease.

Prevention

The best way to prevent Spider Cancer is by not interacting with any creature that has reached stage 3 as stage 4 could be coming soon. Local governments send out hazmat teams who clear out the rooms of where the victims died to prevent the Cancer Spiders from getting to other people.

History

Spider Cancer was originally made in a lab. They had been experimenting with cancer cells to try and find a way to stop it. Spider silk had been known to help strengthen cells, so they injected a few silk cells into a stage three Cancer patient to see if it would help at all. They kept close tabs on the patient as they lived their daily life. They seemed to be getting better until the cancer suddenly turned into stage four. The patient, barely ten minutes later, died. They took the body back, wanting to see where they had gone wrong in the experiment. When they dissected the body, they were met with hundreds of spider larva in the lungs, the original spot of where the cancer had formed. The larva quickly attacked the doctors before dying out. The doctors managed to survive after being injected with some kind of fluid from the spiders. When they went to examine the fluid, they discovered the spider silk cells had bred with the cancer cells and formed a new type of life form that was capable of creating spider eggs inside the victim.

As time went on, Spider cancer evolved into one of the most deadly types of cancer and highly contagious if around someone who had recently died from the disease.

Cultural Reception

Since so many horror stories have been passed around about Spider Cancer, people fear they will catch it and stay away from the victims as much as they can. The government will even pay the victims to stay home to stop the spread of the disease. Doctors, on the other hand, are extremely empathetic towards the victims, as they seem many cases of people commiting suicide, thinking it will be less painful than suffering through Spider Cancer. Whenever Spider Cancer patients are brought in for treatment, they are cared for by the staff so they feel comfortable and safe in the hospital. Because so many of the patients seek comfort like the doctors give them, they usually end up living in the hospitals while being treated.

Origin

Engineered

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Rare