Question: Do all cancers happen because of one problem in the cells or are all the different types of cancers because of different problems?

Natasha Myhill answered on 4 Nov 2017:

Great question! Our cells are amazing and they are like little machines. There are some parts of the ‘machine’ dedicated to maintenance – keeping it running properly. Cancers can be caused by many different problems in the cells, but this usually comes down to some form of mutation.This could be a genetic link (inherited mutation) or random mutation. Our cells are generally very good at repairing random mutations, but sometimes they miss them, and depending on where the mutation is in the cell’s DNA, this could lead to a cancerous cell.

In terms of different types of cancers being caused by different problems, there are some types of cancer that have higher risk link than others. For example, if you smoke, you are at higher risk of getting lung cancer. If you sunbathe/tanning bed a lot, you are at higher risk of getting skin cancer. This is because of mutagens. These are factors that increase the rate of mutation in the cells, and if a cell is mutating more than normal, there is less time to keep up with repairing it. More frequent mutations = increased risk of cancer.

Obviously cancer is a terrible disease and a lot of cancer cannot be predicted or avoided, but keeping a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of certain cancers!