What Causes Cancer?

What causes cancer? When you think of all the things that are known or assumed to be cancer-causing and put them together–you end up with a list that is pretty daunting. This summary comes straight from the book Cancer: 101 Solutions to a Preventable Epidemic (New Society Publishers, 2007) by Liz Armstrong, Guy Dauncey and Anne Wordsworth.

This list does not claim to represent a complete summary of the contributing factors; but it is an indication that there are many more factors than we usually think about. The good news is that many are avoidable. What do you think of this list? Do you take issue with any of the items here? Are there other items that you would add?

Lifestyle and Diet Factors
• Smoking and second-hand smoke.
• Diet–too much meat, not enough fruits and vegetables.
• Suntanning.
• Absence of UV sunlight in some regions, reducing cancer-protecting vitamin D.
• Obesity, and lack of regular exercise.

10 Healthy Ways to Get Vitamin D

Other Food Factors
• Processed food such as nitrosamines, aspartame, some food colorants.
• Bovine growth hormone in milk.
• Some salt-cured, pickled, and smoked food.
• Sugar and alcohol consumption.
• Absence of cancer-protecting compounds in food not grown organically.
• Food contaminated with pesticides and herbicides.

The Anti-Cancer Grocery List
10 Cancer-Fighting Foods

Next: Work, Radiation and Air Pollution

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eternal G.

5:16PM PDT on May 16, 2011

You can't narrow this down, it depends literally on everything.

send a green star

Maria P.

10:24AM PDT on Apr 15, 2011

I very much fear that we are still in the beginning of understanding what causes cancer. My mother was a fanatic vegan, did not smoke or drink alcohol, ate organic food, did not have cancer in the family, but had a huge fear of getting cancer. And she did... Conclusions are yours!

Annemarie W.

5:15PM PDT on Apr 12, 2011

Thanks!

Penny C.

3:20PM PDT on Apr 8, 2011

If you live long enough nearly eveyone could get it,with all the poulutants,chemicals,proccess foods,nitrates in our lives its hard not too.

missy V.

10:11AM PDT on Apr 8, 2011

I know everything is not good for you. But we live life the best we can. My husbands grandpa died of prostate cancer,two years later his father dies of colon cancer,two years later his sister has breast& brain tumor cancer,so I think it is genes. But we can't worry ourself sick about every little thing

Teresa S.

8:37AM PDT on Apr 5, 2011

Cancer is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus of which there are nearly 200 known types to date. Our immunity systems may or may not fend it off at any given time, dependent on our state of health. Our health is dependent on habits and lifestyle choices as well as unaware environmental exposures. HPV are a group of DNA based viruses which means it could be cured with a vaccine, if cancer weren’t such a profitable disease. Those microscope organisms rule. We are an arrogant species to think we’re running anything, except the Earth and all living things to extinction. Mother will survive us, in spite of us.

Loo S.

9:31AM PDT on Apr 4, 2011

thanks for sharing

Manojkumar B.

11:52PM PDT on Apr 3, 2011

Ban smoking strongly

11:51PM PDT on Apr 3, 2011

Thanks

11:46PM PDT on Apr 3, 2011

Smoking should be banned completely