are there any main causes of cancer you should know about
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Are there any main causes of cancer and what can you do to minimize your risks?

Fundamentally, cancer can be caused by external factors or by internal factors. External factors include exposure to radiation, certain types of infectious organisms, smoking / exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, some kinds of chemicals, etc.

Internal factors also figure in the main causes of cancer. They include immune conditions in the body, mutations that are inherited, mutations that result from metabolic processes, hormone conditions and more.

Internal and external factors may act individually or jointly (sometimes in sequence) to produce cancerous tumors. Also, exposure to carcinogens (substances that cause cancer) and other factors may not result in cancer for a decade or more.

Cigarette smoking along with exposure to tobacco through second-hand smoke released by others remains one of the main causes of cancer the world over. As is well known, tobacco exposure can result in lung cancer. An estimated 170,000 deaths during 2008 were attributed to cancer caused by tobacco.

Studies point out that drinking water in America contains more than 2000 different toxic chemicals! These chemicals are among the main causes of cancer and other degenerative diseases in the country.

There are over 80,000 synthetic chemicals in use for various industrial and household purposes. Many kinds of conveniences we take for granted would be well neigh impossible without the use of some of these chemicals. Eventually, these chemicals are disposed of in water bodies including rivers, buried in landfills or otherwise find their way into the environment. This results in highly polluted, carcinogenic water, land, food and air.

And this toxic chemical cocktail we live in day in and day out is undoubtedly behind many of the diseases that beset us today.

Obesity, lack of proper nutrition and lack of physical activity accounted for an estimated 565,000 deaths from cancer during 2008. This could have been prevented by adopting the right lifestyle changes including eating a healthy, balanced diet.

Excessive exposure to solar radiation and indoor tanning systems results in skin cancer -- more than 1 million deaths resulted from this type of cancer in 2008. Again, this is preventable to a certain extent.

Infectious diseases are also among the main causes of cancer. The hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus and the better known human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are known to cause some kinds of cancers. These are preventable through the use of immunization, antibiotics and possible changes in behavior.

So that's the answer to the question "are there any main causes of cancer?" Yes, there are several diverse factors that can cause cancer. Many of them are preventable.


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