This may be a stupid question but...?

What causes cancer, I heard that it was something about your cells over multiplying, but I don't get it..too much people is getting cancer and I want to know why, is it the way we eat or exposure to radiation? What?

in a nut shell here is how cancer works.
your cells naturally replace and repair themselves. but, this does not mean that you can grow a new leg or anything.
you lose several million skins cells in a day, so your body makes more, it is the same concept when you get sick and your body makes white blood cells. also your body makes new blood cells every day.
anyway, what cancer does it use the cells reproductive ability (mitosis) to make more cancer cells.
kind of like building your own wall with your brothers Lego blocks so to speak.
what causes this? well a number of things, there is no actual "cause" really which is why it is so hard to eliminate it.
there are a many numbers of factors that have to line up in order for a cancer to grow. ALL of those factors have to line up in order for it to work.
all biological life has "cancer" so to speak but they are growing cells that they are supposed to grow rather than cells for something harmful.
of course it is much more in depth and complicated than that but essentially that is how is works.

Cancer is caused my a mutated cell that reproduces at an uncontrollable rate and mutating other cells into a harmful tumour.

It is caused my radiation, mutagen substances, or naturally occurring cell mutation.

Cancer is cause by a mutated cell that eventually multiplies and become life threatening. They way we are practicing our life style contribute to cancer. For example, we can get skin cancer by tanning, over sun exposure and burning the skin (tanning). We can get lung cancer by smoking or having an respiratory diesease for so long: Empzyma, Bronchitis, TB.

Our Genes and Genetics play a role in cancer. If you have Lukemia that runs in your family this disease may appear in you. Not only that you need to be careful about what you do in life that contributes to eating, or doing risky things that involves risky situations and behaviors.

Cancer, can come from anything food water the air it's all the chemicals used to purify Yeah Right!

Most oncologist believe cancer is a multi-step process involving mutations to two sets of genes.

The first set are called oncogenes. A normal gene with a cell division function (proto-oncogene) may be mutated to become an oncogene. An oncogene can be introduced by some viruses also. Oncogenes produce abnormal protein instructions which may lead to uncontrolled cell growth.

The second set of mutated genes are tumor suppressor genes. These genes prevent cancer from starting by either repairing DNA damage or committing suicide (apoptosis) if the damage is too extensive.

Faulty (mutated) tumor suppressor genes can be inherited. Oncogenes are NOT inherited but, defective tumor suppressor genes are. This is often confused with "inheriting cancer".

What causes mutations to genes? Carcinogens is the term for anything take has the potential to initiate cancer. All mutagens are carcinogens but, not all carcinogens are mutagens. Mutagens are anything that can mutate a cell (chemicals, radiation, tobacco, etc.). Some examples of carcinogens that are not mutagens are alcohol and abestos. Alcohol kills cells and the killed cancer cause cells to divide. Anytime cells divide is an opportunity for genetic mutations to be introduced and propagate.

Some viruses have also been identified to each cause cancer or have a strong association with cancer including HPV, AIDS, Hepatitis, ATLV and, EBV. Again, these viruses contain oncogenes.

We are constantly exposed to carcinogens. We can limit our exposure but, never eliminate it (viruses, pollution, sunlight, etc). Mutations are bound to happen.

Cancer may actually start and end before any detection if the immune system recognizes the (pre)cancerous cell and kills it. As we age, our immune system becomes less effective.

The longer you live the more chances cancer will eventually happen. This is why cancer is primarily a disease of the old with most patients diagnosed over 60 years of age.

All mammal get cancer thought out their life but for cancer to progress both factor A and factor B have to work together for the cells to mutate or divide and grow.
To say what causes it is very difficult as there are many factors that can cause it. Lung cancer is caused mainly by smoking but not all Lung cancer is caused by someone that smokes or is exposed to smoking.
Now Breast cancer has many type of cancer in the breast. One type is now said to be caused my eating to much red meat but again it isn't the sole cause.

Today most cancers are curable but I don't believe they will ever prevent one from getting it without major changes to our gene. Doing that might be more dangerous to us then just having a cure once we get it.

Cancer is no long age specific more younger women today get Breast cancer.

There are 1000 reasons for cancer. This may prevent it. Try Vitamin C therapy. A few years ago a cancer specialist came out with a paper that said the best cancer/infection fighter found to date was Interferon. At the time it was $15,000 a gram. The paper also said that Interferon was a by-product of the natural breakdown of Vitamin C in your body. Shortly after that the FDA tried to make Vitamin C by prescription only. Guess why? The FDA has the RDA for Vitamin C set at 64 mg a day, just enough to ward off scurvy. Linus Pauling, who got a Nobel Prize for his work with Vitamin C and a second Nobel Prize for Organic Chemistry, said that 1000 mg a day should be the minimum and 2000 mg a day if you are sick or smoke. He played tennis almost daily until the day he died at 96. Personally, I got sick twice a year for 2 weeks at a time, for more than 20 years, with something to this day the doctors have no idea what it was, but for a week in the middle of those 2 weeks I was flat on my back. I started Vitamin C therapy once I gave up on the doctors. I took enough to be asymptomatic for those 2 weeks. Too much and I got diarrhea and too little and I got sick. Within a narrow range, and it followed a bell curve over those 2 weeks, I was not sick. At the height I was taking 40,000 mg a day and 300,000 over the 2 weeks. After 2 years of that I have not been sick since 鈥?more than 15 years. Vitamin C acts as a natural diuretic so you need to drink a lot of water and watch your body in total, but my kidneys did not dissolve as the doctors predicted, or get massive kidney stones as other predicted. I did not dissolve my bones as some predicted or completely calcify my joints as others predicted. I had no side effects at all. It might be something to consider.