--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cancer kids are essentially side effects…" description: "\"“Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless mutation that made the diversity of life on earth possible.”\" — John Green" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg" --- # Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless… ![“Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless mutation that made the diversity of life on earth possible.” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg) > ““Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless mutation that made the diversity of life on earth possible.”” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that cancer in children is an inevitable consequence of the same genetic mutations that drive evolution and biodiversity. **In simple terms:** Cancer in kids is a side effect of evolutionary mutations. Key Takeaway Recognize the trade‑off between evolution and disease. Themes evolution biology ethics medicine life death Mood reflective somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - medical research - public health policy - education - support groups - genetic counseling Key Concepts mutation natural selection genetic diversity Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance celebrating life while confronting its harsh realities? - What responsibilities do we have to mitigate side effects of evolution? A Different Perspective The quote may oversimplify complex causes of cancer and ignore environmental factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Cancer Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer-kids-2371958/) [Effects Relentless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effects-relentless-4470915/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Mutation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutation/) [Mutation Diversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mutation-diversity-4470914/) [Relentless Mutation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relentless-mutation-4470913/) [Side effects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-effects/) ## Related quotes > [Throughout the book, she refers to herself as "the side effect," which is just totally correct. Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/throughout-the-book-she-refers-to-herself-as-the-side-effect-which-is/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You are a side effect," Van Houten continued, "of an evolutionary process that cares little for individual lives. You are a failed experiment in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-are-a-side-effect-van-houten-continued-of-an-evolutionary-process/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I've helped many, many, many children, thousands of children, cancer kids, leukemia kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/i-ve-helped-many-many-many-children-thousands-of-children-cancer-kids/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [A few months before my dad died, his eyes had started to go, and his skin was turning green. When he finally went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/a-few-months-before-my-dad-died-his-eyes-had-started-to-go-and-his/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [Whenever I'm feeling a bit down, I always visit the local children's hospital. Knowing that those cancer-kids wont be able to live long enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zach-braff/whenever-i-m-feeling-a-bit-down-i-always-visit-the-local-children-s/) [Zach Braff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zach-braff/) > [“You are a side effect of an evolutionary process that cares little for individual lives. You are a failed experiment in mutation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/you-are-a-side-effect-of-an-evolutionary-process-that-cares-little/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-not-a-side-effect-of-cancer-depression-is-a-side-effect/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Depression is a side effect of dying. (Almost everything is, really).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/depression-is-a-side-effect-of-dying-almost-everything-is-really/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“We’re all just side effects, right?” “‘Barnacles on the container ship of consciousness,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-re-all-just-side-effects-right-barnacles-on-the-container-ship-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The Side Effects of Dying in Your Pants isn't really funny… Alright, it's a little funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-side-effects-of-dying-in-your-pants-isn-t-really-funny-alright-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Support Group featured a rotating cast of characters in various states of tumor-driven unwellness. Why did the cast rotate? A side effect of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/support-group-featured-a-rotating-cast-of-characters-in-various/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever it always list depression as one of the side effects of cancer. But, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whenever-you-read-a-cancer-booklet-or-website-or-whatever-it-always/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Worry is yet another side effect of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/worry-is-yet-another-side-effect-of-dying/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever, they always list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/whenever-you-read-a-cancer-booklet-or-website-or-whatever-they-always-2/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [And yet still I worried. I like being a person. I wanted to keep at it. Worry is yet another side effect of dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/and-yet-still-i-worried-i-like-being-a-person-i-wanted-to-keep-at-it/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) [Richard Doll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-doll/) > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless mutation that made the diversity of life on earth possible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects-of-the-relentless-mutation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cancer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects-of-the-relentless-mutation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/john-green-12_cancer_cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects_1331848.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Cancer kids are essentially side effects of the relentless mutation that made the diversity of life on earth…” — John Green", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Cancer kids are essentially side effects...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects-of-the-relentless-mutation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/cancer-kids-are-essentially-side-effects-of-the-relentless-mutation/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```