The Cause Of The Majority Of Cancers? ‘Bad Luck’.

It’s the New Year, and we’re all trying to eat right, exercise, and otherwise try to ensure that when death inevitably comes for us, it does not come in a particularly painful or scary form. Like, say, cancer. But according to new scientific research, you might be screwed anyway.

The BBC reports new research reveals that the cause of most cancers is, and we quote, “bad luck.” Specifically, they were looking at why, precisely, brain cancers are more common than colon cancer, when your brain is safely sealed up tight in your skull and your colon is exposed to all the horrible crap you eat and breathe. The answer?

The team at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health believe the way tissues regenerate is the answer. Old tired cells in the body are constantly being replaced with new ones made by dividing stem cells. But with each division comes the risk of a dangerous mutation that moves the stem cell one step closer to being cancerous. The pace of turnover varies throughout the body with rapid turnover in the lining of the gut and a slower pace in the brain.

Among the cancers that are a total crapshoot are brain cancers, small intestine cancers, and the particularly nasty and dangerous pancreatic cancer. There’s essentially nothing you can do to prevent these aside from living your life and getting check-ups on a regular basis.

The good news is that you can still lower the odds of getting many common cancers, like lung cancer, colon cancer, and skin cancer. By… well, eating healthily, working out, quitting smoking, reducing your overall stress levels, not drinking too much, and limiting your UV ray exposure. Similarly, being in good health when you get the dice-roll cancers can significantly raise your odds of beating them. So, while it’s not going to get rid of all your cancers, you should still get to the gym.

×