Cancer is a type of disease in which cells grow abnormally and can spread and harm the body. The disease is mentioned throughout the Fallout series, with various people before and after the Great War having suffered from various types of cancer. Radiation, a common presence in the post-War world, can be a significant cause of cancer.
Cancer in the Fallout series[]
- According to the front of the D.C. Journal of Internal Medicine, found in both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, it covers a range of medical topics, including cancer.
- According to the Citadel terminal entries, Roger Maxson, the founder of the Brotherhood of Steel, died of cancer in 2135.[1][2]
- A cancer treatment center was located somewhere in the vicinity of Germantown. Supplies within the facility were sought after by the National Catastrophe Relief Auxiliary shortly following the Great War, in order to treat radiation sickness.[3]
- Brody Jones, the overseer of Vault 108, was known to Vault-Tec as having a rare terminal strain of cancer and would die within 40 months of the vault's sealing.[4]
- Bennett Faust and Mercia Koster, residents of Vault 87, died of cancer during experimentation with the Forced Evolutionary Virus.[5]
- Caesar suffers from a cancerous brain tumor. This tumor is a significant plot point in the Caesar's Legion questline, and a Courier skilled in Medicine has many options in treating Caesar.[6]
- Randall Clark, the Survivalist of Zion Canyon, developed lung cancer and died in 2124.[7]
- Dr. Mobius will mention "canceratic beams" when confronting him and trying to kill him.[8]
- Shaun, the leader of the Institute and son of the Sole Survivor, has been diagnosed with an aggressive terminal cancer, which he discloses during the quest Mankind - Redefined. Shaun's cancer is a significant plot point in the story of Fallout 4, and he will pass away during the final Institute quest Nuclear Family. If The Nuclear Option is pursued, Shaun may be confronted while he is bedridden from his cancer.[9][10]
- Dean Volkert, in random conversation with an Institute scientist, remarks that it would be nice to cure cancer.[11]
- Lily Bell, the wife of Mary Jane, died of cancer after being diagnosed with it by Doctor Sun of Diamond City.[Non-canon 1]
- Olivia P. Henderson, a member of the Responders, was diagnosed with cancer shortly before the bombs dropped. However, she survived years later, despite a grim prognosis from her pre-War doctors. She speculated that the radiation of the wasteland was affecting the strength of disease or that she had gone into remission.[12]
- Thomas farm owner Bill Thomas' dog Winston was dying of large cell lymphoma, which led him to desperately seek treatment or a cure for the dog's illness.[13]
- Dorothea, the granddaughter of Ansel Abrahms, died of leukemia before the Great War.[14]
- Evelyn Hornwright, the wife of Hornwright Industrial CEO Daniel Hornwright and mother of Penny Hornwright, died of cancer in 2076.[15]
- Dontrelle Haines, who resides in the Morgantown Airport, is slowly dying of cancer, which he speculates to be a result of radiation.[16]
- Millicent, the wife of Gilbert Hopson, died of cancer some time after the bombs dropped, which Gilbert says was likely brought on by radiation.[17]
Appearances[]
Cancer is mentioned in Fallout,[18] Fallout 2,[19] Fallout 3, Fallout: New Vegas and its add-on Honest Hearts, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and the Creation Club.
References[]
- ↑ Citadel terminal entries; Maxson archive terminal, Roger Maxson
- ↑ Citadel terminal entries; Maxson archive terminal, Maxson II
- ↑ Germantown police HQ terminal entries; terminal, Log #006
- ↑ Citadel terminal entries; Vault-Tec terminal, Vault 108
- ↑ Vault 87 terminal entries; medical records
- ↑ The Courier: "I'm afraid your symptoms are consistent with a brain lesion, most likely a tumor."
Caesar: "[SUCCEEDED] I figured as much. Congratulations, you just became my personal physician. Do you have what you need to treat my condition?"
(Caesar's dialogue) - ↑ Year: 2124
- ↑ The Courier: "Enough. I'm here to kill you."
Mobius: "Oh, intriguing. I've never been killed before. {Beat} Although after that time I got that phlegmy discharge in my biogel... I wished I had been. Well, if there's going to be killing, I defer to your expertise in this matter. How should we begin? Engineered viruses? Canceratic beams? Atomics? Electrocutioning? Or... should I summon my minions...? {savoring it} Yes, my minions."
(Mobius' dialogue) - ↑ The Sole Survivor: "You're dying?"
Shaun: "I'm afraid so. A very aggressive form of cancer. Believe me when I say we've done everything we can. We can talk more later. Right now, the future of the Institute is at stake. The Institute cannot survive without leadership. The Directorate must continue to govern with the best interests of all in mind. To that end, I am naming my father/mother as my successor."
(Shaun's dialogue) Note: This is a part of the scene during the quest Mankind - Redefined where the Sole Survivor is made Institute Director. - ↑ Shaun: "It's not enough that I lay here, dying... Now you plan on what, destroying everything? Tell me, then. Under what righteous pretense have you justified this atrocity?"
(Shaun's dialogue) - ↑ Institute scientist: "Doctor Volkert, have you had a chance to fill that prescription I requested?"
Dean Volkert: "Not yet."
Institute scientist: "Have you been able to at least test the samples I gave you?"
Dean Volkert: "No. Look I've been very busy. I'll get to it as soon as I can."
Institute scientist: "Well it shouldn't take long. It's not like I'm asking you to cure cancer."
Dean Volkert: "Wouldn't that be nice."
(Dean Volkert and Institute scientists' dialogue) - ↑ Psych eval: Olivia P. Henderson
- ↑ Veterinary diagnosis sheet
- ↑ Ansel's holotape
- ↑ Charleston Herald - Tragedy Hits Hornwright
- ↑ A Vault Dweller: "Who are you?"
Dontrelle Haines: "Name's Dontrelle. Dontrelle Haines. I got a brother around here somewhere. Or maybe somewhere else. All I know is he was one of these Responders. Came to check on him. Was a few years too late, looks like. Now I'm just marking the time while the cancer eats me up from inside. In the end, none of us can escape our fate. We'll all be food for the worms."
A Vault Dweller: "You have cancer?"
Dontrelle Haines: "Pretty sure. Can't exactly get a hospital visit to check, but I was a medic in the army once, so I know a thing or two about it. Got to figure it's the radiation. Plenty of that still around. It's just as well. My time is coming, and I've made peace with it."
(Dontrelle Haines' dialogue) - ↑ A Vault Dweller: "What brings you to Appalachia?"
Gilbert Hopson: "That's a bit of a story. Not long after the war, I lost my wife Millicent to cancer, likely brought on by the radiation. Every day I questioned whether to go on living at all. Without her, the days were empty, devoid of any purpose beyond the simple need to survive. But in time, once I'd learned to adapt to living in the world after the bombs, I decided to set a new goal for myself. I set out to visit those great American centers of learning that still remained intact. I've always felt at home in such places. And so, here I am, at least for a while."
(Gilbert Hopson's dialogue) - ↑ FEV experiment disk, Log Date October 4, 2076
- ↑ The Chosen One: "{109}{}{What’s new here?}"
Steve: "{144}{}{Aside from realizing we have a cancer in our midst with the escape of Franc and Manson…}"
(Steve's dialogue)
Non-canon