According to the National Cancer Institute, only about 5 percent to 10 percent of cancers are caused by inherited genetic mutations. In the remaining 90 percent to 95 percent of cases, genetic mutations develop as a result of exposures to environmental toxins such as tobacco smoke, radiation, and other damaging substances, or due to lifestyle factors — all of which cause inflammation.

Smoking and obesity both increase risk for various types of cancer. Abdominal obesity, in particular, is highly inflammatory.

Age is also a factor, because as we get older we become more inflamed and cells are more likely to mutate, becoming cancerous.

In addition, immunity begins to falter as our cellular defense systems — which include detoxification mechanisms and antioxidant systems — start to decline.

Normally, we have a built-in immune surveillance system of special cells that constantly survey our bodies for cells that are damaged and at risk of becoming cancerous. When found, these potentially wayward cells are killed and removed. But as we age, this surveillance system becomes less efficient.

All cells also contain special suicide genes, the function of which is to kill cells that are damaged so badly that they risk becoming cancerous. One example is the p53 gene. Approximately 50 percent of cancers are found to have mutations of this special gene; this prevents the cells from self-destructing, thus allowing the development of a cancer. Cancers with mutated p53 suicide genes are highly resistant to conventional treatments.

Most people are exposed to a number of cancer-causing agents and environmental risks on a daily basis. These include:

• Some dietary ingredients

• Toxic metals

• Nicotine and tobacco smoke

• Excess alcohol

• Unrelieved stress

• Exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides

Some medications — such as statins, steroids, and TNF-alpha inhibitors (a class of drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases) — increase cancer risk by suppressing the immune system.