what is the main cause of cancer?

Answer 1

there isn't a 'main' cancer cause, different cancer have different causes, usually multiple elements causing the disease.

there's a few here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcinogen

Answer 2

Cancer is caused by normal cells changing so that they grow in an uncontrolled way. The uncontrolled growth causes a lump called a tumour to form.

Nobody knows what causes this to happen, though many people - usually those who have not had or been close to cancer - have a pet theory, usually ill-informed.

There is a proven link between smoking and lung cancer, and between sun exposure and skin cancer

You can have a healthy lifestyle - eat organic, maintain a healthy weight, exercise, avoid additives, never smoke etc - and still get cancer.

I reckon the two main risk factors in getting cancer are

1) having a body
2) bad luck

Answer 3

Understanding cancer
Cancer is not one, but many diseases. What causes one type of cancer does not necessarily cause another. Research into the causes of cancer is going on all the time to identify new carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents.

The causes of some cancers have been found through the work of epidemiologists. These scientists study how disease patterns vary from one group of individuals to another. They have noticed that some groups of people seem to have more, or less, cancer of some kinds than others.

As a result of such research, we now know for certain some of the causes of at least some forms of cancer in humans.

Smoking
The most important cause of cancer is cigarette smoking. Smoking causes 25 per cent of all cancer deaths in New Zealand. If you smoke, you are more likely to develop lung cancer and other cancers, such as cancers of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, bladder and pancreas.

In 1998, 855 men and 526 women died of lung cancer in New Zealand. Most of these deaths caused by smoking could have been prevented.

The greater the number of cigarettes smoked each day, the greater the risk of dying from a smoking-related cancer. The risk decreases when you stop smoking. Usually the body can repair much or some of the damage caused by smoking. The earlier people start smoking, the greater their risk of dying from lung cancer. About one in ten smokers will die from this type of cancer.

The sun
Sun exposure and sunburn are the main causes of melanoma and other skin cancers. Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. Each year in New Zealand about 1600 people develop melanoma and about 200 die of the disease. The highest rates of melanoma occur where fair-skinned people have a lifestyle involving:

sunburn during childhood and adolescence,
sunbathing, sunburn and tanning.
Nutrition
What we eat probably plays a part in at least one third of all cancers. It is thought to be important in either promoting the development of certain cancers, or helping protect against them.
Fruits, vegetables, breads and cereals may help protect against certain cancers.

Although we do not know for sure, if we eat too much fatty food we may be more likely to develop some cancers. Eating too much fat often means also that we do not eat enough fruit and vegetables, and we are more likely to be overweight, both of which are linked to greater risk of some cancers.

Physical activity
Physical activity helps keep your body a healthy weight and protects you against some cancers, such as colon and breast cancer.

Alcohol
Drinking alcohol causes cancers of the mouth, throat, liver and oesophagus. The risk is greater if a person smokes as well. Some studies show that drinking is also linked with breast and bowel cancers.

Answer 4

Cells turning cancerous!



There has yet to be conclusive proof that smoking CAUSES any type of cancer. It MAY be a contributing factor because the patients treated may have all smoked.
They also May have all drunk milk when they started school.
They may have all travelled on trains.
They may have worn jewellery on their fingers.
How many of them have had an X-ray?

Just because there is a factor common to most victims of cancer, doesn't mean that it will be the cause.

The ONLY documented case of people developing cancerous cells after exposure was.... to Radioactive Material.

Therefore, the main causes of Cancer is
Radiation.

Answer 5

there are too many from what you eat
many foods and their additives can feed the cancer cells
the air you breathe
and also what you get from your family
as it is known that you are at greater risk if you have family has a history of cancer
there is less cancer than years ago probably due to earlier detection but the cure rate is still terrible see my previous question

Answer 6

Factors:
1. Weak Immune System

Our body fights cancer thru NK (natural killer cells). When NK activity weakens (either from old age, poor nutrition, or stress) cancer cells are free to multiply and become tumors.

Also read articles on ---- http://www.ahccresearch.com

2. Oxygen Deficiency in the body.

Without sufficient oxygen, cells cannot function properly and disease can set in. You can research more into this thru internet.

3. Body either too acidic or too much alkaline.
When body is highly acidic, body can easily be attack by diseases. That's why ones body will become fat. If you want to lose weight try to avoid highly acidic food. Some weight lose experts are leaning towards this.
Maintain a normal Ph bal in your body. Try to avoid acidic food/drink (processed food, soda,etc).

4. I disagree that sun can cause cancer, may be too much sun. People living in tropical countries have more sunny days yet less skin cancer where I used to live and skin cancer is less prevalent. Some recent studies (from scientists) suggest that sunscreen can cause skin cancer, 5 chemicals found in sunscreen that even stimulates tumor.
Our body needs sun (vitamin d).

4. Toxin build up in the body.

Toxic chemicals that in our body and stays in our body will inhibit cancers and diseases.
That's why we need to detox to eliminate those.

The above notes are not my personal opinion but thru my own research compiled from various internet articles as I search for my own personal health.

Answer 7

I really think it's all the chemicals in the food we eat. Food these days is WAY over-processed. I am only in my 40's, but I remember when I was growing up, cancer was rare. The only person I knew who got it was my grandma and that was lung cancer from years of smoking. Now, I know lots of people who have had it -- breast cancer, leukemia, brain cancer, skin cancer. I am sure it's got to do with all the chemicals in our environment, but especially our foods.

Answer 8

Cigarette smoking, followed by a poor diet are what most health authorities blame. While I agree with those two stock answers I also believe a lot of the chemical preserviatives put in foods over the last 50 years has something to do with it, along with the increase in electro-magnetic pollution.

Answer 9

Cancer is multifactorial--that is, it is caused by genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. It's impossible, at this point, to quantify which is "more" responsible. All we can do is increase our odds of staying healthy by reducing as many lifestyle and environmental risks as we reasonably can.

Answer 10

everyone is born with the cancer gene in their body, its takes some kind of trama to activate it. my dad passed away with cancer in December 1999. and that was what all the specialists told all our family. (cancer that was in his lungs and webbed around his insides and broke off and sent cancer tumors to his brain). we also lost my father-in -law to bone cancer, and the doctors told us the fall he had took was the trama that activated his cancer. good luck and best wishes.