What causes cancer?

It is somewhat challenging to determine why one person develops cancer, and the other doesn’t. However, studies have shown that some risk factors may heighten one’s chances of developing cancer. And just so you know, there are factors that are associated with a lower risk of cancer. They are referred to as protective risk factors.

Risk factors of cancer include exposure to chemicals and some behaviors. These include things that cannot be controlled, like family history and age. For example, a history of certain cancers in the family may signify a potential inherited cancer syndrome.

Let’s look at 8 surprising causes of cancer.

1. Alcohol

Drinking alcohol increases your risk of cancer of the throat, mouth, larynx (voice box), esophagus), breast, and liver. Your risk of having these cancers increase as you drink more alcohol.

The risk of these cancers is higher for people who combine alcohol with tobacco.

Healthcare providers advise people who drink in moderate amounts. According to the Federal Government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a moderate alcohol drink is defined as a drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.

Red wine is believed to have certain substances like resveratrol, which have anti-cancer properties. There is no

2. Chronic inflammation

Inflammation is a physiological response that promotes the healing of injured tissues. The process of inflammation begins when injured tissues release chemicals. White blood cells respond by producing substances that cause division and growth of cells aimed at rebuilding tissues to help repair the injury. After the wound is healed, the inflammatory process ends.

In chronic inflammation, the process of inflammation begins even in the absence of an injury and doesn’t end when it should. Why the inflammation persists is not known. Chronic inflammation may be triggered by infections that refuse to resolve, conditions like obesity, or abnormal reactions by the immune system to normal tissues. Over time, the inflammation causes damage to the DNA and leads to cancer.

3. Viruses

Some viruses, like the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, the cause of AIDS), are associated with a high risk of sarcomas, lymphomas, and liver cancer. In addition, human papillomavirus (HPV, the cause of venereal warts) is associated with an increased risk of cervical, anal, and oral cancer.

4. Ionizing radiation

There is a link between ionizing radiation and cancer. However, the exact of radiation that triggers the cancer is not known.

5. Sunlight

Exposure to sunlight (such as sun tanning) causes damage to the skin and may trigger skin cancer.

6. Obesity

Studies have shown that obese or overweight people are at high risk of certain cancers, including cancers of the bowel, breast, endometrium (lining of the womb), pancreas, esophagus, liver, kidney, ovary, stomach, thyroid, brain (meningioma), and myeloma.

7. Lifestyle factors

Lifestyle factors like diet and smoking can increase or decrease one’s risk for cancer. For instance:

· If you eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, your risk of developing certain cancers is drastically reduced. These foods are loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as compounds called antioxidants. They also protect your body against the damaging effect of chemicals and toxins that get into your body. Strive to eat at least five portions of fruits and vegetables daily.

· Eating grain-fed red meat (like lamb, pork, and beef) increases the risk of stomach and rectal cancer.

· Processed meat is also a significant risk factor for cancers, primarily rectal cancer. Processed meat has been transformed via curing, salting, smoking, fermentation, or other processes, such as salami, bacon, pepperoni, chorizo, and all kinds of ham.

8. Age

The likelihood of developing cancer becomes more significant as you get older. Why? Probably because of the accumulation of damage to cells over time. What’s more, your body’s defenses and resistance against abnormal cells may become weaker as you get older. For instance, the ability to fix damaged cells and your immune cells may become less efficient as you get older. So, there’s a chance that one damaged cell may survive and grow into cancer.

What’s the outlook?

Improvements in cancer detection increased awareness of the risks associated with smoking, and a reduction in tobacco use have contributed to a yearly decrease in the number of cancer diagnoses and deaths.

A study by the American Cancer Society shows a 26 percent decline in the overall cancer death rate between 1991 and 2015.

The outlook of a cancer diagnosis depends on whether the disease has spread. It also depends on the severity, location, and type of cancer.