And what is most scary about this horrible disease is the fact that it can be located anywhere, as it shows no preference for an organ - it likes them all. Some diseases affect only the lungs, others only the heart, but this one can affect every tiny piece in your body. And once it settles there in time it finds a way of spreading to other organs, too, so yes, I think this is the most terrible disease ever. If in the case of other health problems you know exactly what caused a certain disease to appear , in this case nobody knows for sure what causes cancer. We can only talk abvout some risk factors that can increase the incidence of cancer in a certain category of people, but that's nothing certain, it's only a matter of statistics - you may or you may not get the disease if you belong to one of these categories.
So now we are about to talk about causes of throat cancer. Like all types of cancer, throat cancer shows up as a tumour and the sooner you discover it the better. This tumour is located in the throat area and is thought to be caused by the excessive use of tobacco and alcohol in most cases. Statistics say that 90% of the people developing this disease are heavy smokers. Alcohol damages the cells inside the throat and the way to the esophagus, weakening this organ and opening the door for this disease.
The genetic factor is also a very important factor, as many of those having this gene in the family will also develop a form of cancer, not necessarily in the same are or organ. Another possible cause of the throat cancer is the infection with Human papillomavirus, also known as HPV , and which is sexually transmitted. So some experts believe that oral sex can cause HPV infections and can also lead to developing throat cancer. There are also some habits that appear only in certain parts of the world like drinking mate , which is a stimulant drink produced traditionally in South America or chewing betel quid - also a stimulant but this time found in some regions in Asia. They do not cause the throat cancer directly, but they open the door for this disease as they affect and damage the cells in the throat and this weakness is further speculated by the cancer cells.
Some doctors also think that a poor dental hygiene and a diet that is poor in fruit and vegetables favour this disease to appear, again not directly , but can be considered a risk factor. And the risk is increased in the case of people over fifty and in men, as they seem to be three times more affected than women by throat cancer. But again these numbers can be explained by the fact that there are a lot more men than women smoking heavily and , fo course, by the fact that when you are older you are weaker, so basically this is a risk factor for all the diseases.