What Are the Risk Factors for Cancer?
A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chance of getting a disease. Some risk factors can be changed, and others cannot. Risk factors for cancer can include a person’s age, sex, and family medical history. Others are linked to cancer-causing factors in the environment. Still others are related to lifestyle choices such as tobacco and alcohol use, diet, and sun exposure. Having a risk factor for cancer means that a person is more likely to develop the disease at some point in their lives. However, having one or more risk factors does not necessarily mean that a person will get cancer. Some people with one or more risk factors never develop the disease, while other people who do develop cancer have no apparent risk factors. Even when a person who has a risk factor is diagnosed with cancer, there is no way to prove that the risk factor actually caused the cancer. Different kinds of cancer have different risk factors. Some of the major risk factors include the following: • Can
The risk factors for cancer are both external and internal and several are behavioral risk factors. The risk factors for cancer include: • Growing older • Tobacco • Sunlight • Ionizing radiation • Certain chemicals and other substances • Some viruses and bacteria • Certain hormones • Family history of cancer • Alcohol • Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or being overweight Behavioral risk factors include: • Tobacco use • Sun exposure • Alcohol • Poor diet, lack of physical activity, or being overweight Source: National Cancer Institute, Cancer Causes and Risk Factors, http://www.cancer.
