Question: how do people get cancer

Matthew Smith answered on 2 Mar 2019:

This is a great question but also a pretty complex one!

The basic answer is that people get cancer when cells in their bodies change (mutate) in such a way as to cause them to grow uncontrollably. This means that cells can then divide and grow into masses called tumours. Tumours are very clever and can get healthy cells to help them thrive.

The reasons why these changes occur are various (this is part of the reason that cancer is so difficult to prevent!) but evidence has shown that things like our genes (the DNA we inherit from our parents) and environmental factors (things like ultraviolet light from the sun and certain foods) have a big impact.

Despite the fact that we know lots of things about how cancer is initiated, we still have much to learn. Many groups are investigating the differences in the way various cancers start with the hope that we may find an intervention point that can stop cancer at the very beginning, saving many peoples lives. This is in part what I do. If you are interested in knowing more about this part of my work, please ask the question but i think i’ve waffled long enough!

I hope this answers your question a little.