The cause of cancer (or causes)

[vannah]

I would really like to hear anyones view on what they believe causes cancer.

I ask this because I am baffled and devastated by the number of people I know or know of who have died of cancer in the past 5 years, most were young - ie in late 30's/early 40s.

I firmly believe that its more to do with emotions, and the effect of stress on your cells, more so than diet. I say this because of the people I know who have died, unhappiness seems to be the common denominator - or 'bitterness'.

Some people agree with me, a few friends believe its more likely genetic (though I believe this is not true for all cancers),

what are your thoughts? If you knew of someone who died, would you say that unhappiness or poor diet may have been a link?

thankyou

I'd say it's pretty likely to be a combination of both - genes and environment. I'm so sorry you've been hit hard by these losses

the whole point about cancer is that is can hit anyone

happy, sad, rich or poor etc

there is no common demoninator

when people we love get ill, we try to look for reasons or explanations and sometimes there aren't any

i am sorry for your losses

Being alive dramatically increases your chances of developing cancer.
Not being flippant - it's my stock answer to the "scare of the week" headlines in the press.
Lifestyle choices do have an impact (eg smoking,heavy drinking)
I also believe stress can be a factor
Some are thought to have a hereditary link (many 'female' cancers)
Thankfully, the only person I know who died of cancer recently (touch wood) was DH's 84 year old grandmother

genetics i think, well that is a big cause.
and smoking, another biggy.

sorry fr your losses of course.

i have heard an optismtic outlook is a way of beating cancer but how optismistic could you be, faced with it?

As others have said, it would seem that a whole host of different factors can contribute to causing cancer to develop.

I believe that there is truth in the idea that a person who is able to maintain as positive an attitude (as possible) when attempting to fight cancer, may stand a slightly better chance of recovery or remission if the prognosis is not too bad to begin with. There is alot to be said for mind over matter, and undoubtedly stress and emotional problems can have an impact on health. However, as others have said, it is probably the result of such a complex set of factors in most cases - there are people who smoke and drink and eat badly their whole life and live to a ripe old age and never get cancer, and there are those who do everything "right" and still develop it, so genetics, environment, lifestyle, attitude etc must all factor.

So sorry that you have encountered so many sad losses recently.

Vannah maybe you should read John Diamond's book 'C - Because Cowards Get Cancer Too'. www.amazon.co.uk/C-Because-Cowards-Cancer-Too/dp/0091816653/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1202309 822&sr=8-1 He is very scathing about the idea that a particular type of person gets (or beats) cancer. I mean, how would you feel if you had cancer and someone was going on about how they thought it was caused by unhappiness or bitterness and if you could only think positively enough you would pull through?

There is no one cause.

Your 'bitterness' idea is bioligical nonsense, and exceptionally upsetting for people like me to read about.

My husband is dying of pancreatic cancer, its cause is almost certainly genetic, and for you to put out crap that he 'caused' it by being bitter, is hurtful beyond belief.

A kinder and gentler man never walked the earth.

If you can't say something helpful, and would rather blame the cancer dufferer for the 'wrong mind set' please keep it to yourself.

I have enough pain to deal with as it is, without worrying that other people think that my darling husband brought it on himself

rantsalot youre right, :
"there are people who smoke and drink and eat badly their whole life and live to a ripe old age and never get cancer, and there are those who do everything "right" and still develop it,"

thanks all for your replies...

I can explain why some people don't get it, if you want the actual biology behind it.

smoking
obesity
poor diet (ie lack of variety/vitamins etc)
genetics
bad luck
some specific causes for certain cancers (lack of breastfeeding for breat cancer, wokring with certain dyes for bladder cancer)

I would tick all of those things off before considering someones attitude/personality as a cause though I do think that there may be some evidence that stress may play a part in a propensity to cancer.

I looked into this when my mum had cancer - having a positive attitude makes no difference to your survival rate. I saw a study quite recently which looked at a project to get cancer patients to look at the outlook more optimistically and it had no effect on overall survival rates (no idea if there are any other studies to the contrary).

well said mb

also some of the "healthiest" people I've met have died of cancer - eg a 24 year old slim fitness freak died within a year of melanoma that spread to her lungs.

It's genes, usually when it happens so young. Certainly it was for my mother, who was a very open,loving and healthy-living woman of 38 when she first got cancer. A fruit and veg. lover,too.

Some things we really can't control.

It tends to be genes whenever it happens.

There are genes that cause a tumour to start growing. We also have genes that will suppress a tumors.

To get cancer you have to have the one switched on and the other switched off.

If you are born with an oncogene, you are already part way to developing cancer,. but you might be lucky and not get it, because other genes work well and 'protect' you.

the more contact you have with carcinogens (cancer causing compounds) the more likely you are to have those second genes affected, and develop a tumour.

This also explains why cancer is usually a disease of older people, they have had more time for the genes to go 'wrong'

Apologies to passing genetics experts, I do realise that it is more complex than this

Yes I am being treated for cancer atm. I've read quite a bit and listened to everything my doctors have told me - you are given conflicting figures and advice every day and it's hard to sort out the truth.

It's clear that many of the causes are still unknown at the moment.

I do believe stress rather than bitterness is a factor - but anyone under prolonged heavy stress is going to be more prone to develop illnesses of all kinds.

Of course diet and exercise in general are important factors for health in all respects, including cancer. But as martianbishop says, anyone can get it, anyone, however they conduct their life. All you can do is act sensibly and try to lower your probabilities.

oh gosh martianbishop - SO sorry. Didnt mean it in any nasty way. I can explain how and why I used the word, my 3 of my friends were mothers. Two of them went through divorces that caused a lot of bitterness and anger - the same feelings that I went through when I went through my divorce, and therefore Im panicking that all of the mad raging feelings that Ive harboured inside are going to make me ill now that Im actually ok and have two children...
dont know if Im making any sense.

Wrote it more as a concern about myself, and NOT as an accusation.
Im so sorry about your husband.

yeah - thats what I said MB... sort of...

emotions?

more so than factors like diet, smoking, alcohol abuse or environmental pollutants?

please tell me you're joking. you don't honestly believe people can feel their way in or out of a disease, do you?

The reason that people go down hill when they have been diagnosed, is that for many tumours it is only picked up when there is distal spread. By that time they are already seriously ill.

beingupset is a natural part of having cancer, as is being angry.

Ascribing effects of these emotions on the long term survival of patienst is offensive and damaging.

It is down to biology and luck.

being positive is naturally a good thing, of itself, 'explaining' cancer rates by peoples emotions smacks of 'blame the victim'. Offensive, pointless and not helpful

my mum died from ovarian cancer last year. Not a single one of the many risk factors for OC applied to her. She was a happy, busy person who loved life.

My mum always blamed the cancer either on stress (very demanding job, and she was always the first in the office and the last to leave) or on the many trunk x-rays she had as a young child as part of treatment for scoliosis.

Don't think stress is a true factor per se, but I guess it lowers your general immunity?

According to the genetics team I saw at the hospital I have some of the genetic 'proneness' to getting the same cancer that my mother, aunts and uncles had. Regular screening has been strongly urged on me by my specialist. He has also advised me to eat red meat only rarely and to stay slim, so presumably he thinks that diet and lifestyle have some bearing on whether I actually develop this particular cancer.

but vannah - with divorces running so high in the day and age - you'd be hard pushed to find any sample of almost anything that didn't include a group of bitter divorcee's.

You have picked one characteristic which you notice more because you identify with it and put their cancer down to that. Lots of people do that kind of observational "science" - but its deeply flawed (ie complete bollocks!).

My mother had cancer and was divorced, both my grandfathers were happily married all their lives and lead very low stress lives. Go figure.