Marisa Voisard
Marion Technical College
The Causes of Cancer
The Causes of Cancer The causes of cancer are broad, but if the right precautions are taken a person has a great chance of keeping their risk minimal. Cancer is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a serious disease caused by cells that are not normal and that can spread to one or many parts of the body. Cancer is caused by a mutation of genes, which cause cells to grow abnormally. “Cancer is an intricate and potentially lethal collaboration of genes gone awry, of growth inhibitors gone missing, of hormones and epigenomes changing and rogue cells breaking free” (Saporito, 2013). In 2015, the American Cancer Society has predicted that 1,658,370 new cancer cases will be diagnosed and 589,430 cancer deaths in the US will occur. Cancer is a very common illness, most people know somebody or are related to someone who has had cancer. Cancer can appear as if it runs in families, but it is mostly due to the family influences. There are many influences through families that are risk factors for cancer. Smoking, obesity, and abnormal gene mutations can be influences from the family. “Because current technologies may miss some types of mutations there may be other hereditary causes of cancer risks yet to be identified…” (Carr & Steel, 2013). Genetic counseling and genetic testing is the best way to find out how much risk a person may be for cancer. Tobacco usage is another cause of cancer that affects many people. Even a tobacco user is at risk by being around tobacco users. Common tobacco types include Cigarettes, Cigars, Secondhand smoke, and Smokeless tobacco. About one in five adults in the United States are smokers according to a 2012 Center for Disease Control (CDC) study. Cigarette smoking is also responsible for thirty percent of all cancer related deaths. Cigarette smoking has been linked to increased risk for the following cancers: lung, larynx, oral cavity, pharynx, etc. To keep a person’s risk minimal do not use any forms of tobacco and try to avoid all forms of tobacco smoke. Cigars are another form of tobacco that can cause cancer. A cigar actually differs from a cigarette. A cigar, for tax purposes, is defined as any roll of tobacco wrapped in leaf tobacco or in any substance containing tobacco. This differs from a cigarette, which is defined as any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or any substance not containing tobacco. Regular cigar smokers are four to ten times more likely to die from mouth, larynx, and esophagus cancer. People who smoke cigars and inhale the smoke are more likely to get cancer of the pancreas and bladder as well. As mentioned above the best precaution to take is to avoid all forms of tobacco. Secondhand smoke is another cause of cancer. This form of tobacco “use” not only puts the tobacco users at risk, but jeopardizes the well-being of non-smokers as well. There are two forms of secondhand smoke. First, there is sidestream smoke. Sidestream smoke comes from the lighted end of a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. The second type is Mainstream smoke. This type of smoke is the kind that is exhaled by the smoker. These two forms are not the same, however, both are dangerous. Sidestream smoke actually has a higher concentration of carcinogens and more toxins. Sidestream smoke is also a known human carcinogen according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and has been linked to lung cancer. “Using data from the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study, we found that about one out of three smokers quit smoking when they were diagnosed with cancer” (American Cancer Society, 2014). There are around 3,400 cancer related deaths per year in non-smoking adults who got cancer from being around the carcinogens in tobacco. Smokeless tobacco has also been known to cause cancer. There are two main types of smokeless tobacco, chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco is placed between the