How is it possible that healthy people can get cancer?

Question

Despite healthy people eating the right and healthy foods with good exercise, how is it possible that these people who take good care of themselves get cancer?

But isn't it suppose to be the other way around? In other words, I mean that people who don't take care of their health and eat fatty, unhealthy foods get cancer. I doesn't make sense when healthy people like healthy non-smoking, healthy people get lung cancer.

I know the causes of cancer is to eat unhealthy foods and not do many healthy activities.

But my question is......
What is the cause of lung cancer for people who are non-smokers and take good care of their health? The wife the actor Christopher Reeve(Dana Reeve) died from lung cancer even though she was a non-smoker and a very healthy person.

When you choose to answer my question, don't answer with "that's how life is" or "that's the way it is" or "life is unfair". Please give a specific and elaborate answer to my question.

Is nature responsible?

Answer 1

Yes. A very good friend of mine, who took great care of himself had picked up Pancreatic Cancer. He lasted only a few months.

I do not have an answer, except that in spite of what we do, we can't control the hidden destiny. Smokers can live to old age, and the good die young.

Another friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer and given just days to live. 25 years later, he is totally cured. He has a very unusual look at life today.

Answer 2

There are so many genes in the body, and each has 2 copies.To get cancer, there are several ways:
- you can have genetically an altered gene, so the other copy can have a mutation during lifetime..This can be due to environmental factors..smoke, diet, food, smoking, habits
- you can have some viral infections or other things that can alter both of the copies of that gene

So in the healthy people, there's the environmental factor + the genetic factor together..

Answer 3

Unfortunately everyone is at risk to get cancer. There are many factors and different ways or different types of Cancer. Eating right and excersising may "Help" keep away many other diseases, but I don't think Cancer is one of them. Cancer doesn't discriminate, it can attack every person, every nationality, every age.

I had heard that everyone carries the cell or gene not sure..but in some people it activates and in others it doesn't. Why I don't know... wish I could give you a better reply, wish I had that answer myself.

Answer 4

Cancer can oftentimes be traced back to oxidative stress to the cellular [lipid] membranes. To neutralize or reduce this process, one must increase their level of antioxidants (not synthetic supplements). This can only be had through whole food and only through fruits and vegetables. The data is overwhelming on this. Because a number of people asked me about this at the last Nutrition Seminar we gave at our church, I decided to make a Health folder available (through my Yahoo Briefcase) for anyone wanting to download the information. There's other documents and research there, as well, which you might also find useful (high protein diets, building up the immune system, ideal blood tests, macular degeneration, diabetic neuropathy, free radicals, antioxidants, phytonutrients, synthetic vitamins vs whole food, etc). http://briefcase.yahoo.com/apuzyr
PS: The document "Hitting Cancer With Everything We've Got" is excellent.

Answer 5

everyone is born with the cancer gene. in fact we are all born with several genes that causes several diseases, but it all depends if it develops or not.

yes eating well and taking care of yourself is better, but unless you are willing and able to live inside of a bubble, there is no way around it. dana reeve is not the only person to ever died of lung cancer and never smoke, but we breath pollutes in the air, gas from cars, walking around people who smoke, because though in alot of places , here in florida, it is banned from smoking inside restaurants but if you go to sit outside to eat and the person next to you is smoking, you will be breathing it in without being able to exhale it.

but botton line, nobody really knows. it is the same as to say why is it that some skinny person get diabetes and not large people considering that you would think that having excess amount of fat and sugar in your body would produce diabete more than in skinny people.

hope this helps.

Answer 6

Of course Nature is responsible. You can't totally prevent cancer or any other disease just by being healthy. Nature and Genetics play a huge role. Just the way it is!!

Answer 7

The thing about cancer is..it doesn't matter what you are. It doesn't matter what colour, race, religion, background, money situation.
It does not descriminate against age either.

Its a bad thing........
It can be genetics...
Certain cancers are caused by drinking, smoking...
Sometimes people can eat and drink everything..and they are fine..
others can not...

Its just the way it is......

I have cancer in my family , I had cancer..had genetic testing...nothing came up......
Just unlucky..

I believe we all have cancer cells in us, and some of us are just unlucky to have them like us and decide to invade our bodies.........

Environment can do it........

Answer 8

it only takes one cell to mutate and become cancerous.


and healthy active people do get cancer at lower rates than smoking sedintary obese people, but anyone can get cancer

Answer 9

Possibly from all the preservatives they use in the food these days.

Answer 10

cuz everyone has the cancer gene in their body...it can come out at any time..