WHAT CAUSES CANCER?

Cancer is a malignant behavioral disease of cells which is the result of multiple influences. There is no single factor, be it genetic, viral, chemical, radiation or physical injury which will invariably, by itself, cause cancer. The malignant behavior arises through a multi step process resulting from multiple harmful influences that cannot be detected or quantitated until the final step to cancer is taken - just as we can’t tell what’s going on in the criminal mind until the 1^st crime is committed.

SO WHAT ARE THE MULTIPLE INFLUENCES THAT CAN ACT TOGETHER TO PRODUCE THE ULTIMATE MALIGNANT TRANSFORMATION & WHAT IS THEIR RELATIVE IMPORTANCE?

Only 5 to 10% of cancers are linked to genes that have been inherited from parents, which means that 90 to 95% are not

After many studies there is no evidence that stress, personality or physical injury causes cancer.

Tobacco use in any form is the single most common factor participating in cancer causation. It plays the biggest roles in those tissues directly exposed to the tobacco products such as the mouth, upper airways, lungs and esophagus but it is a contributing factor in multiple other cancers such as the bladder, breast and others.

Sun exposure is risk factor for skin cancer only. Infections with hepatitis virus, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human papilloma virus (HPV), environmental exposure to asbestos, lead and radon are significant risk factors. Obesity and alcohol use may contribute to the risk of getting cancer but have not been shown to be direct causes of it.

Cancer is not contagious.

Dietary studies show no foods that directly cause cancer. There is however a lower risk of cancer found in people with diets rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains rather than refined grains and sugars, moderate alcohol consumption (2 drinks per day for men, one drink per day for women) and low intake of processed meats.