What Causes Cancer: Major Risk Factors to Look Out For

Cancer is one such disease that occurs without giving a warning sign. There is no time to prepare yourself to cope with such a disease. However, the worst part is that it only shows its presence when you get your tests done. 

There is no solid backing as to why some people get affected by it while others don’t. But many of the researches in the past have proved that there are certain risk factors that must be avoided in order to stay away from this fatal disease. 

With that, there are also some of the reasons and factors that can decrease the risk of cancer. These are often known as protective factors. The best oncologists in Karachi say that there are certain behaviors, food options, some of the chemicals that are included in the list of the substances that can increase the risk of cancer.

Some of the factors like age and family history are some of those that can never be controlled. One of the major causes of cancer in families is the inheritance of cancer from genes. There also has been an observation that proves that the people who have cancer have certain behaviors compared to those who don’t develop it. 

Most Suspected Causes of Cancer

Some of the major and most suspected causes of cancer that everyone needs to look for in order to prevent cancer are given below. However, not every cause can be avoided, some of them develop with time and can never be avoided. 

Hormones

Known as Human Carcinogens, the estrogens present in females can cause easily. These hormones however play important role in both males and females. It has been observed that the use of estrogen [lus progestin which is also known as menopausal hormone therapy can increase the risk of breast cancer in women.

 Exposure to estrogen and progesterone for a longer period of time can increase the chances of breast cancer in women. The exposure can be increased in cases of menopause starting late or menstruation starting earlier than expected and other menstruation problems. 

Tobacco

The usage of tobacco is not only damaging to the lungs but is a leading cause of death from cancer. People who smoke are already at higher risk of suffering from cancer but with that, it should never be forgotten that the people who are involved in secondhand smoking are also equally at risk because of the chemicals present in the smoke.

The use of tobacco causes a number of cancers including the larynx, mouth, bladder, kidney, colon, cervix, and rectum. Along with all these cancers, there are high chances that you might suffer from leukemia. 

People who don’t smoke and use other smokeless tobacco options i.e, chewing tobacco are more likely to suffer from mouth, pancreas, and esophagus cancers. It is urged for smokers to quit the habit as soon as possible in order to stay away from a fatal disease like cancer.

It should be known that there is no safe amount or quality of tobacco that is safe to use.

Sun Exposure

The sun and tanning booths emit all sorts of ultraviolet radiations that can not only be a cause of early aging but also damage the skin to a level where it can lead to skin cancer. It must be made sure that the time everyone spends outside must be made limited in order to lower the chances of skin cancer. 

Especially at the time of the late afternoon and mid-mornings it should be made sure that you avoid exposure of the direct sunlight. Experts all over the world say that people with lighter skin tones are more likely to get suffered from skin cancer, but this doesn’t mean that the chances of people with darker skin tones are none.

Age

As the age increases, the chances of people getting affected by cancer keep increasing. We all are witnesses of how fast this disease is spreading. But if there is proper care taken of the factors that can cause cancer, then age is just a number. However, genetic mutations and inheritance play a huge role in increasing the chances of cancer with increasing age. 

Environmental Substances 

With sunlight exposure and tobacco smoke, there are other factors in the environment that can cause cancer. The air that we breathe in, the food that we eat, and the water that we consume on a daily basis contain materials and substances that can be damaging to health.