• Question: What causes cancer?

    Asked by to Anna, Elaine, Fiona, Kevin, Darren on 24 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Anna Bramwell-Dicks

      Anna Bramwell-Dicks answered on 24 Jun 2014:

      Lots of things cause cancer.

      I’m sure that you know that smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer. But, not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer and there are some people who get lung cancer who have never smoked. So, there must be other causes as well.

      These include:
      – having a genetic predisposition to a particular cancer
      – getting older
      – having problems with your immune system
      – your environment (e.g. people who are overexposed to the sun may be more likely to get skin cancer, or people who breathe in asbestos dust may get lung cancer)
      – the things that you eat and drink may increase your risk of some cancers too
      – also being overweight increases someone’s risk of developing cancer.

      There’s lots more information available about the causes of cancer from the Cancer Research UK website – it’s well worth having a look at. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/about-cancer/causes-symptoms/causes/what-causes-cancer

    • Photo: Fiona McLean

      Fiona McLean answered on 26 Jun 2014:

      Good question!

      As Anna says, lots of things can cause cancer. When people get cancer and they are quite young it is usually because of genetics or exposure to a bad chemical when they are really young. However, one of the main causes of cancer is simple getting old. I believe though that we can be in control of how we age and if we age healthily or unhealthily. Lots of exercise and eating the right foods can reduce your chances of getting almost all types of cancer whilst also preventing other illnesses such as heart disease and stroke. So I highly recommend running around a field and eating stuff like blueberries, porridge and milk rather than sitting watching TV and eating chocolate, crisps and fizzy juice!

Comments