Every year on the 7th of November, we must take the vow to make more and more people aware of cancer and its different aspects. This day is very important as it is National Cancer Awareness Day. We will discuss here the risk factors of cancer. When there is an uncontrollable growth of cells anywhere in the body, it leads to cancer. To get rid of this disease, you may need to take the help of
cancer surgery service in Kolkata. Some factors have the capability of increasing the risk of cancer.
Age
For several types of cancer, the risk increases with age. In many people between 65-74 years of age, the doctor detects the presence of cancer.
Alcohol
The risk of cancers in different parts of the body increases due to drinking alcohol. These parts include mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, breasts and liver. Your risk increases as you drink more and more alcohol. When you use tobacco along with drinking alcohol, you are at high risk of developing cancer.
Cancer-causing substances in the environment
When we have exposure to harmful substances in the environment, these can damage the DNA and cancer may develop. Chemicals in tobacco smoke and ultraviolet rays of the sun are examples of such substances. Some others are aristolochic acids, benzene, aflatoxins, benzidine, cadmium, ethylene oxide, arsenic, beryllium, secondhand tobacco smoke and radon. As per the opinion of a
cancer doctor in Kolkata, you must try to avoid exposure to these substances as soon as possible.
Chronic inflammation
This type of inflammation may happen due to long-lasting infections, abnormal immune reactions even when the tissues are in normal state and conditions like obesity. If such inflammation lasts for a long time, it can cause damage to the DNA, which leads to cancer.
Tobacco
A leading cause of cancer is the use of tobacco, both in the form of smoking or chewing. If you don’t use tobacco, even then you have cancer risk if you have exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke. There can be cancers of different body parts including mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx, lungs, stomach, bladder, liver, kidney, pancreas, colon, rectum and cervix.
Diet
There are some foods and drinks that may increase your risk of developing cancer. You can ask a
cancer specialist in Kolkata about this.
Hormone therapy
If a woman takes combined menopausal hormone therapy, which includes estrogen and progestin (a synthetic version of progesterone), it may increase her risk of breast cancer. Similarly, her risk of endometrial cancer increases if she takes menopausal hormonal therapy with estrogen only.
Immunosuppressants
When patients undergo organ transplants, they need to take some particular medications to suppress the immune system. The purpose of these drugs is to ensure that the recipient’s body does not reject the organ. However, in doing so, the drugs also decrease the ability of the immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells or fight off cancer-causing infections. This can result in the development of cancer.
Infectious agents
There is often a role of some infectious agents including bacteria, viruses and parasites in cancer development.
