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“It Directly Causes At Least Seven Kinds Of Cancer”: 30 Oncologists Give Tips You Shouldn’t Ignore
The dreaded C-word... cancer. It's a leading cause of death worldwide, with nearly 10 million people dying from the disease every year. An estimated 618,120 cancer-related deaths are estimated in 2025, in the United States alone. While many of the causes are widely publicized, like smoking, there are others that aren't spoken about too much.
Someone recently asked oncologists to name the things they never/always do, or eat, because of what they know about cancer, and thousands of responses followed. From using as little plastic as possible, to never drinking alcohol, cancer experts were happy to share their advice with netizens. Among the replies were a few that revealed whether or not you get cancer is largely to do with the luck of the draw.
Bored Panda has put together a list of the top answers for you to scroll through. And some might have you rethinking your lifestyle choices. We've also put together some info on cancer, based on stats and data from the National Cancer Institute. You'll find that between the images.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Cancer researcher here. You can do everything right and still get cancer. You can do everything wrong- smoke drink be fat etc and not get cancer. It’s bad luck and genetics.
Mook The Mediocre 1 week ago
Yeah, it's a bit like jumping off a bridge. It may not kíill *everyone* who tries it, but the odds are certainly not in their favour.
We hear about cancer a lot: people getting it, people beating it, people dying. The disease is among the leading causes of death worldwide, and America's National Cancer Institute (NCI) has revealed that there were almost 20 million new cases and 9.7 million cancer-related deaths worldwide in 2022.
By 2050, the number of new cancer cases per year is expected to rise to 33 million, warns the Institute, adding that the number of cancer-related deaths is set to climb to 18.2 million.
But what exactly is this dreaded disease? Well, according the NCI, cancer is when some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body.
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#2
Former fellow of the National Cancer Institute here—I hate to tell you this but it’s alcohol. It directly causes at least seven kinds of cancer. Twenty years from now we will talk about alcohol the way we talk about cigarettes today.
Billo66 1 week ago (edited)
Us older smokers weren't able to make an informed choice. They were advertised as good for your lungs while showing a filter cross section full of asbestos. Everyone smoked, it was cool, it was social. Now I'm 60 with COPD and cancer and apparently cigarettes are now like handling uranium. No, it's not fair, but it's a choice I made, albeit an uninformed one. Edit: And furthermore lol. They are becoming so expensive now anyway. It's hard for me to justify spending that much on cigarettes. It is actually cheaper to smoke herb. If you don't count the extra flaming hot cheetos and reeses pieces :)
#3
Oncology nurse here. I would never skip recommended cancer screenings, and I would never ignore weird unexplained symptoms (sudden weight loss, blood coming out your butt, ongoing abdominal pain, excessive bleeding or bruising, odd skin lesions, swollen lymph nodes that aren’t related to acute illness). It’s heartbreaking when people ignore symptoms and don’t get diagnosed until the cancer is too advanced for treatment to be helpful.
Also, I’m a big fan of sunscreen. Surgeries to remove skin cancer can do some gnarly things to your face.
Wild Cream 1 week ago
My mum is the kind of lady who hates “bothering people.” She mentioned her lymph nodes had been swollen for ages but she didn’t feel sick. Luckily we convinced her to go to the dr. It was non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Got her some treatment and chemo and she’s been healthy again for years now ☺️
"Cancer can start almost anywhere in the human body, which is made up of trillions of cells," explains the site. Human cells grow and multiply to form new cells as the body needs them. But sometimes things go wrong and abnormal or damaged cells grow and multiply when they shouldn’t.
"These cells may form tumors, which are lumps of tissue. Tumors can be cancerous or not cancerous (benign)," the NCI says. Another term for cancerous tumors is malignant tumors. And while many cancers form solid tumors, cancers of the blood, like leukemias, generally don't do this.
#4
Tobacco anything - never. Alcohol - should really be never but I consume it only lightly. Screenings - never skipping one when it is recommended.
All this to say I still got breast cancer at the ripe age of 36 so sometimes you just can’t do much about bad luck.
Wild Cream 1 week ago
We’ve all heard stories of lifelong chronic smokers and drinkers who die at 106 and never experience cancer or anything from their habits, and then the lifelong health-conscious gym rat who avoids tobacco and alcohol and always eats their veggies and dies at 30 from cancer. NOT saying you shouldn’t avoid carcinogens and pursue a healthy lifestyle - you absolutely should for many many many reasons, not just longer lifespan - but sometimes sht just happens to you no matter how hard you try, and that’s just a super lame fact of life :(
#5
You could live to be 100 if you gave up all the things that make you want to live to be 100.
#6
Vaping, exactly because we DON'T know if it causes cancer. When I gave up smoking, everyone pushed me to switch to vaping and I was like "No thanks bro, I have no interest in being a guinea pig for this technology which will inevitably be found to cause 28 different cancers and will probably steal your girlfriend, too.".
Wild Cream 1 week ago
Vaping can’t be good for you. I did get my sense of taste and smell back after quitting cigarettes and switching to a vape, but there’s no way breathing in anything but clean regular air is good for you. I had a lil coughing fit at work today and thought “d**n maybe I’m vaping a bit too much this morning” only to remember my vape was left in my car for the last hour or two, there wasn’t any reason for me to be coughing like that except for the vape. (I am working on quitting btw! 👏😊)
You might have heard the word "metastasis." This is when cancerous tumors spread into, or invade, nearby tissues and travel to distant places in the body to form new tumors.
"Benign tumors do not spread into, or invade, nearby tissues. When removed, benign tumors usually don’t grow back, whereas cancerous tumors sometimes do," the NCI site explains. "Benign tumors can sometimes be quite large, however. Some can cause serious symptoms or be life-threatening, such as benign tumors in the brain."
So, who is at risk of getting cancer? Keep scrolling to find out...
#7
Oncology genetic counselor here - it's literally my job to figure out if someone's cancer is due to inherited risk and assess lifestyle risk factors that contribute to diagnoses.
Things I would never do:
-Smoke (increases risk for lung, breast, pancreatic, colon cancers and more)
-Alcohol (there is no "safe" amount - increases risk for colon, pancreatic, breast cancers and more - I tell my patients to limit it to weddings and funerals if they can)
-Aspartame (in many diet sodas, may increase risk for colon cancers)
-Eat too much red meat (no more than 2 servings weekly on average, increases risk for colon cancer)
-controversial: join the armed services in the US. The number of people who developed cancer because of something they were exposed to while serving is just mind-blowing (camp lejeune, asbestos in the navy, the tar pits, agent orange, etc etc etc)
Always recommended:
-keep your primary care informed about your family history of cancer (and other conditions, but that's not our focus here) because it may give you access to earlier or enhanced screening
-Screenings (mammogram, colonoscopies, prostate, skin)
-Exercise (30 min of cardiovascular exercise three times a week is correlated with a lower breast cancer risk)
-keep a healthy body weight (too much and the risk for uterine, colon, breast cancer and more increases)
-fiber (reduces risk of colon cancer)
-sunscreen (basal cell carcinoma is the most common cancer in the world)
-talk to your doctor if you're experiencing any ongoing unexplained symptoms, especially weight loss, fatigue, blood rectally or unexpected vaginally, pain, new lumps/bumps/skin lesions, new/changing moles, ongoing diarrhea/constipation (two week rule can help distinguish a random symptom from something that's more concerning) - I like to tell patients it's probably not cancer, but with your family history, talk to your doctor and make sure.
My biggest advice: do what you can to improve your lifestyle and do the screenings to hopefully catch diagnoses that are out of our control.
#8
All you mf's in here trying to extend your life. Have you not had a good gander of how the world is now? Eat the cake, drink the wine, enjoy that bacon. We're all gonna die anyway, why not enjoy the few things available to us. In addition, my mom never smoked or drank and ate healthier and exercised more than anyone old person I knew yet she died of a nasty throat/mouth/head cancer that did her in a couple of years ago at the age of 76. My dad drinks like a fish and smoked for 25 years and at 78 he's still kickin' with minor health issues. It's the luck of the draw in my opinion.
CD King 1 week ago
My mom was healthy and active and died at 58 from pancreatic cancer. At the end of Feb she looked normal\ healthy by the beginning of May she was dead. The most horrifying and traumatizing event in my life. I am so glad Canada has MAID ( medical assistance in dying) because if I get diagnosed with those nasty terminal cancers I will die with dignity and not terrified and in pain like my mother.
#9
The amount of "not-an-oncologists here" giving out health advice is concerning.
According to the NCI, cancer is a genetic disease, meaning it's caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, how they grow and they divide. The site explains that these genetic changes happen for various reasons.
It can be due to errors that occur as cells divide, or because of damage to DNA caused by harmful substances in the environment (like tobacco, alcohol or the ultraviolet rays from the sun). But cancer can also be inherited from our parents.
#10
Why do doctors keep recommending mammograms for women with dense breast tissue? Mammograms can’t detect it in dense tissue until it’s too late. Why aren’t they doing MRIs and ultrasounds instead which can detect it earlier in dense tissue?
My wife just found this out the hard way. And she was shocked that she was getting the wrong kind of scan every year. Now it’s probably too late for her.
#11
Not an oncologist, but I’m a radiation therapist, so I treat cancer patients every day. Obviously there are lifestyle habits you should avoid because they are linked to certain cancers or considered risk factors associated with certain cancers. That being said, one hard truth I’ve learned in the my years of doing this job is cancer really doesn’t discriminate. If it comes for you, it comes for you. I’ve treated 11 month old babies with brain tumors, a woman who never smoked a cigarette or had a drink in her life and did not have the BRCA gene and got cancer in not one but both breasts11 years apart- both primaries and not related to the other, triathletes with leukemia…it’s an evil and unfair disease. Now I’m in a specialized field where I only treat skin cancers with a superficial treatment machine, so I see less death and despair. My best piece of advice is WEAR SUNSCREEN and get your moles and spots checked. Health insurance typically covers a yearly total skin check at a dermatologist. .
#12
Not an oncologist but my late father was. Don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol, don’t be overweight, wear sunscreen, minimise eating pork. Eat fibrous vegetables, foods containing turmeric, don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself when using health professionals, and if they’re tossing up whether to go gently or radically, always opt for radically because one day you’ll need the radical surgery anyway, and by then you’ll be less likely to fully recover. One other thing he swore by was having a social life because happy and supported patients last longer even when terminal. My old man died aged 80 of - the irony - a rare cancer with a genetic link, so my own advice is always to keep your MOT screening appointments with the GP.
"The body normally eliminates cells with damaged DNA before they turn cancerous," notes the NCI. "But the body’s ability to do so goes down as we age. This is part of the reason why there is a higher risk of cancer later in life."
Research based on data taken between 2018 and 2021 paints a grim picture, revealing that around 38.9% of men and women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes. And the NCI says that in 2025 alone, an estimated 14,690 children and adolescents ages 0 to 19 will be diagnosed with cancer. 1,650 are expected to die.
#13
Hematopathologist here. I never use herbicide (w**d treatments) on my lawn. I’ve seen too many childhood leukemias/lymphomas,especially in children of parents who work in lawn care. I also don’t smoke or drink alcohol.
Tamara Heikalo 1 week ago
All of the products that have artificial fragrances, all the cleaning products, scented candles, so-called air-fresheners, we who are sensitive to these refer to ourselves as the canaries in the coalmine. We are the warnings for the rest of all living, breathing creatures... Most people will not know why they are sick, when it is because of the c**p they use in their homes and on their bodies. All the chemicals used in most public places... grocery stores, pharmacies, you name it. Most of these places we canaries cannot safely go into. And hey, fireworks, people... poisoning soil, water and air. Seriously.
#14
Cancer nurse here. If you get any unusual symptoms such as lethargy, swollen glands, pain, weight loss, night sweats, a cough that won’t go away etc go get a simple blood test. If you’re bloated, have abdomen or back pain, changes in urine colour, headaches that persists, breathing changes, get an Xray/CT/ultrasound. If your GP dismisses you and doesn’t investigate at all… go get a better GP. The amount of patients that have been diagnosed late have usually been to their GP a few times and not had any tests performed. You can’t always prevent cancer but you can certainly catch it early and give yourself a better chance of beating it. 🙏🏻.
Secret Squirrel 1 week ago
I have many of these prolonged symptoms (cough, lower back pain, night sweats, fatigue, bowel issues). I've never heard of the "simple blood test." What is it called, and do American health insurers cover it?
#15
Cancer biologist (researcher) of 20+ years. Avoid all tobacco. Don’t skip screenings. Limit alcohol. Try your best to control your weight. Use as little plastic as possible for food storage and drinkware (glass is best!) and never put plastic in the microwave.
Rick Murray 1 week ago
Glass is best? https://phys.org/news/2025-06-glass-bottles-microplastics-plastic.html You can't escape the stuff these days.
"Prostate, lung, and colorectal cancers account for an estimated 48% of all cancers diagnosed in men in 2025," reads the NCI's "Cancer Statistics" page. "For women, the three most common cancers are breast, lung, and colorectal, and they will account for an estimated 51% of all new cancer diagnoses in women in 2025."
#16
My best friend's mom is a breast cancer specialist, who previously worked in the ER. And (this is real) she says the number one behavior she rails against is riding motorcycles. So many gruesome deaths. You can fight cancer, but you can't scrape that body back off the ground (or reattach heads.) Also, smoking is bad.
#18
Bone marrow transplant hematology/oncologist here. DO NOT SMOKE. It doesn’t matter what it is, no smoking. Also increase your fiber and avoid Areca and Betel nuts, and get the HPV vaccine (9-valent now available up to age 45).
Wild Cream 1 week ago
Don’t smoke is the most consistent one here. DON’T SMOKE. Yes it feels good. No you shouldn’t do it. Every single smoker who has ever started eventually regrets it and wants to quit. Every single one.
According to the NCI's “What Is Cancer?" report, cancer rates are highest in countries where the populations have the highest life expectancy, education level, and standard of living.
"But for some cancer types, such as cervical cancer, the reverse is true," it says. "And the incidence rate is highest in countries in which the population ranks low on these measures."
#19
Cancer scientist and epidemiologist (PhD). Echoing what many have said.
Tobacco (never)
Sunscreen (always)
Alcohol (moderation, less is better)
A huge fan of the HPV vaccination for both males and females. So many preventable cervical and head/neck cancers.
Get recommended screenings and if you have an inherited predisposition talk to your physician about an alternative screening schedule.
Try to move your body and eat nourishing foods.
Everything else is pretty debatable. Live your life and if something feels or looks weird get it checked out.
#20
Oncologist here. Don’t smoke. Maintain a healthy weight. Eat and drink what you want within this framework. Alcohol in moderation is fine. Cancer is a partly genetics, partly exposure, and mostly just age and bad luck.
Billo66 1 week ago
I smoked 43 years. Reading a book was the only thing that finally made it make sense. Hope it helps. 81GKp2rqDO...abfea5.jpg 
#21
Not oncologist but hospice nurse. End stage alcoholic liver disease is the most horrifying way to go, and doing what I do has completely changed my relationship with alcohol.
#22
I will always make sure my nieces and nephews are well protected in the sun. Sunburn, especially in childhood, is what significantly increases the risk for melanoma! I also nag at my other family members about good sun protection, as it is prolonged sun exposure that increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers.
Wear your sun cream people and do not use sun beds!
EDIT: I’m not an oncologist, but I am a health care professional! I posted this in the middle of the night, and in my sleep deprived state failed to realise the question was aimed oncologists. I hope my answer is still credible and helpful to people!
keyboardtek 1 week ago
What people forget is skin cancer like melanoma does not just affect the skin. It spreads to other parts of the body. My brother started with a melanoma spot on his chest. It spread to the lymph system, his brain, his spine and he lost the ability to walk, to digest food, and to breath. It was a slow horrible death. Wear sun screen.
#23
I'm an oncology nurse and I go out of my way to never heat anything up in plastic. I go out of my way to not buy any drinks that are in plastic. I also pretty much drink alcohol maybe once or twice a year. Sunscreen no matter what & daily physical activity no matter what.
WindySwede 1 week ago
Good luck finding some drink not in contract with plastic? Cans have a thin line of plastic inside of them. Though not as much plastic as a PET bottle, but still in contact with plastic.
#24
I work in path, meaning i’m a doc who uses a microscope to see the f****d up cells taken out of the pt and order whatever molecular-based/immunology based workup (for the actual docs, it’s immunohistochemistry) for identification and prognostication.
on one point, i’ve seen cancers linked to years of smoking and alcohol use. i’ve seen cases of colon and cervical cancers in people who’ve neglected their screenings. i’ve seen pts with more risk factors than a rap sheet have a mildly dysplastic growth on their (insert anatomical part here) and live perfectly normally afterwards
on the other hand, just like many of the people who’ve commented here, there’s been a rise in number of pts with late-stage (stage II, III, IV) breast, cervical, ovarian, lung, stomach, kidney, etc cancers in pts with few if any risk factors, the cause of which is still unknown as to what’s driving this increase. whoever finds out why more gen Xers and millennials are getting cancer at such higher incidence rates than BB’s will win a nobel.
in essence, reduce/eliminate whatever bad habits you can such as smoking and drinking, get exercise, eat fiber, but don’t see it as a guarantee against cancer. no one is too young to get it (youngest colorectal case i saw was in their early 20s) but raising up symptoms with a doc who actually cares is important. too many of the old school BB docs blowing off symptoms when there’s been a massive rise in LAMNs, aggressive ovarian cancers, and diffuse gastric adenoCas in this country.
in addition, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, plus targeted radiation and/or new chemo protocols for leukemias and solid tumors has grown exponentially, mainly due to advances in molecular characterization. just recently as of 2 months ago we are testing for a certain molecule common in GI cancers that, if present in someone’s tumor, renders them eligible for a newly developed targeted therapy option.
Rick Murray 1 week ago
Hmm... Big increase in cancers, big increase in in-body pollutants such as that stuff teflon is made of and microplastics, not to mention a whole array of funky new chemicals (like d**n near every fruit these days being "treated" with stuff like imadazole). Coincidence?
#25
Don’t catch Covid repeatedly.
#26
Yeah, its a crapshoot.
20 yr smoker, heavy and light drinking 45 yrs
various d***s & physical recklessness 10 yrs
very bad diet 30+ yrs.
60 Cancer free
sister has never smoked, done d***s, light drinker, decent diet & exercise . . Cancer at 55.
I will say that while being currently cancer-free is great, there are PLENTY of reasons to take better care of yourself than I have.
Being cancer-free at 60 is great, but not so great when you feel closer to 80 half the time.
#27
Not an oncologist, but I had an Air Pollution lecturer once state that he does not eat barbecued food because of the charring and smoke residue carcinogen levels.
Wild Cream 1 week ago
I’ve been reading about that lately. Making me real sad because BBQ chicken on the grill is one of my fave summer foods :( all sweet n smoky
#28
Don't eat cigarettes.
#29
My sil has always been insanely healthy. Her degree is in Nutrition. She is very active, never smoked- rarely drank. She is 58 and has terminal breast cancer.
Little Bit 1 week ago
A friend of my mum's was one of the fittest, healthiest people I have ever known. She never smoked, drank alcohol and always ate healthy foods. She ran marathons as a hobby (she completed marathons and half marathons all over the country most weeks). She went into hospital for an op and when they opened her up the found numerous tumours. Further scans revealed that her entire body was riddled with cancer and it was too late to do anything about it. She passed away just a few weeks later. She was only in her mid 60s.
#30
Alcohol hands down
I also feel guilty every time I eat too much sugar.
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Lisa T 1 week ago
The problem is, every couple of years they come up with some new thing that’s allegedly carcinogenic, something that most people have been eating or using their whole life already (like plastic containers/bottles).I remember in the 90’s hearing that broccoli was supposedly carcinogenic. I remember that because of how ridiculous I thought that was.
Panda Bear 1 week ago
Cancer is a bïtch. I was only 4 when I was diagnosed and I knew people who were younger than that when they were diagnosed. In fact I knew a guy who was born with cancer.
Peeka_Mimi 1 week ago
I had skin cancer in 2023. Please wear sunscreen. Every time you get a sunburn your chance for skin cancer goes up exponentially. Skin is your biggest body organ and if not caught is very deadly. I had a MOHRS procedure on the bit of cancer they found. I always wear sunscreen now. Always.
Ahnjunwan 1 week ago
Agree on everything you wrote and i hope you have regular check ups. Altough the benefit of sunscreen is a bit disputed because some people came up with the idea that the lotion itself might cause cancer, there is so far no evidence that this is true. Btw peeka_mimi, i think you refer to mohs procedure, named after the man who did it first about almost 100 years ago 😉. Until today this procedure is standard. Anyway, sunscreen alone will not be enough for some people, even with, please use hats and protective clothes. Do not sunbathe, really, that is apart from smoking one of the worst things you can do for your skin. Stay healthy 🤠
Load More Replies... Lisa T 1 week ago
The problem is, every couple of years they come up with some new thing that’s allegedly carcinogenic, something that most people have been eating or using their whole life already (like plastic containers/bottles).I remember in the 90’s hearing that broccoli was supposedly carcinogenic. I remember that because of how ridiculous I thought that was.
Panda Bear 1 week ago
Cancer is a bïtch. I was only 4 when I was diagnosed and I knew people who were younger than that when they were diagnosed. In fact I knew a guy who was born with cancer.
Peeka_Mimi 1 week ago
I had skin cancer in 2023. Please wear sunscreen. Every time you get a sunburn your chance for skin cancer goes up exponentially. Skin is your biggest body organ and if not caught is very deadly. I had a MOHRS procedure on the bit of cancer they found. I always wear sunscreen now. Always.
Ahnjunwan 1 week ago
Agree on everything you wrote and i hope you have regular check ups. Altough the benefit of sunscreen is a bit disputed because some people came up with the idea that the lotion itself might cause cancer, there is so far no evidence that this is true. Btw peeka_mimi, i think you refer to mohs procedure, named after the man who did it first about almost 100 years ago 😉. Until today this procedure is standard. Anyway, sunscreen alone will not be enough for some people, even with, please use hats and protective clothes. Do not sunbathe, really, that is apart from smoking one of the worst things you can do for your skin. Stay healthy 🤠
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