History Main / TheTopicOfCancer

* ''ComicBook/CaptainMarvelMarvelComics'': ''The Death of Captain Marvel'' is possibly '''the''' classic Creator/MarvelComics example. In this case, it starts in an earlier story when Mar-Vell stops the villain Nitro from stealing a container of DeadlyGas, which leaks during the fight. Mar-Vell manages to reseal it and eventually is given an antidote in time while unconscious, but the gas' carcinogenic effects later give him fatal cancer, albeit suppressed for years by his Nega-bands until it mutates past their resistance and making it impossible to treat without assistance from the Kree medical community -- which, needless to say, is a non-starter for a traitor like himself.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* The comparison of any ethnic group, organization, ideology, political party, company or other collection of people to a "cancer", of which there were historically far too many to count, is an attempt to invoke this trope for political gain. No specific examples needed.
* There's been a RealLife inversion during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. That pandemic took centerstage in health discussions, and far fewer cancers have been diagnosed since late 2019 in most of the world simply due to lockdown orders and reduced hospital capacities for non-COVID patients.
[[/folder]]

The causes of cancer are numerous, and can include anything from old age, to exposure to certain chemicals (such as the ones found in [[DrugsAreBad cigarette smoke]]), to exposure to great amounts of radiation (this association with the evils of nuclear power or weapons may be part of the reason for the fear of cancer underlying modern society's perception) to sheer bad luck. The truth is, that in the end, nobody can say for sure who will have cancer and when. Right now, your father may be developing cancer, or your girlfriend, or your dog. Even if they've never even been near Hiroshima or Chernobyl, even if they don't smoke or drink, even if they live in a sterile bubble, even if they run 6 miles a day and eat nothing but kale, '''they may still develop cancer'''. There is no way to tell for sure without checking, and even if they turn out not to have cancer right now, nothing can assure that they won't develop one tomorrow, or in three minutes.

Even if the cancer is discovered and medical treatment is available, the fact that cancer is essentially an out of control aspect of the living body means that the only way to treat it effectively is ''to kill the growing body''. Chemotherapy for cancer involves intentionally poisoning a person just enough not to kill them, but to (hopefully) kill the tumors growing in them. The side effects are horrific: over the course of the long, long treatment, chemotherapy and radiotherapy will cast the patient down into the dark depths of the UncannyValley, causing them to slowly and painfully lose anything they had of the image of a healthy human being. Hair will fall, nails will break, fat will disappear. They will vomit, and they will wither, and they will cry silently as they are transformed into pale, skinny mockeries of the human form not by a disease, ''but by the cure'', helplessly watching this cruel world from behind lifeless, sleepy eyes.

Note that this trope isn't just for cases of [[Administrivia/PeopleSitOnChairs cancer appearing in fiction]]: The Topic Of Cancer means that the word, term, or very concept of cancer is used specifically to evoke that semi-rational, paranoid terror and revulsion and creepiness that are associated with cancer, or with implications that cancer is somehow worse in some way than other diseases or conditions.

** Another issue had an abandoned girl afflicted by teratomas (a sort of tumor that produces organ tissue in areas it's not supposed to be in), almost completely subsumed by a massive lump of half-formed limbs. This has a happy ending (happy as it gets for this series), however, as Fran is at least able to treat her condition enough for her to re-enter society.

* The original ComicBook/BlackCanary, Dinah Drake, died of cancer caused by the radiation from a blast that killed her husband years earlier.

* This trope accounts for a large part of ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}'s origin. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Wade is offered the chance of a cure by Weapon X, who implant a version of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor in him. However, this makes both his healthy cells ''and'' his cancer cells immortal, giving him the power of being [[BodyHorror riddled with tumors]] and ''not'' dying from it ([[NighInvulnerability or anything else]]), with the constant cellular chaos driving him to insanity.

* Possibly ''the'' classic Creator/MarvelComics example: the death of [[ComicBook/CaptainMarvelMarvelComics Mar-Vell]]. In his case, it happened in an earlier story when he stopped a villain stealing a container of deadly nerve gas and it leaked during the fight. Mar-Vell managed to reseal it and eventually was given an antidote in time while unconscious, but the gas's carcinogenic effects would later give him fatal cancer, albeit suppressed for years by his Nega-bands until it mutated past their resistance and making it impossible to treat without assistance from the Kree medical community, which, needless to say, was a non-starter for a traitor like himself.
* ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'': Jane Foster, the long-time love interest of Thor, was discovered to have cancer. [[spoiler:Her [[ComicBook/Thor2014 being the female Thor]] isn't helping and, in fact, is making things worse as [[CastFromLifespan it spreads each time she transforms]]. It was later revealed that one of Mjolnir's powers was removing poisons from the wielder's body. Since it considered her chemotherapy poison, it removed it and did more damage to her body.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'': This very DarkerAndEdgier alternate universe had [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Bruce Banner]] transform into a cancerous BlobMonster instead of a green Hulk.

** Used as a FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ComicBook/{{Venom}}'s origin -- It turns out that Eddie Brock has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract [[TheSymbiote the Venom symbiote]] to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food. This leaves Brock superpowered, angry and in constant pain -- for the rest of his life. It ended up being cured sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates'', it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together]].

* In the ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' comics ComicBook/PostCrisis, [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] is stricken with cancer due to his hand wearing a signet ring with a Kryptonite stone in it (a major departure from the previous depiction of Kryptonite as harmless to humans). They initially lop off his hand and replace it with a robotic prosthetic, but it is discovered that it has actually spread to the rest of his body, forcing Luthor to fake his death and come back in a clone body.

* The comic perhaps most well-known for this has to be ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean''. When it first showed up, it was a serious topic but ended on a hopeful note as Lisa overcame it and resumed her life. Then it came back and she died, and from then on, cancer and the pain it causes has a lingering effect over the characters in the strip. At least one minor character in its sister strip, ''ComicStrip/{{Crankshaft}}'', has also died from it unceremoniously.

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': In one animated segment, a prince sees a black spot on his face, but ignores it. Then he dies of cancer. (It should be noted in at least one version it got changed to gangrene. It was pretty obvious it got changed since the narration changed from a woman's voice to a man's. Then again, it ''is'' Monty Python...)

* ''Film/ThorLoveAndThunder'' loosely adapts elements from Jane Foster’s time as Thor in ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor''. After her diagnosis, she travels to New Asgard to find the shattered remains of Thor’s Hammer, which reform and grant her the powers of Thor. She stays transformed for most of the movie, as her mortal form not only remains weak, the transformations are making her illness worse.

* This is Creator/LurleneMcDaniel's bread and butter. Not only is cancer a major theme of her books, but the stories go into great detail about the diseases, treatments, surgeries, and side effects. These are the kinds of cancer books that ''The Fault in Our Stars'' mocks.

* ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'' discusses (with the help of an actual doctor) why "routine" cancer screenings (e.g., mammograms, colonoscopies, Pap smears, etc.) aren't as helpful as they're often touted to be, at least not in younger, healthy people. They can give "false positives" (such as flagging an area of dense tissue as a tumor), and they aren't able to distinguish between different ''types'' of tumors (i.e., those that are benign, and those that are malignant, and those that are fast-growing and slow-growing, etc.). This results in patients getting harsh treatments (such as chemo) that they really don't need, or the wrong type of treatment for their particular cancer...plus lots of emotional and financial stress on these patients and their families. The result of this is that many doctors and cancer advocacy groups are now recommending that (if they're not considered "high risk") they start the "routine" screenings later in life, and have them less often.

* Helen Givens from ''Series/{{Justified}}''. We learn that she is a cancer survivor during an argument with Arlo in Season 2.

* An early monologue by Bruce [=McCullough=] on ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' had him apologizing to everyone for "causing all of that cancer". He says he did it because he "didn't realize it was such a horrifying disease" and he was "just on a roll".

* On ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', Rosa is dying of ovarian cancer while in {{Prison}}. She is taken to the hospital on a regular basis for chemotherapy treatments. Her doctor says she needs life-saving surgery and gives her three weeks to live if she does not receive the surgery, but the Department of Corrections won't pay for it, and she doesn't have family on the outside that could pay for the treatment. [[spoiler:Morello gives her the prison van, so Rosa can at least live out the remainder of her life as a free woman. [[TakingYouWithMe Rosa runs over Vee, but crashes into a ditch herself and dies]].]]

* By the time of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', [[spoiler:Naomi Hunter]], a beloved character who's been with Snake (and the player) all the way since the first game doesn't just have cancer, she's [[spoiler:practically already biologically ''dead'' from cancer]]. It's so bad that ''mere seconds'' after she deactivates the {{nanomachines}} in her body fighting it, she dies.
* The page quote comes from ''VideoGame/MondoMedicals'', where you are helping an experimenter find the cure for cancer by... going through 8 disorienting obstacle courses. The experimenter is very ''[[NoIndoorVoice passionate]]'' about the Topic of Cancer.

* ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'':
** Weaponized by the Zerg Defiler. Their signature ability, Plague, coats an area in acid and carcinomas that can reduce anything to 1 HP, even through DeflectorShields. Defilers themselves are said to be "cancer factories", and their prerequisite building, the defiler mound, is little more than a huge tumor. Presumably, this is to showcase that the Zerg are so adaptable they can even adapt to ''this'' and twist it to their advantage; and at the same time, so utterly nightmarish they weaponize cancer.

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac'' has a cancerous tumor as a Trinket (passive accessory) that increases your rate of fire. It's actually so beneficial that your character cheers "[[BlackComedy Yay, cancer!]]"

* This has come up in the 2014-2015 arc of ''Moon Over June'', starting when Summer Winters' routine mammogram becomes vastly less so. The treatment has been odd. With one strip starting with Summer confiding to her housemate Hatsuki how awful the chemotherapy is making her feel and her fears that the double mastectomy was not in time to keep it from spreading, [[MoodWhiplash then]] [[AllWomenAreLustful demanding sex because it is the only way she can cope]] (it's that kind of webcomic).

* The {{Creepypasta}} "A Cure for Cancer" has a genius scientist obsessed with [[CureForCancer curing cancer]] infect his ex-girlfriend with a bioweapon that causes pancreatic cancer, which he thinks will be easy to cure since he engineered it (under contract by the CIA). The plan [[GoneHorriblyWrong goes horribly wrong]], as the cancer metastasizes into every single one of her organs. He remembers one of his proposed cures, which uses stem cells to remap the circulatory system, starving the tumors. This is a bust, however, since he can't get enough stem cells or funding (nobody wants to deal with the ethical ramifications of rendering down feti for them, so he makes a test-tube baby and grows it inside some kind of animal). The disease and cure react strangely, turning her into a zombie-like creature made entirely from cancer.
* Another {{Creepypasta}}, entitled simply "Cancer", details cancer treatment [[TheDungAges in 500 AD]]. It involves cutting off the infected organ with a blunt hacksaw, drinking poison, and being lit on fire. However, it's got a happy ending, as the main character survives the whole thing.

* ''Series/TheMidnightClub2022'': As the trailers show, the main character is diagnosed with thyroid cancer, prompting her to be sent to a hospice with a supernatural secret.

** The monsters Tyrannitoma and Tumorman weaponize cancer in two separate ways: Tyrannitomas are polyp-like creatures who convert any creature they`re attached to into a huge, sapient humanoid tumor with fantastic strength, and Tumormen weaponize an aggressive form of skin cancer.

** {{Discussed|Trope}} in the episode "Tonsil Trouble". Of course, they have to bring it UpToEleven by having activists claim that just having AIDS is way better than having cancer.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Karkat (who uses the trolltag carcinoGeneticist and the astrological symbol of cancer) admits to John he may have given John's universe cancer. And it turns out the cancer is [[spoiler:[[BigBad Jack Noir]]. The fact that he is an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a ''cancer'' sums up [[OmnicidalManiac his personality]]]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIssac'' has a cancerous tumor as a Trinket (passive accessory) that increases your rate of fire. It's actually so beneficial that your character cheers "[[BlackComedy Yay, cancer!]]"

* In ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'''s TitleDrop of a WombLevel, you fight parts of the EldritchAbomination. These include demonic tumors, cysts, and polyps, with the only actually healthy part of it being its white corpuscles.

* Music/{{Nightwish}}'s ''Higher Than Hope'' is about DJ Marc Brueland's battle with cancer.

-->-- Shouty Guy from ''VideoGame/MondoMedicals'' explains cancer

There are countless types of cancer, but all share the same defining nature: in cancer, the reproduction of cells goes out of control. Instead of dividing and multiplying in an orderly fashion, as they should, the cells multiply chaotically and violently without stopping, invading nearby parts of the body, and sometimes even spreading further through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. Ideally, cells have several countermeasures against such a destructive chain reaction starting, many emergency fall-back mechanisms meant to destroy the out of control cell before it can cause damage, but once in a while, those emergency killswitch mechanisms [[FailsafeFailure fail]].

* Anti-Tobacco ads like to point out that tobacco use causes all sorts of horrible cancers as an effort to stop people from using Tobacco. Sometimes this comes with graphic images of cancer-ridden cadavers pulled from now dead smokers and/or actual dying cancer patients.

* Used for karmic justice (and the compulsory BodyHorror) in ''Manga/FrankenFran'' -- a rich villain hires Fran to extend her life and tries to get her killed to steal her research (fortunately, Fran is ambiguously undead and can live through decapitation). Fran returns to the villain's mansion and finds her ShowingOffTheNewBody -- the experimental formula allowed her telomeres to regenerate indefinitely, making her cells immortal. Just as the first side effects start to appear, Fran calmly explains that the only cells not programmed to die of old age are cancer cells. She then walks away, leaving her client "immortal" -- as a gibbering pile of semi-liquid flesh.

* [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Vic Sage's]] battle with cancer forms one of the main storylines of ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome And then he dies of it]].

* In the second half of Creator/MarkWaid's ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' run, Matt discovers that his best friend Foggy Nelson has cancer. Complicating matters is right around this time Matt has gone public with his identity, so people know he's a friend of Daredevil: which means if he checks into a hospital to try and have it treated, any villain who wants to settle the score with Daredevil could target him. This forces Matt to fake Foggy's death while he undergoes treatment in secret.

* The drug "Mayfly" from ''ComicBook/{{Empowered}}'' gives you super intelligence, but will kill you within 24 hours from brain cancer (that is, assuming it doesn't just do that without giving you anything in return). ''Unless'' you manage to use your newfound genius in order to survive... as a horrible, grotesque mass of cancerous flesh.

** Used as a FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'''s origin -- It turns out that Eddie Brock has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract the symbiote to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food. This leaves Brock superpowered, angry and in constant pain -- for the rest of his life. It ended up being cured sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/VenomDonnyCates'', it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together]].

** In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' Vol 2 #1, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Aunt May has cancer and she's terrified of letting Peter know. When she finally does, one of the things he does is head for Dr. Strange (he was taking a kid there after he had accidentally broken his arm and the kid had no insurance) and start to ask for help. Strange cuts him off and suggests that he just take the time to be with her. Also, [[SelfDeprecation not to take up]] [[ComicBook/OneMoreDay deals with interdimensional demons]] (which Peter agrees to)]].

* One day, the main character of ''Film/{{Phenomenon}}'' sees a flash of unearthly light, hears a strange sound and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he's got super-intelligence and even psychic powers. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's got a ''massive'' cancer in his brain that by complete coincidence happens to enhance certain functions by pushing against [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain rarely activated parts of it]]. The flash of light was an epileptic hallucination brought upon by the cancer. Oh, and the main character is also dying.]]
* A bit of an oddball example is in Tommy Wiseau's ''Film/TheRoom'', wherein the LoveInterest's mom flat-out states that she is dying from breast cancer during one scene. This is promptly forgotten and never mentioned again.

** Generally inverted. Both of the main protagonists (and half of the supporting cast) have cancer. They all speak of their condition with a blasé-ness that only terminal cancer patients can muster. And people who try to sentimentalize or go emotionally overboard over the condition are heartily mocked.
** That said, when [[spoiler:Gus reveals his cancer returned, ten times nastier]], it is treated as a major heartwrenching moment, because up to this point, [[spoiler:Gus has been comparatively healthy compared to the IllGirl Hazel, only to have the roles cruelly reversed]]. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:he ends up succumbing at the end]].
* In ''Literature/GangstaGranny'', things turn serious the moment the word "cancer" is mentioned in what was previously a comedy book.

* ''Literature/TufVoyaging'' has a "cancer creature/living tumor" example in the "Meatbeast" that Haviland Tuf proposes as a temporary solution to [[SdrawkcabName S'uthlam's]] overpopulation induced food shortage.

%% * ''Series/DowntonAbbey'': Early on in Series 3, she finds a lump on her breast and meets with Dr. Clarkson for diagnosis. She asks Mrs. Patmore to tell Carson that the lump is benign, but it is left unclear as to whether she tells him this so as [[StiffUpperLip not to cause a fuss]] and worry him.

-->'''Arlo:''' I hope you get cancer!\\

--> '''Rosa''': No one fucks with cancer.

** In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E12LeonardBetts Leonard Betts]]", the eponymous MonsterOfTheWeek is a man made entirely of cancerous tissue. He can [[HealingFactor regenerate]] the ''[[LosingYourHead loss of his head]]'' and has to [[PickyPeopleEater eat cancerous tissue]] removed from surgery patients (he worked in a hospital). Significantly, this is the episode that reveals that Scully has developed cancer, thanks to Betts sensing it in her.

* In ''VideoGame/BioShock'', [[AppliedPhlebotinum ADAM]] works "like a [[BeneficialDisease benign cancer]]", changing native cells into unstable stem versions of themselves. Through a little GMO-ing, it can be used to [[SuperSerum induce superpowers]]. The withdrawal symptoms, however, are absolutely nightmarish, including the growth of huge tumors and neuro-degeneration into [[AxCrazy violent insanity]].

* Weaponized in ''VideoGame/StarCraftI'' by the Zerg Defiler. Their signature ability, Plague, coats an area in acid and carcinomas that can reduce anything to 1 HP, even through DeflectorShields. Defilers themselves are said to be "cancer factories", and their prerequisite building, the defiler mound, is little more than a huge tumor. Presumably, this is to showcase that the Zerg are so adaptable they can even adapt to ''this'' and twist it to their advantage; and at the same time, so utterly nightmarish they weaponize cancer.

* The protagonist and title character of ''VisualNovel/{{Melody}}'' both lost their mothers to cancer, and [[spoiler:Steve is about to lose his father to cancer.]]

* ''Webcomic/AwfulHospital''

* ''Webcomic/ManlyGuysDoingManlyThings'': the Commander's not worried about getting lung cancer from his cigar-smoking habit because in the future where he comes from, ''everyone'' apparently has cancer, but by this point it's become such an integral part of the human experience that the cancers have formed a symbiotic relationship with humans.

* Shows up in more than a few ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' strips, as [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Randall Munroe's now-wife had been diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer during their engagement]].

* The {{Creepypasta}} ''A Cure for Cancer'' has a genius scientist obsessed with [[CureForCancer curing cancer]] infect his ex-girlfriend with a bioweapon that causes pancreatic cancer, which he thinks will be easy to cure since he engineered it (under contract by the CIA). The plan GoesHorriblyWrong, as the cancer metastasizes into every single one of her organs. He remembers one of his proposed cures, which uses stem cells to remap the circulatory system, starving the tumors. This is a bust, however, since he can't get enough stem cells or funding (nobody wants to deal with the ethical ramifications of rendering down feti for them, so he makes a test-tube baby and grows it inside some kind of animal). The disease and cure react strangely, turning her into a zombie-like creature made entirely from cancer.
** Another, entitled simply "Cancer", details cancer treatment [[TheDungAges in 500 AD]]. It involves cutting off the infected organ with a blunt hacksaw, drinking poison, and being lit on fire. However, it's got a happy ending, as the main character survives the whole thing.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''WebOriginal/{{Mortasheen}}''. One option for a lawn is cancer-based MeatMoss.

** In ''Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'' Vol 2 #1, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Aunt May has cancer and she's terrified of letting Peter know. When she finally does, one of the things he does is head for Dr. Strange (he was taking a kid there after he had accidentally broken his arm and the kid had no insurance) and start to ask for help. Strange cuts him off and suggests that he just take the time to be with her. Also, [[SelfDeprecation not to take up deals with interdimensional demons (which Peter agrees to)]]]].

** The Immense Thing is assumed to be made from cancer, and has the FanNickname ''Terrortoma''.

** Used as a FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ''ComicBook/{{Venom}}'''s origin -- It turns out that Eddie Brock has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract the symbiote to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food. This leaves Brock superpowered, angry and in constant pain -- for the rest of his life. It ended up being cured sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'', it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together]].

* Music/LouReed's album ''Magic And Loss'' is an entire song cycle about two friends of his who died of cancer.

** Another issue had an abandoned girl afflicted by teratomas (a sort of tumor that produces organ tissue in areas it's not supposed to be in), almost completely subsumed by a massive lump of half-formed limbs. This has a happy ending (happy as it gets for this series), however, as Fran is at least able to treat her condition enough for her to re-enter society
* Elizabeta from ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' was a young Russian ballerina who developed bone cancer in her teenage years because she spent a period of her childhood in an area of the Ukraine that was heavily affected by the Chernobyl incident. Due to the generally primitive state of public healthcare in ex-USSR areas, the cancer is not contained properly and by the time Elizabeta arrives in Italy for further treatment, the doctors decide that the best bet would be to amputate her leg before the cancer spreads. Realizing that she will never be able to dance again, [[DrivenToSuicide Elizabeta tries to kill herself]]. This is remarkable because of all the other girls' backstories, this one is the second most detailed (by far) and the most often referenced (usually by people expressing pity over the poor, poor girl with the cancer), while the stories of girls who were nearly murdered, mutilated by car accidents, raped, or born with horrific disfigurements get barely a line. The only story that gets more screen time than Elizabeta's is of the girl who was ''used as a living prop in snuff porn films.'' [[spoiler:Elizabeta, now known as Petruskha, eventually develops leukemia anyway, and dies peacefully in the epilogue.]]

* An episode/chapter of ''Manga/CellsAtWork'' deals with cancer, treating the carcinoma as a TragicVillain born wrong due to a tissue cell's bad day. Breeding out of control is his way of throwing a SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum.

[[folder:Comics]]
* The comic perhaps most well-known for this has to be ''ComicStrip/FunkyWinkerbean''. When it first showed up, it was a serious topic but ended on a hopeful note as Lisa overcame it and resumed her life. Then it came back and she died, and from then on, cancer and the pain it causes has a lingering effect over the characters in the strip. At least one minor character in its sister strip, ''ComicStrip/{{Crankshaft}}'', has also died from it unceremoniously.
* Used as FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' -- It turns out [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]] has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract the symbiote to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food. This leaves Brock superpowered, angry and in constant pain -- for the rest of his life. It ended up being cured sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'', it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together]].
* A minor but very creepy ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' villain named Styx was at one point called "living cancer". He was a victim of PlayingWithSyringes trying to find a cancer cure by way of AcquiredPoisonImmunity -- by exposing him to mutagens. Instead, it gave him the power to [[MakeThemRot make anything he touches wither and rot]]. The experience also twisted his mind -- if his ability wasn't limited to touch, he would be an OmnicidalManiac.
* One ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' story (Vol. 2, #151) had a wealthy cancer patient come up with a convoluted plan to get the Hulk's gamma-irradiated blood in the hopes that this would make his normal cells superpowered and able to overcome the cancer. Instead, the cancer cells were the ones that became super-powered, turning him into a BlobMonster. There was a callback to this years later when Hulk learned that one of his old friends was dying of AIDS and refused to donate his blood for fear something similar would happen.
* Doctor Manhattan from ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'' is extremely distraught to discover that the radiation emitted by his physical avatar gave terminal cancer to people who spent too much time around him. [[spoiler:This was actually a ploy by Ozymandias, [[MoralEventHorizon who gave them cancer himself]] so that Doctor Manhattan would seclude himself on Mars, where he wouldn't interfere with Ozymandias's conspiracy.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'': This very DarkerAndEdgier alternate universe had Bruce Banner transform into a cancerous BlobMonster instead of a green Hulk.

* The drug "Mayfly" from ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' gives you super intelligence, but will kill you within 24 hours from brain cancer (that is, assuming it doesn't just do that without giving you anything in return). ''Unless'' you manage to use your newfound genius in order to survive... as a horrible, grotesque mass of cancerous flesh.
* Possibly ''the'' classic Creator/MarvelComics example: the death of [[ComicBook/CaptainMarvelMarvelComics Mar-Vell]]. In his case, it happened in an earlier story when he stopped a villain stealing a container of deadly nerve gas and it leaked during the fight. Mar-Vell managed to reseal it and eventually was given an antidote in time while unconscious, but the gas's carcinogenic effects would later give him fatal cancer, albeit suppressed for years by his Nega-bands until it mutated past their resistance and making it impossible to treat without assistance from the Kree medical community, which, needless to say, was a non-starter for a traitor like himself.
* Here's a fun little story for ya. A nice young man discovers he has the big C and, not wishing to drag it out, refuses chemo. Then he's offered the chance to cure his cancer by Weapon X, who implant a version of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor in him. Only the cancer and healing factor don't play nice together and their constant struggle winds up turning him into one [[BlatantLies handsome,]] [[AxCrazy crazy]] son of a hired gun... ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. Ain't that a bitch?
* In the ''Comicbook/{{Concrete}}'' story "A Remarkable Life", Concrete sprouts antlers that grow uncontrollably and apparently without bound. Chadwick mentions in [[http://concrete.blogs.com/paul_chadwicks_weblog/2012/03/jean-giraud-has-left-us.html his blog]] that the antlers are "a metaphor for cancer".
* In "Strictly from Hunger!" in ''The Vault of Horror'' #27 a small-town man was diagnosed with a tumor. After his doctor's rather unprofessional comment that "''The malignant one keeps growing till it kills you''! 'Tain't ''no use removin' it''!" he went to a witch who promised to hex him so he'd never die. However, she said nothing about ''curing the tumor'', which eventually took over his entire body, turning him into a [[BlobMonster giant, shapeless lump of flesh]] which knew only hunger.
* Jane Foster, the long-time love interest of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]], was discovered to have cancer. [[spoiler:Her [[ComicBook/Thor2014 being the female Thor]] isn't helping and, in fact, is making things worse as [[CastFromLifespan it spreads each time she transforms]]. It was later revealed that one of Mjolnir's powers was removing poisons from the wielder's body. Since it considered her chemotherapy poison, it removed it and did more damage to her body.]]

* In the second half of Creator/MarkWaid's ComicBook/{{Daredevil}} run, Matt discovers that his best friend Foggy Nelson has cancer. Complicating matters is right around this time Matt has gone public with his identity, so people know he's a friend of Daredevil: which means if he checks into a hospital to try and have it treated, any villain who wants to settle the score with Daredevil could target him. This forces Matt to fake Foggy's death while he undergoes treatment in secret.
* In ''Friendly Neighborhood Franchise/SpiderMan'' Vol 2 #1, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Aunt May has cancer and she's terrified of letting Peter know. When she finally does, one of the things he does is head for Dr. Strange (he was taking a kid there after he had accidentally broken his arm and the kid had no insurance) and start to ask for help. Strange cuts him off and suggests that he just take the time to be with her. Also, [[SelfDeprecation not to take up deals with interdimensional demons (which Peter agrees to)]].]]
* In the ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' comics ComicBook/PostCrisis, [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] was stricken with cancer due to his hand wearing a signet ring with a Kryptonite stone in it (a major departure from the previous depiction of Kryptonite as harmless to humans). They initially lopped off his hand and replaced it with a robotic prosthetic, but it was discovered it had actually spread to the rest of his body, forcing Luthor to fake his death and come back in a clone body.
* Prior to getting hit with one of the worst [[ContinuitySnarl/DonnaTroy Continuity Snarls]] in comics [[ComicBook/WonderGirl Donna Troy]]'s birth mother had to give her up despite loving her and not wanting to let go because she had terminal cancer and knew she wouldn't live long enough to raise her daughter. Donna's father is never mentioned, only the tragedy of her young mother whose life was cut short by the terrible disease.

* One day, the main character of ''Film/{{Phenomenon}}'' sees a flash of unearthly light, hears a strange sound and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he's got super-intelligence and even psychic powers. [[spoiler:Turns out he's got a ''massive'' cancer in his brain that by complete coincidence happens to enhance certain functions by pushing against [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain rarely activated parts of it]]. The flash of light was an epileptic hallucination brought upon by the cancer. Oh, and the main character is also dying.]]
* Sam, the title character in the adaptation of ''Literature/WaysToLiveForever'', has leukemia.
* ''Film/TheMatrix'':
-->'''Agent Smith:''' Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we... are the cure.
* In ''Film/BriansSong'', the title character dies from testicular cancer which has spread to his lungs, the first symptom of which is an IncurableCoughOfDeath that he at first attributes to hay fever or allergies.
* In ''Film/InTheLandOfWomen'', Sarah has breast cancer, and we see her dealing with the after-effects of chemotherapy, she has serious talks with her family about what she'll have to deal with, and she has a HeroicBSOD when she finds out how sick she is. [[spoiler:Unlike most versions of this trope, however, it's implied she gets better at the end.]]
* ''Film/Annihilation2018'' is essentially a cancer metaphor applied to FirstContact. A meteorite crashes on a beach and starts to reform the environment and wildlife around it in a hazardous and aimless manner, right down to the laws of physics. Made explicit by one of the first scenes where the main character gives a lecture about cancerous cells to her class.
* Similar to ''Annihilation'' and made decades earlier, ''Film/TheFly1986'' is a metaphor for aging, disease, and death applied to the results of a TeleporterAccident. The protagonist unknowingly genetically splices himself with a housefly, resulting in a SlowTransformation rife with BodyHorror (his fingernails come loose, he must vomit on solid food in order to consume it, he develops strange growths, he loses his hair...) that he explicitly refers to as "a bizarre form of cancer" at one point. In his final humanoid stage, before his mutant insectoid form emerges, he resembles nothing so much as a mass of tumors. Writer-director Creator/DavidCronenberg (who lost his father to cancer) has remarked that audiences would out of hand reject a film that depicts actual aging/disease so graphically, but the fantastic nature of the transformation here gives them ''just'' enough distance to handle it while still noticing the metaphor.
* Nux from ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' sports a couple of deadly tumors on his neck. He's named them Larry and Barry.

* The story "Metastasis" by Creator/DanSimmons is built heavily around this trope. Apparently cancer [[spoiler:is caused by a parasitic race that uses humans as breeding grounds. In effect, each tumor is actually a larva that devours humans from the inside as it reproduces wildly until there is nothing left. The parents then come back and devour their offspring for nourishment occasionally leaving one or two to germinate into an adult]].
* ''Literature/TufVoyaging'' has a "cancer creature/living tumor" example in the "Meatbeast" that Haviland Tuf proposes as a temporary solution to [[SdrawkcabName S'uthlam's]] overpopulation induced food shortage.
* Sam, the title character in ''Literature/WaysToLiveForever'', has leukemia; the book also has a film adaptation.

* This is Creator/LurleneMcDaniel's bread and butter. Not only is cancer a major theme of her books, but the stories go into great detail about the diseases, treatments, surgeries, and side effects. These are the kinds of cancer books the above ''Fault in Our Stars'' mocks.

* ''Series/TheXFiles'':
** Scully almost died of alien-induced cancer. Other abductees were not as lucky.
** In "[[Recap/TheXFilesS04E12LeonardBetts Leonard Betts]]", the eponymous MonsterOfTheWeek is a man made entirely of cancerous tissue. He can [[HealingFactor regenerate]] the ''[[LosingYourHead loss of his head]]'' and has to [[PickyPeopleEater eat cancerous tissue]] removed from surgery patients (he worked in a hospital). Significantly, this is the episode that reveals that Scully has developed cancer, thanks to Betts sensing it in her.
** The villain of "[[Recap/TheXFilesS03E17Pusher Pusher]]", Robert Modell, is a man whose inoperable brain tumor came with incredible mind control abilities. With nothing else to live for and excruciating headaches, Modell hired himself out as a mercenary/hitman, using his powers to kill for huge profits. Funnily enough, it was written by the same man who went on to do ''Series/BreakingBad''.
* In {{Medical Drama}}s, ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' for example, while cancer ''is'' often shown to be horrible, other types of diseases can be shown to be just as bad at times.

* An early monologue by Bruce [=McCullough=] on ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'' had him apologizing to everyone for "causing all of that cancer". He says he did it because he "didn't realize it was such a horrifying disease" and he was "just on a roll".
* In ''Series/{{House}}'', now that [[spoiler:the oncologist, Wilson, himself has cancer]], it's an opportunity for the writers to both show more of their relationship with House, and how firsthand knowledge of what cancer actually does to patients affects their reasoning when seeking treatment.

--> '''Arlo:''' I hope you get cancer!
--> '''Helen:''' Already had it!
--> '''Arlo:''' I hope you get it again!
* In ''Series/{{Everwood}}'', Rose Abbott is diagnosed with cancer. She survives, but she suffers horribly, going through chemo and operation procedures. Also, her family is devastated by the fear of losing her.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'':
** Debra and Dexter's mother died of cancer when they were teenagers. Debra once says she can't visit Camilla, their family friend because her suffering would remind her of her own mother too much and she thinks she could not cope.
** Camilla and her husband were friends of Harry Morgan (Dexter's father). They have been heavy smokers all their life. Camilla is already widowed in season one. In season three, she's dying of lung cancer and in excruciating pain. She wishes to die soon to cut short her suffering.

* ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'' discusses (with the help of an actual doctor) why "routine" cancer screenings (e.g. mammograms, colonoscopies, Pap smears, etc.) aren't as helpful as they're often touted to be, at least not in younger, healthy people. They can give "false positives" (such as flagging an area of dense tissue as a tumor), and they aren't able to distinguish between different ''types'' of tumors (i.e. those that are benign, and those that are malignant, and those that are fast-growing and slow-growing, etc.) This results in patients getting harsh treatments (such as chemo) that they really don't need, or the wrong type of treatment for their particular cancer...plus lots of emotional and financial stress on these patients and their families. The result of this is that many doctors and cancer advocacy groups are now recommending that (if they're not considered "high risk") they start the "routine" screenings later in life, and have them less often.

[[folder: Music]]
* In general, high rates of cancer can be found in the HardRock / HeavyMetal scene globally and in Japanese VisualKei, as a result of often frequent and heavy use of [[HardDrinkingTropes alcohol]], EverybodySmokes being in effect until TheNineties or the 2000s with lots of ongoing smokers and nicotine users still, the toxicity of secondhand smoke in venues before that was outlawed, the toxicity of vehicles if they were bikers or often traveled by motor vehicle, and the toxicity of makeup and clothing and the like, as well as bad diets for many who were poorer. As a result, HR/HM and Visual Kei have many artists who have died from cancer, but also many survivors of the disease if it was detected early enough/they were lucky/etcetera.
* ''Music/{{Metallica}}'''s ''Until It Sleeps'' is about the lead singer's mothers battle with cancer, and the emotional pain of watching it destroy her.

* Music/{{Nightwish}}'s ''Higher Than Hope'' is about DJ Marc Brueland's battle with cancer.

* [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D's]] Book of Vile Darkness -- a {{Plaguemaster}} PrestigeClass "cancer mage" gets a sentient tumor as a familiar: the entire idea of the Cancer Mage is that cancer is something disgusting, creepy, and in this case actually, cosmically evil.

* ''[[Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber Amber]] Diceless Role Playing''. If characters with Shape Shifting push themselves beyond their limits while suffering from exhaustion or starvation, they can suffer from Primal Chaos Cancer. Some of their cells run wild, consuming normal cells and multiplying quickly. The rogue cells will eventually attack vital organs, appear on the skin and eat the character alive, turning him into an amorphous blob.

* "TabletopGame/HunchbackTheLurching", a fan gameline for the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'': As a drinking game, take a shot when the lump is described as "Cancerous", "Malignant" or "Tumorous". Just don't blame us when you lose your liver.

* The page quote comes from ''VideoGame/MondoMedicals'', where you are helping an experimenter find the cure for cancer by... going through 8 disorienting obstacle courses. The experimenter is very ''[[NoIndoorVoice passionate]]'' about the Topic of Cancer.
* By the time of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', [[spoiler:Naomi Hunter]], a beloved character who's been with Snake (and the player) all the way since the first game doesn't just have cancer, she's [[spoiler:practically already biologically ''dead'' from cancer]]. It's so bad that ''mere seconds'' after she deactivates the {{nanomachines}} in her body fighting it, she dies.

** The same race also spreads their "Creep", a sort of [[MeatMoss "rag" of organic matter]] from which they evolve structures, using "Creep Tumors". In ''VideoGame/{{Star Craft II Heart Of The Swarm}}'', Kerrigen even gets an upgrade for it called "Malignant Creep", which makes it spreads faster and further and Zerg units on it stronger.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', Blackwatch uses a sapient, weaponized cancer as a RestrainingBolt to [[BroughtDownToNormal bring Alex down to normal]]. It's visible as a reddish mass with roots anchoring it to his left shoulder and locks down most of his abilities.
* In ''VideoGame/BioShock'', [[AppliedPhlebotinum ADAM]] (sic) works "like a [[BeneficialDisease benign cancer]]", changing native cells into unstable stem versions of themselves. Through a little GMO-ing, it can be used to [[SuperSerum induce superpowers]]. The withdrawal symptoms, however, are absolutely nightmarish, including the growth of huge tumors and neuro-degeneration into [[AxCrazy violent insanity]].
* In ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'''s TitleDrop of a WombLevel, you fight parts of the EldritchAbomination. These include demonic tumors, cysts, and polyps, with the only actually healthy part of it being its white corpuscles.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Karkat (who uses the trolltag carcinoGeneticist and the astrological symbol of cancer) admits to John he may have given John's universe cancer. And it turns out the cancer is [[spoiler:[[BigBad Jack Noir]]. The fact that he is an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a ''cancer'' sums up [[OmnicidalManiac his personality]].]]
* Shows up in more than a few ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' strips, as [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Randall Munroe's now-wife had been diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer during their engagement]].
* This has come up in the 2014-2015 arc of ''Moon Over June'', starting when Summer Winters' routine mammogram becomes vastly less so. The treatment has been odd. With one strip starting with Summer confiding to her housemate Hatsuki how awful the chemotherapy is making her feel and her fears that the double mastectomy was not in time to keep it from spreading, [[MoodWhiplash then]] [[AllWomenAreLustful demanding sex because it is the only way she can cope]] (it's that kind of webcomic).
* ''WebComic/AwfulHospital''

** [[NebulousEvilOrganisation The Parliament]] is working on spreading a metaphysical disease that is described as "imagine you can catch an aggressive cancer as easily as you can catch a common cold. Now imagine you can catch it from the sound of a trombone or the color purple". It's implied to be the stuff mutating the slobs.
* Although he tried to hide it, [[spoiler:Bryce]] of ''Webcomic/WeAreTheWyrecats'' eventually reveals that he has a tumor in his brain that will eventually kill him.

-->'''Commander:''' More like a healin' factor than a disease at that point.

* The {{Creepypasta}} ''A Cure for Cancer'' has a teen genius obsessed with [[CureForCancer curing cancer]] infect his ex-girlfriend with a bioweapon that causes pancreatic cancer, which he thinks will be easy to cure since he engineered it (under contract by the CIA). The plan GoesHorriblyWrong, as the cancer metastasizes into every single one of her organs. He remembers one of his proposed cures, which was using stem cells to remap the circulatory system, starving the tumors. This was a bust, however, since he couldn't get enough stem cells or funding (nobody wanted to deal with the ethical ramifications of rendering down feti for them, so he makes a test-tube baby and grows it inside some kind of animal). The disease and cure react strangely, turning her into a zombie-like creature made entirely from cancer.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''Blog/HowToWriteBadlyWell''. One technique suggested is "Emphasize Your Villain's Bad Qualities". It stars a MadScientist bent on curing leukemia, not for the good of mankind, but to put oncologists out of business and stopping survivors memoirs from being written.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros'', Brock interrogates one of Baron Ünderbheit's henchmen [[GroinAttack by grabbing his testicles and squeezing them]]. But he quickly stops after feeling a lump.

[[quoteright:106:[[WebComic/{{xkcd}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7e28a2b093b1d70d51288b292dd2d0f1.png]]]]

* Used for karmic justice (and the compulsory BodyHorror) in ''Manga/FrankenFran'' - a rich villain hires Fran to extend her life and tries to get her killed to steal her research (fortunately, Fran is ambiguously undead and can live through decapitation). Fran returns to the villain's mansion and finds her ShowingOffTheNewBody - the experimental formula allowed her telomeres to regenerate indefinitely, making her cells immortal...just as the first side effects start to appear, Fran calmly explains that the only cells not programmed to die of old age are cancer cells. She then walks away, leaving her client "immortal" - as a gibbering pile of semi-liquid flesh.

* Elizabeta from ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' was a young Russian ballerina who developed bone cancer in her teenage years because she spent a period of her childhood in an area of the Ukraine that was heavily affected by the Chernobyl incident. Due to the generally primitive state of public healthcare in ex-USSR areas, the cancer is not contained properly and by the time Elizabeta arrives in Italy for further treatment, the doctors decide that the best bet would be to amputate her leg before the cancer spreads. Realizing that she will never be able to dance again, [[DrivenToSuicide Elizabeta tries to kill herself]]. This is remarkable because of all the other girls' backstories, this one is the second most detailed (by far) and the most often referenced (usually by people expressing pity over the poor, poor girl with the cancer), while the stories of girls who were nearly murdered, mutilated by car accidents, raped, or born with horrific disfigurements get barely a line. The only story that gets more screen time than Elizabeta's is of the girl who was ''used as a living prop in snuff porn films.'' [[spoiler: Elizabeta, now known as Petruskha, eventually develops leukemia anyway, and dies peacefully in the epilogue.]]
* Mitsuki Koyama, protagonist of the shojo manga ''Manga/FullMoon'', has a cancer in her throat played for full terror-tragedy value. In her particular case, her dream is to become an idol singer, but the only way to remove the cancer by the point the story begins involves a surgery that would render her permanently mute.

* At the start of ''Manga/StopHibariKun'' Kousaku's mother dies of stomach cancer. This causes him to be sent to live with an old friend of hers.

* Used as FateWorseThanDeath in one version of ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' - It turns out [[ComicBook/{{Venom}} Eddie Brock]] has cancer which, through hormonal imbalance, causes fits of rage, ruining his life. The symptoms also attract the symbiote to him. The symbiote wants to take over Peter but ends up attached to Brock and unable to switch hosts again. It has the power to stop the cancer from spreading but can't afford to cure it as it relies on it for food - this leaves Brock superpowered, angry and in constant pain - for the rest of his life. It ended up being curef sometime later thanks to Mr. Negative soon after Eddie surrendered the symbiote to be bidden off. In ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'' it is suggested that [[spoiler:Eddie's cancer wasn't actually cancer, but the symbiote manipulating his mind and body to make him think he did, thus they could stay together.]]
* A minor but very creepy ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' villain Styx was at one point called "living cancer" - he was a victim of PlayingWithSyringes trying to find a cancer cure by way of AcquiredPoisonImmunity - by exposing him to mutagens. Instead, it gave him the power to make anything he touches wither and rot. The experience also twisted his mind - if his ability wasn't limited to touch, he would be an OmnicidalManiac.
* One ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'' story (probably an annual) had a wealthy cancer patient come up with a convoluted plan to get the Hulk's gamma-irradiated blood in the hopes that this would make his normal cells superpowered and able to overcome the cancer. Instead, the cancer cells were the ones that became super-powered, with nightmarish results. There was a callback to this years later when Hulk learned that one of his old friends was dying of AIDS and refused to donate his blood for fear something similar would happen.

* ''ComicBook/{{Ruins}}'': this very DarkerAndEdgier alternate universe had Bruce Banner transform into a cancerous BlobMonster instead of a green Hulk.
* [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Vic Sage's]] battle with cancer forms one of the main storylines of ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome And then he dies of it.]]
* The drug "Mayfly" from ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'' gives you super intelligence, but will kill you within 24 hours from brain cancer (that is, assuming it doesn't just do that without giving you anything in return). ''Unless'' you manage to use your newfound genius in order to survive...as a horrible, grotesque mass of cancerous flesh.
* Possibly ''the'' classic Creator/MarvelComics example: the death of ComicBook/CaptainMarVell. In his case, it happened in an earlier story when he stopped a villain stealing a container of deadly nerve gas and it leaked during the fight. Mar-Vell managed to reseal it and eventually was given an antidote in time while unconscious, but the gas' carcinogenic effects would later give him fatal cancer, albeit suppressed for years by his nega-bands until it mutated past their resistance and making it impossible to treat without assistance from the Kree medical community, which, needless to say, was a non-starter for a traitor like himself.
* Here's a fun little story for ya. A nice young man discovers he has the big C and, not wishing to drag it out, refuses chemo. Then he's offered the chance to cure his cancer by Weapon X, who implant a version of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor in him. Only the cancer and healing factor don't play nice together and their constant struggle winds up turning him into one [[BlatantLies handsome,]] [[AxeCrazy crazy]] son of a hired gun... ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. Ain't that a bitch?

* In "Strictly from Hunger!" in ''The Vault of Horror'' #27 a small-town man was diagnosed with a tumor. After his doctor's rather unprofessional comment that "''The malignant one keeps growing till it kills you''! 'Tain't ''no use removin' it''!" he went to a witch who promised to hex him so he'd never die. However, she said nothing about ''curing the tumor'', which eventually took over his entire body, turning him into a [[{{BodyHorror}} giant, shapeless lump of flesh]] which knew only hunger.
* Jane Foster, the long-time love interest of [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor,]] was discovered to have cancer. [[spoiler: Her being the female Thor isn't helping and, in fact, is making things worse as [[CastFromLifeSpan it spreads each time she transforms.]] It was later revealed that on of Mjolnir's powers was removing poisons from the wielder's body. Since it considered her chemotherapy poison, it removed it and did more damage to her body.]]

* In ''Friendly Neighborhood Franchise/SpiderMan'' Vol 2 #1, it's revealed that [[spoiler:Aunt May has cancer and she's terrified of letting Peter know. When she finally does, one of the things he does is head for Dr. Strange (he was taking a kid there after he had accidentally broken his arm and the kid had no insurance) and start to ask for help. Strange cuts him off and suggests that he just take the time to be with her. Also, [[TakeThatUs not to take up deals with interdimensional demons (which Peter agrees to).]]]]
* In a major aversion to the original depiction, ComicBook/LexLuthor was stricken with cancer due to his hand wearing a signet ring with a Kryptonite stone in it. They initially lopped off his hand and replaced it with a robotic prosthetic, but it was discovered it had actually spread to the rest of his body, forcing Luthor to fake his death and come back in a clone body.

* One day, the main character of ''Film/{{Phenomenon}}'' sees a flash of unearthly light, hears a strange sound and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he's got super-intelligence and even psychic powers. [[spoiler:Turns out he's got a ''massive'' cancer in his brain that by complete coincidence happens to enhance certain functions by pushing against [[NinetyPercentOfYourBrain rarely activated parts of it.]]]] [[spoiler:The flash of light was an epileptic hallucination brought upon by the cancer. Oh, and the main character is also dying.]]

-->'''Agent Smith:''' Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we...are the cure.

* In ''Film/InTheLandOfWomen'', Sarah has breast cancer, and we see her dealing with the after-effects of chemotherapy, she has serious talks with her family about what she'll have to deal with, and she has a HeroicBSOD when she finds out how sick she is. [[spoiler: Unlike most versions of this trope, however, it's implied she gets better at the end.]]
* ''Film/{{Annihilation 2018}}'' is essentially a cancer metaphor applied to FirstContact. A meteorite crashes on a beach and starts to reform the environment and wildlife around it in a hazardous and aimless manner, right down to the laws of physics. Made explicit by one of the first scenes where the main character gives a lecture about cancerous cells to her class.

** Generally inverted. Both of the main protagonists (and half of the supporting cast) have cancer. They all speak of their condition with a blase-ness that only terminal cancer patients can muster. And people who try to sentimentalize or go emotionally overboard over the condition are heartily mocked.
** That said, when [[spoiler:Gus reveals his cancer returned, ten times nastier]], it is treated as a major heartwrenching moment, because up to this point, [[spoiler:Gus has been comparatively healthy compared to the IllGirl Hazel, only to have the roles cruelly reversed.]] It doesn't help that [[spoiler:he ends up succumbing at the end.]]

** In one episode the Monster of the Week was a man made entirely of cancerous tissue. He could regenerate the ''[[GoodThingYouCanHeal loss of his head]]'' and had to [[NauseaFuel eat cancerous tissue]] removed from surgery patients (he worked in a hospital).
** The villain of "Pusher," Robert Modell, is a man whose inoperable brain tumor came with incredible mind control abilities. With nothing else to live for and excruciating headaches, Modell hired himself out as a mercenary/hitman, using his powers to kill for huge profits. Funnily enough, it was written by the same man who went on to do ''Series/BreakingBad.''
* In medical tv shows, ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' for example, while cancer -is- often shown to be horrible, other types of diseases can be shown to be just as bad at times.

* In ''Series/{{House}}'', now that [[spoiler: the oncologist, Wilson, himself has cancer,]] it's an opportunity for the writers to both show more of their relationship with House, and how firsthand knowledge of what cancer actually does to patients affects their reasoning when seeking treatment.

* In the sixth season of ''Series/KinpachiSensei'' the titular teacher's teenage son is put in a hospital for leukemia treatment. He is at first incredibly stressed over the thought he's dying but eventually loses the attitude [[TheDeterminator and refuses to give in]]. He gets better and makes a friend with a girl who has bone cancer.

* On ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', Rosa is dying of ovarian cancer while in {{Prison}}. She is taken to the hospital on a regular basis for chemotherapy treatments. Her doctor says she needs life-saving surgery and gives her three weeks to live if she does not receive the surgery, but the Department of Corrections won't pay for it, and she doesn't have family on the outside that could pay for the treatment. [[spoiler: Morello gives her the prison van, so Rosa can at least live out the remainder of her life as a free woman. [[TakingYouWithMe Rosa runs over Vee, but crashes into a ditch herself and dies.]]]]

* [[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons D&D's]] Book of Vile Darkness - a PlagueMaster PrestigeClass "cancer mage" gets a sentient tumor as a familiar: the entire idea of the Cancer Mage is that cancer is something disgusting, creepy, and in this case actually, cosmically evil.

* "TabletopGame/HunchbackTheLurching", a fan gameline for the ''TabletopGame/NewWorldOfDarkness'': As a drinking game, take a shot when the lump is described as "Cancerous", "Malignant" or "Tumorous". Just don't blame me when you lose your liver.
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Scion}}'', the [[AnthropomorphicPersonification Titan of the Blighted Earth,]] [[Myth/CelticMythology Crom Cruach, nemesis of the Tuatha De Danaan,]] is associated with stillbirth, madness, fungi, vermin, rot, ''mutation and cancer'', and has a very strong theme of the "perversion of life". His minions, the giant fomorians, are generally horribly disfigured, and their ugliness is said to often include tumors all over their body.

* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Civilization}}'', developing a cure for cancer gave you one happy citizen in every single city, no strings attached.

* By the time of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'', [[spoiler:Naomi Hunter]], a beloved character who's been with Snake (and the player) all the way since the first game doesn't just have cancer, she's [[spoiler: practically already biologically ''dead'' from cancer.]] It's so bad that ''mere seconds'' after she deactivates the nanomachines in her body fighting it, she dies.

** The same race also spreads their "Creep", a sort of "rag" of organic matter from which they evolve structures, using "Creep Tumors". In VideoGame/StarcraftIIHeartOfTheSwarm, Kerrigen even gets an upgrade for it called "Malignant Creep", which makes it spreads faster and further and Zerg units on it stronger.

* In ''VideoGame/BioShock'', [[AppliedPhlebotinum ADAM]] (sic) works "like a [[BeneficialDisease benign cancer]]", changing native cells into unstable stem versions of themselves. Through a little GMO-ing, it can be used to [[SuperSerum induce superpowers]]. The withdrawal symptoms, however, are absolutely nightmarish, including the growth of huge tumors and neuro-degeneration into [[AxCrazy violent insanity.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Darkest Dungeon}}'s'' TitleDrop of a WombLevel, you fight parts of the EldritchAbomination. These include demonic tumors, cysts, and polyps, with the only actually healthy part of it being its white corpuscles.

* In ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'', Karkat (who uses the trolltag carcinoGeneticist and the astrological symbol of cancer) admits to John he may have given John's universe cancer. And it turns out the cancer is [[spoiler:[[BigBad Jack Noir.]] The fact that he is an AnthropomorphicPersonification of a ''cancer'' sums up [[OmnicidalManiac his personality.]]]]
* Shows up in more than a few ''Webcomic/{{Xkcd}}'' strips, as [[RealLifeWritesThePlot Randall Munroe's now-wife had been diagnosed with stage-3 breast cancer during their engagement.]]

** [[NebulousEvilOrganization The Parliament]] is working on spreading a metaphysical disease that is described as "imagine you can catch an aggressive cancer as easily as you can catch a common cold. Now imagine you can catch it from the sound of a trombone or the color purple". It's implied to be the stuff mutating the slobs.
* Although he tried to hide it, [[spoiler: Bryce]] of ''Webcomic/WeAreTheWyrecats'' eventually reveals that he has a tumor in his brain that will eventually kill him.

* ''WebVideo/TheAutobiographyOfJaneEyre'': Jane's estranged evil aunt Mrs. Reed has a brain tumour and is dying. In the book, she had a stroke.
* The CreepyPasta ''A Cure for Cancer'' has a teen genius obsessed with curing cancer infect his ex-girlfriend with a bioweapon that causes pancreatic cancer, which he thinks will be easy to cure since he engineered it (under contract by the CIA). The plan GoesHorriblyWrong, as the cancer metasizes into every single one of her organs. He remembers one of his proposed cures, which was using stem cells to remap the circulatory system, starving the tumors. This was a bust, however, since he couldn't get enough stem cells or funding(nobody wanted to deal with the ethical ramifications of rendering down feti for them, so he makes a test-tube baby and grows it inside some kind of animal). The disease and cure react strangely, turning her into a zombie-like creature made entirely from cancer.
** Another, entitled simply "Cancer", details cancer treatment [[TheDungAges in 500AD.]] It involves cutting off the infected organ with a blunt hacksaw, drinking poison, and being lit on fire. However, it's got a happy ending, as the main character survives the whole thing.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'' had an arc in which Archer got cancer. This was the ''only'' time in the series that [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness Archer actually took the danger he was in seriously and seemed legitimately worried that he was going to die.]]

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the episode "Tonsil Trouble". Of course, they have to bring it UpToEleven by having activists claim that just having AIDS is way better than having cancer.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBros,'' Brock interrogates one of Baron Ünderbheit's henchmen [[GroinAttack by grabbing his testicles and squeezing them.]] But he quickly stops after feeling a lump.

* [[Music/DriveByTruckers Jason Isbell]]'s "Elephant" is about a man trying to support a friend dying of cancer.

* Inverted in ''Literature/TheFaultInOurStars'': Both of the main protagonists (and half of the supporting cast) have cancer. They all speak of their condition with a blase-ness that only terminal cancer patients can muster. And people who try to sentimentalize or go emotionally overboard over the condition are heartily mocked.

* [[ComicBook/TheQuestion Vic Sage's]] battle with cancer forms one of the main storylines of ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''. [[RealityEnsues And then he dies of it.]]

* Here's a fun little story for ya. A nice young man discovers he has the big C and, not wishing to drag it out, refuses chemo. Then he's offered the chance to cure his cancer by Weapon X, who implant a version of Franchise/{{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor in him. Only the cancer and healing factor don't play nice together and their constant struggle winds up turning him into one [[BlatantLies handsome,]] [[AxeCrazy crazy]] son of a hired gun... ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}. Ain't that a bitch?

** Another issue had an abandoned girl afflicted by teratomas (a sort of cancer that produces organ tissue in areas it's not supposed to be in), almost completely subsumed by a massive lump of half-formed limbs. This has a happy ending (happy as it gets for this series), however, as Fran is at least able to treat her condition enough for her to re-enter society
* Elizabeta from ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' was a young Russian ballerina who developed bone cancer in her teenage years because she spent a period of her childhood in an area of the Ukraine that was heavily affected by the Chernobyl incident. Due to the generally primitive state of public healthcare in ex-USSR areas, the cancer is not contained properly and by the time Elizabeta arrives in Italy for further treatment, the doctors decide that the best bet would be to amputate her leg before the cancer spreads. Realizing that she will never be able to dance again, [[DrivenToSuicide Elizabeta tries to kill herself]]. This is remarkable because of all the other girls' backstories, this one is the second most detailed (by far) and the most often referenced (usually by people expressing pity over the poor, poor girl with the cancer), while the stories of girls who were nearly murdered, mutilated by car accidents, raped or born with horrific disfigurements get barely a line. The only story that gets more screen time than Elizabeta's is of the girl who was ''used as a living prop in snuff porn films.'' [[spoiler: Elizabeta, now known as Petruskha, eventually develops leukemia anyway, and dies peacefully in the epilogue.]]

* Here's a fun little story for ya. [[ComicBook/{{Deadpool}}, a nice young man]] discovers he has the big C and, not wishing to drag it out, refuses chemo. Then he's offered the chance to cure his cancer by Weapon X, who implant a version of {{Wolverine}}'s HealingFactor in him. Only the cancer and healing factor don't play nice together and their constant struggle winds up turning him into one [[BlatantLies handsome,]] [[AxeCrazy crazy]] son of a hired gun. Ain't that a bitch?

* The trope has been inverted during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. That pandemic took centerstage in health discussions, and far fewer cancers have been diagnosed since late 2019 in most of the world simply due to lockdown orders and reduced hospital capacities for non-COVID patients.