Well, my cousin says that we have more people with more cancer than we did a hundred years ago. Of course that means that we are exposed to different things than our ancestors were. Of course the sun will cause skin cancer, and tobacco will cause a mouth and lung cancer. But what about the other types, that happen to people who take care of their skin and don't take drugs. I say one other factor is food right? Our ancestors ate different things, different from what others ate. When we change that really fast, and not slow like we did before. It messes up the body. The body will try to produce enzymes to digest these foods, but the cells will start becoming deformed and grow out of control. That might not be the cause, but food has to have some effect on this right? 200 years ago we ate chicken and fish, and now we're eating foods that have been altered or just not found in our ancestry. Since we're introducing change too fast. and the humans are found to have a slow evolution clock thing

200 years ago you wouldn't have been able to test for cancer.

100 years ago, probably some other poverty-related illness killed you before the cancer. The squalid conditions in an old mill town like the one I live in, certainly didn't prolong anyone's life.

I rekon chemicals are to blame, i.e. exhaust fumes, household cleaners, power stations etc etc, the list goes on. It all goes up in the air and into the water and one way or another we ingest it. Such is though, that's "progression" and I'm not giving up my bike for anyone .

I believe that while cancer, to a degree has probably been around ad infinitum, I think the modern lifestyle/diet is where you will find the answer.
We have chemicals in and for everything that we grow, eat, wear, wash in and with. Look at the smog we all breathe and tell me that doesn't do things to us. Cigarettes, alcohol.
I don't believe we can turn back the clock, and would we want to? I think not. We all expect we will be cured of any ill that befalls us, for ever. The fact is that something is going to get us in the end (damn it!) and sometimes that something is cancer.
We can live the life we choose or die worrying about what's going to get us.
Cheers
Deborah

I reckon Deborah's got it right.

We all die in the end, of something.

We've been incoculated against the great killer diseases of the past. Many other diseases can be cured.

We don't have large scale wars like WW1 & WW2 any more.

Baring accidents, that leaves us living longer. That gives the chance for longer term illnesses like heart disease, cancer and diabetes to develop.

Yes, I'm sure lifestyle and environment are important, but I'm sure that the main issue behind the rise in cancer is that far less of us die young.