diagnosis

One of the first questions that a patient asks upon receiving a diagnosis of cancer is: what caused my cancer and could I have done anything to stop it? The simple answer in most cases is that we don't know. It implies that we know the cause of cancer, wherever it arises and, whilst we have identified certain risk factors for most, it's often several factors acting in unison, many of which we have yet to identify. This would explain why some patients who perceive that they've done all the right things, are still unlucky enough to be affected.