Answers to Questions Kids Ask! - Where "Why?" Turns to "Wow!"
Born on this day
September 19, 20111931 - Brook Benton
1934 - Brian Epstein
1928 - Pete Murray
1933 - David McCallum
1940 - Zandra Rhodes
1940 - Bill Medley
1945 - Kate Adie
1946 - Michael Elphick
1948 - Jeremy Irons
1949 - Twiggy
1963 - David Seaman
Cancer is caused by mutant cells. These mutations can be caused by exposure to toxins, or mistakes in DNA replication. The tendency to develop a certain type of cancer can also be inherited. We all have some mutations in our DNA, but not all of them cause problems. It is only bad if the mutation happened in a gene in a way that changes the information it codes for. This could make the cells not work properly. In the case of cancer, it could make cells divide uncontrollably and cause a tumor. Luckily, having one mutation doesn’t guarantee a person will get cancer. The cells manage to work okay unless a second mutation occurs that helps out the first one. And just because a parent gets cancer doesn’t mean that his/her offspring will too. Probably less than 15% of cancers are due to an inherited predisposition.
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