CANCER-INSIDE AND OUT: Cancer is one of the most prominent diseases in the world. According to the National Cancer Institute, “cancer is a renegade system of growth inside the human body. The changes that must occur inside for cancer to flourish are genetic changes, but factors outside the body also play a role.”  Outside factors, such as: diet, smoking, alcohol use, hormone levels, and even exposure to certain chemicals and viruses over time, can all work together to create defects and maturation in cells. Furthermore, they go on to explain that environmental, in science, means, everything outside the body, in the environment, that enters and interacts with it. This type of exposure can also include things such as: sunshine, rain, water, food intake, and workplace environment. Researchers have concluded approximately 67 percent of all cancers are due in some part to the environment. Feeling like you can’t go anywhere now without being faced with cancer? The good news is these risks can decrease significantly if lifestyle changes are made. The National Cancer Institute suggests about one third of all cancer deaths could have been prevented if lifestyle changes were made, such as avoiding or completely eliminating tobacco and alcohol use.

NOT JUST ON THE OUTSIDE: Environmental factors are not the only culprit when it comes to cancer. A lot of cancer is gene related and based on our composition from within. Random gene changes occurring now, as well as gene changes that occur from cell growth and division, accumulate and change over time. These factors, including those from the environment, all play a major role in the formation of cancer. Some other factors, on the inside, that are related to cancer are weak immune systems and hormone level changes. When it comes to heredity, there is a chance you might be at risk for developing cancer if there is a family or generational occurence. The National Cancer Institute claims two to five percent of cancer development is genetically based run in families.

YOUR CHANCES: Certain exposures may increase or decrease your odds of developing cancer. However, we do know a few things to be true … the chance of someone developing cancer relies heavily on four things: genetic makeup, age, gender, and environmental exposures. What you can do now: avoid using tobacco and consuming a lot of alcohol. Use of tobacco has been associated with lung cancer, mouth cancer, colon cancer, and bladder cancer. Chewing tobacco actually ups your chances of developing oral cancer while second hand smoke increases your chances of developing lung cancer.

Source: National Cancer Institute