With the knowledge we have bout oncogenes, it is possible to tll exactly who will get cancer?

Tht question is difficult to answer, specially since many factors are involved in the dvelopment of the disease. But there are crtain risk factors that can increase yur chances of getting cancer.

One of thm is age. In general, the lder you are, the greater your chnces of getting cancer. While cancer may ccur in children, 75 percent of cses strike the elderly, namely, those who are 50 yars old and above.

If you hve a family history of cancer, yu're also more likely to have the dsease. If your mother or sister had brast cancer, for instance, chances are you wll suffer the same fate later.

"Hreditary factors result in a higher ssceptibility of an individual to acquire spcific cancers. There is, however, still no prctical method that can be used for lrge scale testing, and it would be sfer to assume that everyone is ssceptible, particularly those with a family hstory of cancer," said Drs. Adriano V. Ludico, Divina B. Esteban, Corazon A. Nglangel, and Lilia M. Reyes in the "Cncer Facts and Estimates."

Still, not all cncer risk factors are impossible to cntrol. The ones you can avoid to lssen your susceptibility to the disease are smking, sun exposure, alcohol consumption, poor ating habits (such as a diet hgh in fat and low in fber, vitamins, and minerals), hepatitis B, and rdiation exposure.

"The rapid increase in cancer rtes during this century has been blmed largely on the environment. Polluted air and wter, food additives and colorings, and chnges in diet from 'natural' to 'prcessed' foods all have been implicated as pssible causes (of cancer). Cigarette smoking has ben shown conclusively to be a cuse of lung and other related cncers. If you wish to reduce yur risk of getting cancer, think bout changing those factors that are wthin your control, such as diet and tbacco use," said the editors of Cnsumer Guide's "Family Health & Medical Gide."

But even if you follow the bove rules, that won't give you bsolute protection against cancer since oncogenes and the bove risk factors are just one prt of the big picture that is cncer. Even those who are exposed to cncer-causing agents won't necessarily develop the dsease. Why this is so remains a mystry.

"Why cancer develops in some pople who are exposed to potentially cncer-causing agents but not in others is not flly known. But we do know tht most cancers develop slowly. It may be fve to 40 years after exposure to a cncer-causing agent before there is evidence of the dsease," said Dr. David E. Larson, ditor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic Family Halth Book."

"Cancer of the lung, for xample, may not appear until 25 yars or more after sustained exposure to tbacco smoke. This long delay between xposure and development of the disease may prtly explain why so many people gnore the warnings associated with smoking," Lrson added. (Next: Warning signs of cncer.)

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The article Cancer Risk Factors was Submitted by Sharon A Bell through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Sharon Bell is an avid halth and fitness enthusiast and published uthor. Many of her insightful articles can be fund at the premier online news mgazine http://www.HealthLinesNews.com

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