Main Causes of Cancer Cancer is a disease caused by an uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in a part of the body. Cancer is very deadly and is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. There are more than one hundred types of cancer, and this year about 564,800 Americans are expected to die of cancer. Even though, so many people die from Cancer, there are many survivors. About 4 in 10 people survive cancer (40%) (“Cancer Facts”) . Most of these people could have prevented Cancer by knowing the main causes. Diet, physical activity, tobacco/smoking, alcohol, chemicals/radiation, and genetics are the main causes of cancer. The World Cancer fund states that about 20% of all cancers in the U.S. are related to body fat, …show more content…
Exposure can weaken the immune system, so the body has a harder time fighting off infections (“What Causes Cancer”). Getting a painful sunburn just once every two years, can triple your risk of melanoma skin cancer. If you get too much UV radiation from the sun or sunbeds it can damage the material in your skin cells. UV rays can also come from artificial sources like sunbeds. Sunbeds give out harmful rays that damage your skin and make it look wrinkled, old, or leathery (“Causes of Cancer and Reducing Your Risk”). Many other forms of radiation can also damage your …show more content…
They can cause increased risks in Leukemia, myeloma, thyroid, bladder, breast, lung, ovarian, colon, esophageal, stomach, liver, lymphoma, and skin cancer (except for melanoma) (“What Causes Cancer?”). One form of radiation is IR, it is released from diagnostic equipment such as X-Ray machines. IR affects any part of the body but mostly bone marrow and the thyroid gland. A fom of IR is radon, which can increase risk for lung cancers in smokers (“Environmental Factors and Cancer Development”). Radon is a colorless, odorless, radioactive gas that is very harmful . Another type of radiation is Benzene. Benzene is a colorless, flammable liquid with a sweet odor. It evaporates quickly when exposed to air. It is formed from natural processes, but most exposure results from human activities. When people are exposed to Benzene they have an increased risk of Leukemia (“What Causes Cancer?”). Exposure to certain chemicals like pesticides and metals can increase your risk for cancer also. Examples are nickel, cadmium, vinyl, chloride, and benzene (“Environmental Factors and Cancer Development”). Not all causes of cancer are from outside forces, some cancers are just passed down by generation or
The risks that can develop cancer are complicated and complex. To indicate one single cause of cancer is hard. However, certain environmental causes are strongly interrelated with the cause of particular cancers, such as cigarette smoking and lung cancer and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light and skin cancer (CancerSource). It is also known that, “Ionizing radiation consists of x-rays, UV light, and radioactivity whose energy can damage cells and chromosomes. Radioactivity increases the risk of cancer.” Source to indicate the effects of radioactivity is the U.S bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After all these years, the Japanese are still suffering from all kinds of cancer caused by many long lived chemicals such as Strontium-90 and Cesium-147 from the fallout. “High rate of leukemia” was found among the people who had survived Hiroshima and Nagasa...
Skin cancer is a significant public health issue in Australia. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun in the UVA and UVB wavelengths is the primary cause. Australia has been a world leader in efforts to protect the ozone layer, the main line of defense against ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. Ultraviolet radiation induces the formation of thymine dimers that cause mutation of skin cells if not repaired before DNA replication. Mutations of tumor suppressor genes can lead to uncontrolled cell growth. Ultraviolet radiation also causes immunosuppresion that allows skin cancers to become established. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are types of skin cancer caused by sun exposure, though each form is associated with a different pattern of exposure. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, due to a combination of tropical latitude, fair-skinned population, outdoor lifestyle, and high amount of ambient ultraviolet radiation. Widespread opinions about tanning and health benefits of sunlight lead many Australians to intentionally overexpose themselves to the sun. State cancer councils have developed sun safety and awareness campaigns, such as “Slip! Slop! Slap!” and “SunSmart,” to educate the population about sun exposure and encourage early detection of skin cancers. Gradual changes in knowledge and behavior indicate that the fight against skin cancer can be won.
The major environmental risk factor for melanoma is overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. People who have fair skin that burns or freckles easily need to be especially careful in the sun as protecting yourself against UV overexposure is an important way you can help reduce your risk of developing melanoma.
Over all, skin cancer is known to be a very common and dangerous cancer among the U.S.. Although there is no superior or particular cause known for it, it can be reduced by reducing radiation exposure from the sun and also tanning booths and beds. If not attempting to prevent it by staying out of the sun, and seeking not seeking shade and so forth, protection such as longer clothing garments that better cover the body as well as hats and sunglasses can help to eliminate direct exposure and reduce some of the damages that may occur. Certain amounts of sun light are healthy for the body as it provides vitamin- D which the body needs to maintain a healthy life style, though it is crucial not be over exposed as reverse side affects may occur, causing more harm than good.
Processes of exogenous and endogenous are likely to result in mutated genes leading towards cancer. (Schulz 2005, Knowles & Selby 2005). There are three known classifications of carcinogens, which are described to be cancer-causing agents based on the fact that they directly boost effects and thus cause mutations of the alterations already in place. The three classifications include: Chemical carcinogens which can be related to cigarettes and the mutations created as a result of the chemicals involved; Physical carcinogens which involves...
The cancer risks also caused by long-established activities such as working in an oil refinery or living near a high voltage power line are not large. Apart from skin cancers due to sunlight, the only substantial and widespread cancer risk known to be caused by an avoidable environmental factor in developed countries is the further increase in lung cancer among smokers caused by indoor radon escaping from the ground or from building materials, although both indoor and outdoor air pollution from fossil fuels may also contribute to the risk in smokers. The risk to non-smokers is relatively trivial in developed countries, but burning fossil fuels indoors without adequate ventilation certainly contributes to the high lung cancer rates even in non-smokers seen in parts of China.
UV radiation causes significant damage to human skin, in the form of sunburns, aging, skin cancer, and nonmelanoma tumors. Human skin damage is primarily a result of tanning. The
Skin Cancer is caused by hereditary factors, overexposure to the sun, and weak immune systems. (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com) One reason people tend to get skin cancer is when someone in your family has passed their genes down to you, known as hereditary. Normally hereditary is one of the causes in the development of melanoma. For all types of skin cancers, overexposure of the skin to UV radiation in sunlight is the most frequently blamed source of skin cancer. “Research suggests that sunburns received early in one’s childhood can lead to skin cancer later in life” (“Skin Cancer” infotrac.com). For example, when someone gets sunburned, you usually don’t know till ten to twenty years after and that’s why people don’t get skin cancer till they reach their twenties.
Cancer is a disease that affects human somatic cells. It causes the cells to divide uncontrollably and form masses known as tumors. There are two different types of cancer tumors. Some tumors are benign and other tumors are malignant. Benign tumors look similar to the tissues that they came from and develop slowly. The tumor remains in the same area that the tumor originated in. Malignant tumors are formed from cells that do not resemble the tissue that they came from. They vary in shape and size. This enables pieces of the tumor to break off and spread to other places in the body. Over the past few decades cancer has become a very prominent disease. There are many different types of cancer and many different causes for the the disease. Most cancers are because of a genetic mutation. The most common type occur when a cell is dividing. Proto-oncogenes, which are alleles in a normal cells, mutate to form oncogenes. These oncogenes cause cancer because they do not allow the cells to self destruct or become epistatic. There have been several research projects which have been testing epistatis.
Cancer is defined as a rapid, uncontrollable division of abnormal cells that can metastasize and spread to other areas of one’s body. This year alone, approximately “585,720 Americans are expected to die of cancer, almost 1,600 people per day” ("Cancer Fact & Figures 2014"). Cancer can form and attack any cell, tissue or organ in the body. Therefore the purpose of this paper is to explain the five more common types of cancer Americans are most frequently diagnosed with, as well as the symptoms associated with each type; factors that could potentially cause cancer and those who are more at risk or susceptible of developing any form of cancer; also ways to detect cancer, treat cancer and the steps one could take to lower their risk.
As of 2014, an estimation of 1,665,540 people have been diagnosed with cancer in the United States alone. In the same year, 585,720 of those cancer patients will die. Everyone seems to be affected by cancer is some way; however, many people are not informed on what cancer is, how it can be prevented, and what alternative or natural treatments are available. Cancer is a general term for the uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells in different parts of the body that can spread to other parts of the body (Sarg and Gross). Cancer is not categorized as specifically one disease, but hundreds of diseases because cancer can occur in hundreds of places all over the body. Cancer is caused by a cell’s DNA being damaged and then the damaged cell multiplies. After the cells have doubled 30 times, which could take anywhere from a year to more than 40 years, a billion cells have built up into a tumor about 0.4 inch (1 cm) in size (Lyons). At this point of the cancer cell growth, the tumor can possibly be felt or exposed through an x-ray.
* Over exposure to the sunlight over years makes the skin thinner and creates in the skin a appearance we link to ageing. Skin damage by the UV rays can lead to premature ageing, wrinkly, rough saggy, discoloured skin and skin cancer which in the US effects almost 50% of people and is the most common of all cancers.
Many of these chemicals have been proven to cause cancer. Many of these chemicals also affect the nonsmoker who inhales "secondhand" smoke, which makes secondhand smoke another major cause of lung cancer. If you smoke, you are more likely to develop the disease. Men who smoke are 22 times more likely to develop lung cancer, while women who smoke are 12 times more likely. The earlier you start smoking, the longer you smoke increases the danger....
Cancer is evitable. It can happen to anyone and does not discriminate. In 2014, more than 1.5 million new cases of cancer were diagnosed, and almost 600,000 people died of cancer in the United States (CDC, 2017). The human body is made up of trillions of cells, and with cancer, it can start anywhere in the human body. As normal cells grow and divide to form new healthy cells needed by the body, cancer cells break this orderly process. Abnormal cancer cells create their own pattern, growing and dividing uncontrollably, and may form growths known as tumors (National Cancer Institute, 2015). Malignant tumors are cancerous and if left untreated, can be life threatening. A diagnosis of cancer can be such an overwhelming and stressful time for patients
Light pollution: because there are lots of harmful pollutants in our atmosphere, the ozone layer is eaten, so the ultraviolet ray from the sun exposes directly on our skin. That causes skin cancer.