Jump Cancer

Jump Cancer is a disease that affects travellers aboard Jumpships. It only affects travllers taking repeated jumps over a long period of time. Contrary to its name, it is not in fact a cancer, but a mutation of cells and bacteria within the patients body.

Discovery
Jump Cancer was discovered during the events of Episode 2 - Cancer.

Cause
Jump Cancer seems to be caused by some form of radiation. The subject is exposed to this radiation when they undergo a Jump using a Jumpdrive. Long-term exposure to the radiation causes mutations in the bodies own bacteria. Normally benign bacterial strains then start attacking the body. Common symptoms include lesions on the skin and severe digestive upset as the bacteria in the alimentary canal mutate and attack.

Efforts have been made to determine what constitutes a safe level of exposure to radiation from Jump drives. These efforts have been hindered by the fact that the amount of radiation emitted from one jump to another seems to fluctuate, with no definable pattern.

Prognosis
Currently, Jump Cancer is terminal. The patients body will eventually succumb to the attacking bacteria. There is some concern that the mutated bacteria could spread to other hosts, but there has been no conclusive evidence of this. Current treatment is to destroy as much of the mutated bacteria as possible, replacing it with genetically modified bacteria in an effort to manage the progression of the disease, while administering drugs to manage the symptoms.

The search for a cure
Dr. Pytr Lomo's Research team aboard the Web Space Station are currently researching Jump Cancer with a view to finding a cure. Dr. Lomo's results are published openly, while they are pursuing several avenues of inquiry, no obvious cure has emerged. Currently most treatment is palliative.