I am pissed I am scared I am hurt I am sick! Why is this disease still out there? Why do we not have a cure? Why, why, why???? I have often told people one of the main reasons I have the lifestyle I do is because I am not batting great odds when it comes to things such as diseases that can kill you. My mom has had heart disease and my father has had cancer. WTH!!! So if you look into the heredity thing I need to do everything in my power to try to prevent this from knocking on my doorstep. I have never smoked, I can count on both hands how many times I have been drunk in my life, I have never allowed myself to have a weight problem, and I tend to eat healthier with every passing day. Oh, and I try to not microwave in plastic containers, I use sunscreen more and more each year, I take vitamins, I workout regularly, and I pray daily. Will all of that matter in the end? I do not know. I guess I hope it does help. So, when people want to know why I do what I do the the extent I do it, it is because my biggest fear is leaving my girls long before they are ready.
So if you are in any boat like mine this is what I have found on the Cancer Society website:

Genes and cancer

Genes seem to have 2 major roles in cancer. Some, called oncogenes, can cause cancer. Others, known as tumor suppressor genes, stop cancer from developing or growing. More information about oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes can be found in our document, Oncogenes, Tumor Suppressor Genes, and Cancer.
Oncogenes are mutated forms of certain normal genes of the cell called proto-oncogenes. Proto-oncogenes are often genes that normally control what kind of cell it is and how often it grows and divides. When a proto-oncogene mutates (changes) into an oncogene, it turns on or activates when it is not supposed to be. When this occurs, the cell can grow out of control, leading to cancer.
Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, and tell cells when to die (a process known as apoptosis or programmed cell death). When tumor suppressor genes don’t work properly, cells can grow out of control, which can lead to cancer.
A tumor suppressor gene is like the brake pedal on a car. It normally keeps the cell from dividing too quickly just as a brake keeps a car from going too fast. When something goes wrong with the gene, such as a mutation, cell division can get out of control.
An important difference between oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes is that oncogenes result from the activation (turning on) of proto-oncogenes, but tumor suppressor genes cause cancer when they are inactivated (turned off).
Even if you were born with healthy genes, some of them can become changed (mutated) over the course of your life. These mutations are known as sporadic or somatic, meaning they are not inherited. Sporadic mutations cause most cases of cancer. These mutations are thought to be caused by things that we are exposed to in our environment, including cigarette smoke, radiation, hormones, and diet. More gene mutations build up as we get older, leading to a higher risk of cancer.
When someone has inherited an abnormal copy of a gene, their cells already start out with one mutation. This makes it all the easier (and quicker) for enough mutations to build up for a cell to become cancer. That is why cancers that are inherited tend to occur earlier in life than cancers of the same type that are not inherited.

When should I worry?

When many cases of cancer occur in a family, it is most often due to chance or because family members have been exposed to a common toxin, such as cigarette smoking. Less often, these cancers may be caused by an inherited gene mutation. (These are called family cancer syndromes.) Certain things make it more likely that an abnormal gene is causing cancers in a family, such as

Many cases of a rare type of cancer (like kidney cancer)
Cancers occurring at younger ages than usual (like colon cancer in a 20 year old)
More than one type of cancer in a single person (like a woman with both breast and ovarian cancer)
Cancers occurring in both of a paired organ (both eyes, both kidneys, both breasts)
More than one childhood cancer in a set of siblings (like sarcoma in both a brother and a sister)

Before you decide that cancer runs in your family, first gather some information. For each case of cancer, look at:

Who is affected? How are we related?
What type of cancer is it? Is it rare?
How old was this relative when they were diagnosed?
Did this person get more than one type of cancer?
Did they smoke?

Cancer in a close relative, like a parent or sibling (brother or sister), is more cause for concern than cancer in a more distant relative. Even if the cancer was from a gene mutation, the chance of it passing on to you gets lower with more distant relatives.
It is also important to look at each side of the family separately. Having 2 relatives with cancer is more concerning if the people are related to each other (meaning that they are both on the same side of the family). For example, if both relatives are your mother's brothers it means more than if one was your father's brother and the other was your mother's brother.
The type of cancer matters, too. More than one case of the same rare cancer is more worrisome than cases of a more common cancer. And having the same type of cancer in many relatives is more concerning than if it is several different kinds of cancer. Still, in some family cancer syndromes, a few types of cancer seem to go together. For example, breast cancer and ovarian cancer run together in families with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome (HBOC). Colon and endometrial cancers tend to go together in a syndrome called hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC).
The age of the person when the cancer was diagnosed is also important. For example, colon cancer is rare in people under 30. Having 2 or more cases in close relatives under 30 could be a sign of a gene syndrome. On the other hand, prostate cancer is very common in elderly men, so if both your father and his brother were found to have prostate cancer when they were in their 80's, it is less likely to be a gene problem.
When many relatives have the same type of cancer it is important to notice if the cancer could be related to smoking. For example, lung cancer is commonly caused by smoking, so many cases of lung cancer in a family of heavy smokers is more likely to be due to smoking than to a gene problem.

Cancer caused by smoking

Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths. It is linked with an increased risk of the following cancers:

Lung
Larynx (voice box)
Oral cavity (mouth, tongue, and lips)
Pharynx (throat)
Esophagus (tube connecting the throat to the stomach)
Stomach
Pancreas
Cervix
Kidney
Bladder
Acute myeloid leukemia

Smoking is responsible for almost 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women, and is one of the hardest cancers to treat. Lung cancer is a disease that can often be prevented. Some religious groups that promote non-smoking as part of their religion, such as Mormons and Seventh-day Adventists, have much lower rates of lung cancer and other smoking-related cancers.

Diet and Physical Activity: What’s the Cancer Connection?

How much do daily habits like diet and exercise affect your risk for cancer? Much more than you might think. Research has shown that poor diet and not being active are 2 key factors that can increase a person’s cancer risk. The good news is that you do something about this.
Except for quitting smoking, some of the most important things you can do to help reduce your cancer risk are:

Get to and stay at a healthy weight.
Be physically active on a regular basis.
Make healthy food choices.

The evidence for this is strong: Each year, about 570,000 Americans die of cancer; about one-third of these deaths are linked to poor diet, physical inactivity, and carrying too much weight.

Control your weight.

Getting to and staying at a healthy weight is important to reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. Being overweight or obese increases the risk of several cancers, including those of the breast (in women past menopause), colon, endometrium (the lining of the uterus), esophagus, and kidney, among others.
Being overweight can increase cancer risk in many ways. One of the main ways is that excess weight causes the body to produce and circulate more estrogen and insulin, hormones that can stimulate cancer growth.

Types of cancer linked to alcohol use

Alcohol use has been linked to increased risk of several types of cancer, including cancers of the:

mouth
throat (pharynx)
voice box (larynx)
esophagus
liver
breast (in women)
colon and rectum

For each of these cancers, the risk increases with the amount of alcohol consumed.
Cancers of the mouth, throat, voice box, and esophagus: Alcohol use clearly raises the risk of these cancers. The combined use of alcohol and tobacco increases the risk of these cancers far more than the effects of either drinking or smoking alone. This may be because alcohol can act as a solvent, helping harmful chemicals in tobacco to get into the cells lining the digestive tract. Alcohol may also slow down these cells' ability to repair DNA damage caused by chemicals in tobacco.
Liver cancer: Long-term alcohol use has been linked to an increased risk of liver cancer. Regular, heavy alcohol use can damage the liver, leading to inflammation. This, in turn, may raise the risk of liver cancer.
Breast cancer: Regular consumption of even a few drinks per week is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer in women. This risk may be especially high in women who do not get enough folate in their diet or through supplements. Alcohol can affect estrogen levels in the body, which may explain some of the increased risk. Reducing alcohol intake may be an important way for many women to lower their risk of breast cancer.
Colorectal cancer: Alcohol use has been linked with a higher risk of cancers of the colon and rectum. The evidence for such a link is generally stronger in men than in women, although studies have found the link in both sexes.

What are the risk factors for skin cancer?

Risk factors for non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancers include:

Unprotected and/or excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation
Fair complexion
Occupational exposures to coal tar, pitch, creosote, arsenic compounds, or radium
Family history
Multiple or atypical moles
Severe sunburns as a child

What are the signs and symptoms of skin cancer?

Skin cancer can be found early, and both doctors and patients play important roles in finding skin cancer. If you have any of the following symptoms, tell your doctor.

Any change on the skin, especially in the size or color of a mole or other darkly pigmented growth or spot, or a new growth
Scaliness, oozing, bleeding, or change in the appearance of a bump or nodule
The spread of pigmentation beyond its border such as dark coloring that spreads past the edge of a mole or mark
A change in sensation, itchiness, tenderness, or pain

What is a carcinogen?

Cancer is caused by changes in a cell's DNA – its genetic "blueprint." Some of these changes may be inherited from our parents, while others may be caused by outside exposures, which are often referred to as environmental factors. Environmental factors can include a wide range of exposures, such as:

Lifestyle factors (nutrition, tobacco use, physical activity, etc.)
Naturally occurring exposures (ultraviolet light, radon gas, infectious agents, etc.)
Medical treatments (chemotherapy, radiation, immune system-suppressing drugs, etc.)
Workplace exposures
Household exposures
Pollution

Substances and exposures that can lead to cancer are called carcinogens. Some carcinogens do not affect DNA directly, but lead to cancer in other ways. For example, they may cause cells to divide at a faster than normal rate, which could increase the chances that DNA changes will occur.
Carcinogens do not cause cancer in every case, all the time. Substances labeled as carcinogens may have different levels of cancer-causing potential. Some may cause cancer only after prolonged, high levels of exposure. And for any particular person, the risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including how they are exposed to a carcinogen, the length and intensity of the exposure, and the person's genetic makeup

Known human carcinogens

International Agency for Research on Cancer
Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans

Acetaldehyde (from consuming alcoholic beverages)
Acid mists, strong inorganic
Aflatoxins
Alcoholic beverages
Aluminum production
4-Aminobiphenyl
Areca nut
Aristolochic acid (and plants containing it)
Arsenic and inorganic arsenic compounds
Asbestos (all forms) and mineral substances (such as talc or vermiculite) that contain asbestos
Auramine production
Azathioprine
Benzene
Benzidine and dyes metabolized to benzidine
Benzo[a]pyrene
Beryllium and beryllium compounds
Betel quid, with or without tobacco
Bis(chloromethyl)ether and chloromethyl methyl ether (technical-grade)
Busulfan
1,3-Butadiene
Cadmium and cadmium compounds
Chlorambucil
Chlornaphazine
Chromium (VI) compounds
Clonorchis sinensis (infection with)
Coal, indoor emissions from household combustion
Coal gasification
Coal-tar distillation
Coal-tar pitch
Coke production
Cyclophosphamide
Cyclosporine
Diethylstilbestrol
Epstein-Barr virus (infection with)
Erionite
Estrogen postmenopausal therapy
Estrogen-progestogen postmenopausal therapy (combined)
Estrogen-progestogen oral contraceptives (combined) (Note: There is also convincing evidence in humans that these agents confer a protective effect against cancer in the endometrium and ovary)
Ethanol in alcoholic beverages
Ethylene oxide
Etoposide
Etoposide in combination with cisplatin and bleomycin
Fission products, including strontium-90
Formaldehyde
Haematite mining (underground)
Helicobacter pylori (infection with)
Hepatitis B virus (chronic infection with)
Hepatitis C virus (chronic infection with)
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) (infection with)
Human papilloma virus (HPV) types 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 (infection with) (Note: The HPV types that have been classified as carcinogenic to humans can differ by an order of magnitude in risk for cervical cancer)
Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-1) (infection with)
Ionizing radiation (all types)
Iron and steel founding (workplace exposure)
Isopropyl alcohol manufacture using strong acids
Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV)/human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) (infection with)
Leather dust
Magenta production
Melphalan
Methoxsalen (8-methoxypsoralen) plus ultraviolet A radiation
4,4'-Methylenebis(chloroaniline) (MOCA)
Mineral oils, untreated or mildly treated
MOPP and other combined chemotherapy including alkylating agents
2-Naphthylamine
Neutron radiation
Nickel compounds
N'-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) and 4-(N-Nitrosomethylamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)
Opisthorchis viverrini (liver fluke; infection with)
Painter (workplace exposure as a)
3,4,5,3',4'-Pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126)
2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran
Phenacetin (and mixtures containing it)
Phosphorus-32, as phosphate
Plutonium
Radioiodines, including iodine-131
Radionuclides, alpha-particle-emitting, internally deposited (Note: Specific radionuclides for which there is sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity to humans are also listed individually as Group 1 agents)
Radionuclides, beta-particle-emitting, internally deposited (Note: Specific radionuclides for which there is sufficient evidence for carcinogenicity to humans are also listed individually as Group 1 agents)
Radium-224 and its decay products
Radium-226 and its decay products
Radium-228 and its decay products
Radon-222 and its decay products
Rubber manufacturing industry
Salted fish (Chinese-style)
Schistosoma haematobium (flatworm; infection with)
Semustine (methyl-CCNU)
Shale oils
Silica dust, crystalline, in the form of quartz or cristobalite
Solar radiation
Soot (as found in workplace exposure of chimney sweeps)
Sulfur mustard
Tamoxifen (Note: There is also conclusive evidence that tamoxifen reduces the risk of contralateral breast cancer in breast cancer patients)
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin
Thiotepa
Thorium-232 and its decay products
Tobacco, smokeless
Tobacco smoke, secondhand
Tobacco smoking
ortho-Toluidine
Treosulfan
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation, including UVA, UVB, and UVC rays
Ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices
Vinyl chloride
Wood dust
X- and Gamma-radiation