Causes of Cancer

Hereditory Factors

Dealing with Diagnosis

Telling Others

Supporting Someone with Cancer

Understanding Your Illness

Self Image

Caring for Yourself

What Causes Cancer?

The causes of many cancers are not yet known. Most cancers seem to be caused by our lifestyle habits and recreation or by substances in our environment that affect our bodies.

The major causes of cancer are thought to include smoking, sun exposure, diet, chemicals and asbestos. Cancer causing substances are called carcinogens.

Cancer is not catching. It cannot be passed on to friends or relatives or anyone else like a cold or the flu.

People who have a family history of some cancers, such as breast and bowel cancer, may have a higher risk of developing that cancer. In a very small number of families a change in the gene that controls cell growth is passed on from one generation to the next. Not all family members get this change. Those individuals who do may have a higher than usual chance of developing cancer.

Hereditary cancers...