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| Environment |
| Toxic environmental chemicals such as pesticides and industrial by-products assault the body and overtax the immune system. |
| Heredity |
| Mutant genes can be passed from one generation to another. These genetic mishaps allow faulty messages to be transmitted, such as inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes at a time when they may be sorely needed to defend the body. |
| Proto-oncogene Activity |
| The threat of cancer rises when there is an increase in the number of genes that have oncogenic potential for mutation and overexpression. Viruses, particularly retroviruses that use reverse transcriptase, can cause genetic damage. Over a period of time, this cellular stress increases the potential for cancer development. What happens is that the retrovirus provides a pathway that is unavailable in a healthy cell. This path allows cancer cells to travel from a healthy cell's surface to its nucleus, where they transform the healthy cell into a cancerous one, and the cancer gains its foothold. |
| Free Radicals |
| Free radicals are by-products or waste material expelled by the cell, and they are normally not a threat to health and well-being. A problem arises, however, when too many free radicals overburden the body's means to eliminate them. This excess can circulate freely in the blood, damaging cells and eventually overtaxing the immune system. Free radicals can initiate irregular cellular behavior and DNA damage, causing some cancers to proliferate at a faster rate. |
| Radiation |
| Radiation creates cell damage in the form of hydroxal and hydrogen radicals. This may occur as the result of the sun's ultraviolet rays or the emission of radon gas by power lines, cell phones, or microwaves. Radiation therapy, when |
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