Question: why do people get cancer?

Hayley Pincott answered on 17 Dec 2025:

Hi,

That’s a great question. there are many things that can lead to an increased risk. So things like smoking, bad diet, and drinking too much alcohol can increase a persons risk in getting cancer. Sadly though a person can live as healthily as possible and due to family history and genetics, this puts a person at a higher risk of getting cancer. However if somebody is at high risk due to family history then they still want to give their body and mind the best opportunity being treated. So a good diet, plenty of rest, drink water, don’t smoke and not drinking too much alcohol will give a person the best chance of, firstly, reducing their risk of getting cancer, and secondly, being in a better situation to deal with cancer treatment.

Before I worked in the University Dental Hospital lab, I was aware that smoking increased a persons risk of getting cancer. What I didn’t know though was that the combination of smoking and too much alcohol increases the risk again as they kind of act as an accelerant to each other.