It seems a day doesn’t go by when you hear of another story about someone learning they have cancer. Now as you probably know we still don’t know for sure why some people do get cancer and others don’t.  We do, however, know about some things that can increase (sometimes greatly) your risk of getting cancer.  From your family history to your lifestyle habits and even your general environment there are a number of things that can contribute to cancer.  Please use this article as an introduction to understanding some the risk factors associated with getting this terrible disease.

Can I Inherit Cancer?

Believe it or not, you can! In fact somewhere around 10% of cancers are from inherited genes. You see if cancer appears commonly in your family history it is possible that mutated cells could be passed from one generation down to the next in your genes.  Now please understand that simply having inherited genetic mutations doesn’t mean you will actually get cancer, but it is a known risk factor.  However, if cancer is in your family history you may want to seriously consider genetic screening to test and see if you have inherited any of these cancerous genes.  While you can’t control your risks from your family history you certainly can control your lifestyle…

Is My Lifestyle Putting Me at Risk of Getting Cancer?

Everyday we all make choices about what we are going to do, from deciding to go for a run or having a cigarette and any of these things could be increasing your risk of getting cancer.  For years now we’ve been told that smoking is a major cancer causing activity, it’s even in big bold letters on a cigarette pack, but there are other lifestyle choices that you can take a look at too.  Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol is another known lifestyle choice, which can increase your risk of getting cancer. For women drinking more than one alcoholic drink a day can increase your risk of getting cancer.  For men it’s closer to two drinks per day before the risk increases.  Another lifestyle choice is spending too much time in the sun working on your bronzed Adonis or Aphrodite body.  Sure some people may think you look better, but is it worth the risk?  Prolonged exposure to the sun with frequent blistering sunburns can also lead to cancer.  Some habits might be easier to break than others and you’ll have to decide how you want to deal with this. Another thing that you have control over is your environment…

Can My Environment Lead To Cancer?

Yes the environment around you may contain harmful chemicals that could increase your risk of cancer.  For instance even if you don’t smoke you may be exposed to secondhand smoke if you live with someone who smokes or you go places where other people smoke.  And other environmental risks include your home or work areas where there could be benzene or asbestos fibers, both of which are known to increase your risk of getting cancer.

Conclusion

As you can see there are quite a few things that can increase your risk of getting cancer.  Fortunately some of them you have some measure of control over like your environment and lifestyle choices. I hope this brief introductory article has helped you understand just what some of the things are that can increase your risk of getting cancer. In closing I would just like to say my thoughts and prayers are with you if you are (or you know someone who is) suffering with one of these horrible diseases and I hope you find solace with the loved ones with you.
I hope this helped you learn more about cancer risk factors.

Have a super day!
Mark Meyers

P.S. If you found this page useful, please consider linking to it. Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy) It will look like this:
Cancer : Learning About Your Risk of Getting Cancer