# Cancer is man made

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [February 14, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266 "2011-02-14T01:45:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/41 "2011-02-16T04:24:08Z")

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> [@thirdwarning](#):
>
> Take a second look at your cite there. I think you might have missed a word. What it says is that percentage of cancer _deaths_ is caused by those things, not that percentage of cancer.
> 
> That could mean a lot of different things.

You can’t die from cancer unless you have it first. wakka wakka wakka

Either way, yeah that is true point. Plus lung cancer is one of the most deadly forms of cancer and it is largely due to smoking. So that may skew the results compared to cancers with higher survival rates that aren’t due to lifestyle.

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**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/42 "2011-02-16T10:55:36Z")

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Figure 1 in [1] clearly shows that 69–91% of all cancer cases are as a result of obesity, smoking, alcohol, or diet. To whit:

> [@](#):
>
> Cancer is caused by both internal factors (such as inherited mutations, hormones, and immune conditions) and environmental/acquired factors (such as tobacco, diet, radiation, and infectious organisms; Fig. 1). The link between diet and cancer is revealed by the large variation in rates of specific cancers in various countries and by the observed changes in the incidence of cancer in migrating. For example, Asians have been shown to have a 25 times lower incidence of prostate cancer and a ten times lower incidence of breast cancer than do residents of Western countries, and the rates for these cancers increase substantially after Asians migrate to the West ([http://www.dietandcancerreportorg/?p=ER](http://www.dietandcancerreportorg/?p=ER)).

[1]: **Cancer is a Preventable Disease that Requires Major Lifestyle Changes** , Preetha Anand, Ajaikumar B. Kunnumakara, Chitra Sundaram, Kuzhuvelil B. Harikumar, Sheeja T. Tharakan, Oiki S. Lai, Bokyung Sung, and Bharat B. Aggarwa, _Pharmaceutical Research_, 25(9): 2097–2116, 2008.

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**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/43 "2011-02-16T12:22:37Z")

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> [@Der\_Trihs](#):
>
> Nonsense. Cancer is as old as multicellular organisms, the damage [visible in some fossils](http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2006/0607-jurassic_docs.htm).

That link opens showing humans and dinosaurs and man living together :D:D

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/44 "2011-02-16T13:02:02Z")

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> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> That link opens showing humans and dinosaurs and man living together :D:D

That link shows a short burst of video from _Jurassic Park_.

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**Author:** ![yuzarsif](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/53a042/32.png) [@yuzarsif](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yuzarsif)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/45 "2011-02-17T07:44:08Z")

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strongly accept thge idea that numerous diseases are man -made

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**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\
**Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancer-is-man-made/571266/46 "2011-02-17T14:02:32Z")

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Nothing like a well-framed argument.

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