What causes any form of cancer in general?
What causes any form of cancer in general?
Expert Answer
There is still much controversy about the cause of cancer.
To my knowledge, the information I am providing is a general list of risk factors that can contribute to one's risk of getting cancer.
In many cases, the exact cause of cancer remains a mystery. We know that certain changes in our cells can cause cancer to start, but we don't yet know exactly how this happens
Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out-of-control cell growth. There are over 100 different types of cancer. Research does show that certain risk factors increase the chance that a person may develop cancer. This is a list of the most common risk factors.
"¢ Growing older
"¢ Tobacco
"¢ Sunlight
"¢ Radiation
"¢ Chemicals
"¢ Virus and bacteria
"¢ Hormones
"¢ Family history of cancer
"¢ Lifestyle choices such as drinking alcohol, lack of activity, being overweight and poor diet
Some of these factors can be avoided others can not; however by knowing these risk factors, you could help protect yourself by avoiding some of the items listed.