There are many things in our world that have the potential to trigger, fuel, or provide resistance to treatment for different cancers. Many conventional oncology doctors rank risks into two categories: toxic influences and inflammatory influences. Toxic influences include things like cigarette smoke, alcohol and other carcinogens. Inflammatory influences include radiation, obesity, and many other inflammatory triggers and illnesses. Other cancer doctors and specialists feel that there are many more root causes for cancer taking hold and growing inside of the body.
The list of cancer causing chemicals and substances is as follows:
– Aflatoxins are a family of toxins produced by a certain fungi that is found on agricultural crops such as corn, peanuts, cottonseed and tree nuts.
– Aristolochic acids are acids found in certain types of plants known as aristolochic.
– Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance found in the air, water and soil of our atmosphere and world. People are exposed to arsenic through smoking tobacco, drinking contaminated water, and contaminated food sources.
– Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral used in commercial products such as insulation and fireproofing materials, automotive parts, and wallboard materials. Most exposure to this to this occurs in the construction industry and ship repair.
– Benzene is a substance used as a solvent in many businesses and construction companies.
– Benzidine is used in chemical laboratories in the past to produce dyes of cloth, paper, and leather.
– Beryllium is a metal found in nature. This is most frequently found in commercially made goods and items, aerospace components, nuclear reactors and golf clubs.
– 1,3-Butadiene is used to produce synthetic rubber products such as tires and plastics.
– Cadmium is a natural element found in the environment and is used to manufacture batteries, pigments, metal coatings and plastics.
– Coal tar and coal-tar pitch is mainly used for the production of refined chemicals and coal tar products. These products are used as a base for coatings and paint, and as a binder in asphalt.
– Coke-oven emissions are the emissions given off from ovens used to heat coal to produce coke, which is used in the formation of steel.
– Crystalline silica is found in stone, soil and sand and is often found in construction materials.
– Erionite is a naturally occurring fibrous mineral that is most often affecting those who work in construction on roadways.
– Ethylene oxide is a substance used to produce other chemicals such as antifreeze.
– Formaldehyde is a chemical used in building materials and as an antimicrobial and preservative. This also occurs naturally in the environment.
– Hexavalent chromium compounds formed with the metallic element chromium found in the Earth’s crust, air, water, soil, and food. This is often used to manufacture pigments, metal finishing’s and chrome plating, stainless steel production, leather tanning, and wood preservatives.
– Indoor emissions from the household combustion of coal which occurs from burning coal inside of the home.
– Mineral oils generally refer to a liquid product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline and other petroleum-based products.
– Nickel compounds are formed with the metallic element nickel found in the Earth’s crust. They have many industrial uses including dental materials.
– Radon is a radioactive gas that is released naturally from the decay of elements uranium, thorium, and radium in rocks and soil.
– Secondhand tobacco smoke
– Soot is a by-product of the incomplete burning of any carbon containing materials such as wood, fuel oil, plastics and household refuse.
– Strong inorganic acid mists containing sulfuric acid which is generated from various manufacturing processes.
– Thorium is a naturally occurring radioactive metal found in soil, rock, and water.
– Vinyl chloride is a colorless gas that is produced synthetically to primarily to make polyvinyl chloride, or PVC.
– Wood dust
– Chronic Inflammation
– Diet
– Hormones can affect how multiple systems in the body work together. Synthetic hormones can increase your risk factors for developing hormone-dependent cancers such as breast cancer.
– Immunosuppression refers to the drugs that are taken to suppress the immune system, such as those for transplant recipients, and chronic infections.
– Infectious Agents are certain viruses that increase your risk for developing cancer. These viruses and illnesses have been directly linked to developing cancers.
-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)
-Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C
-Human Immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
-Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
-Human T-Cell Leukemia or lymphoma virus type 1
-Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus
-Merkel cell polyomavirus
-Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)
-Opisthorchis viverrini and Schistosoma haematabium are parasites that have been linked to cancer.
– Obesity is being overweight and carrying the excess body fat increases your risk for numerous health conditions including cancers.
– Radiation has the potential to damage cellular DNA and can be found in many different places.
– Sunlight and UV radiation both increase the risk of skin cancer. Tanning booths have the same effects but stronger due to the intensity and closeness of the bulbs.
– Tobacco causes many different types of cancer including lung, larynx, mouth, esophagus, throat, bladder, kidney, liver, stomach, pancreas, colon, rectum, cervix, and can also cause acute myeloid leukemia.
In no way is this list complete and is constantly being updated as new chemicals and things are discovered and linked to developing cancers and other illnesses. There are many other aspects of life that play in to how these chemicals, minerals and naturally occurring elements in the world can affect your health. Some studies prove that avoiding these cancer risks can lower your overall risk of cancer by thirty to fifty percent (Stengler).
Citations:
Stengler MD
National Institute of Health and Human Services
American Cancer Society