Can cancer be "contagious" among family members? Take precautions now →

Myth: "Cancer be transmitted between family members?"

When someone in the family has cancer, sometimes other family members (especially the spouse) will soon be diagnosed with the same cancer. It seems that cancer is really contagious, so once you find out that a family member has cancer, you must take isolation measures.

Rumor analysis: This statement is inaccurate. Cancer is not an infectious disease and cannot be transmitted between family members. There is no need to worry about the transmission of cancer in daily life.

The reason why family members, especially couples, suffer from the same type of cancer at the same time or one after another is most likely due to similar lifestyles and eating habits. When someone in the family unfortunately suffers from cancer, especially the types of cancer mentioned below, it is recommended to develop healthy living and eating habits, try to avoid or reduce contact with carcinogens, and regularly undergo precise and personalized cancer prevention physical examinations to detect clues of cancer as early as possible.

In daily life, family members live together day and night, eat and drink together, and in the medical field, we often remind everyone that since family members live under the same roof, are very close to each other, and share many items, if someone in the family has an infectious disease, others should develop good hygiene habits and do necessary disinfection and isolation work.

In recent years, the phenomenon of a family member suffering from cancer one after another has gradually become common, so many sayings that "cancer can be contagious among family members" have begun to circulate on the Internet, and many friends felt disappointed after hearing this.

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So, is cancer really contagious among family members? Let’s talk about it in detail today.

Is cancer contagious?

Let me give you the answer first: Cancer is not an infectious disease, and you don’t have to worry about the problem of cancer transmission in your daily life!

The reason why the phenomenon of "family members suffering from cancer continuously" and "couple cancer" occurs is that family members have similar living habits and dietary structures. If either party has bad living habits that may cause cancer, it is easy to subtly influence the other party, which will greatly increase the chance of family members suffering from the same disease and even lead to "couple cancer."

For example, when someone in the family smokes for a long time, other people will inevitably be exposed to passive smoking for a long time, so the risk of lung cancer will increase.

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In addition, some viruses and bacteria that cause cancer are contagious, such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), HPV (human papillomavirus), Helicobacter pylori, etc.

Therefore, if one family member, especially a couple, is infected with related viruses and bacteria, the other party may unfortunately be infected, and then the couple may develop the corresponding "couple cancer" phenomenon in the future.

Of course, this does not mean that "cancer is contagious", but that the viruses and bacteria that cause cancer are contagious.

In addition, from a genetic perspective, there is no blood relationship between husband and wife, so cancer is not hereditary between husband and wife. In other words, cancer itself is neither inherited nor contagious between husband and wife. However, because husband and wife have close contact and similar eating and living habits, it is easy for the phenomenon of "husband follows wife" or "wife follows husband" to occur. As for children, if a parent has cancer, the risk of cancer in children may indeed increase due to genetic factors, but this has nothing to do with contagion.

Which cancers in your family members should you pay special attention to?

In life, some cancers are likely to occur in a family. The following four types are common:

1. Gastric cancer

Many families eat together, and those with similar diets usually eat the same food, which has similar effects on the body. For example, many families like to eat barbecue and pickled food, which may cause damage to stomach health over time. This may also increase the risk of gastric cancer. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to a reasonable and healthy diet, actively treat stomach problems, and reduce the occurrence of gastric cancer.

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2. Lung cancer

The harm of secondhand smoke is no less than that of direct smoking. Therefore, if someone in the family smokes indoors for a long time, the possibility of lung cancer in the family will also increase.

In addition, the common family living environment, such as fumes produced when cooking at home and harmful substances formed by house decoration, such as formaldehyde, will cause harm to everyone at the same time.

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3. Colon cancer, esophageal cancer

The occurrence of colorectal cancer and esophageal cancer is closely related to bad eating habits. High-calorie, low-fiber, high-fat eating habits will increase the risk of colorectal cancer, such as barbecue, fried, pickled food, etc. In addition, polluted water sources and aflatoxin will also greatly increase the risk of esophageal cancer.

Eating high-calorie, low-fiber, high-fat foods for a long time will increase the burden on the human body and destroy the balance of microbial flora. After entering the human body, the nitrite in pickled food may also react with amines produced by protein decomposition in the stomach acid environment to produce nitrosamines, which are extremely carcinogenic.

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4. Liver cancer

There are many liver cancer patients in my country, and many of them are "couples with liver cancer". One of the reasons is the hepatitis B virus. Hepatitis B patients are a high-risk group for liver cancer, and the hepatitis B virus can be transmitted between people. If one of the spouses is sick, the virus can be spread through some behaviors (such as close contact), increasing the chances of the other spouse getting cancer. In addition, moldy food may also increase the risk of liver cancer.

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What behaviors increase your risk of cancer?

1. Bad eating habits

For example, drinking alcohol for a long time, eating high-salt, smoked, pickled and moldy food, or eating hard, overheated, or fast food, these bad eating habits can easily stimulate the digestive tract mucosa to lesions and easily ingest many carcinogens. Therefore, bad eating habits can easily cause cancer.

2. Bad living habits

For example, smoking, staying up late for a long time, lack of sleep, overwork, long-term mental stress, high tension, etc., may reduce the body's resistance, cause endocrine disorders, and be detrimental to the metabolism and excretion of harmful substances in the body, thus easily causing cancer;

3. Environmental stimulation

For example, prolonged sun exposure, or exposure to ionizing radiation, or air pollution in the working and living area may cause gene mutations in the body, which can easily lead to cancer.

The World Health Organization (WHO) points out that high salt, overweight or obesity, lack of physical exercise, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet radiation, occupational exposure (such as asbestos), infection (such as HPV infection), postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy for women, and not breastfeeding are all factors that increase the risk of cancer.

15 tips for preventing cancer

Cancer seriously endangers people's health. To reduce the risk of various types of cancer, you can start from the following 15 aspects:

1. Don’t smoke, quit smoking early, and stay away from secondhand smoke

2. Maintain a healthy weight and avoid being overweight or obese

3. Keep exercising and reduce sitting

4. It is best not to drink alcohol and avoid excessive drinking

5. Do not eat moldy food, betel nut and its products

6. Do not eat overly hot food or drink overly hot drinks

7. Avoid pickled, smoked, grilled and high-temperature fried foods, and eat less processed meat products

8. Eat less sweets and drink less sugary drinks

9. Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains

10. Do not share personal cleaning items such as toothbrushes and razors, and use public spoons and chopsticks when dining together.

11. Take good personal occupational protection and avoid exposure to carcinogens

12. Reduce prolonged sunlight exposure and avoid excessive exposure to the sun

13. Keep indoor ventilation, reduce travel when air is polluted, and wear a mask when going out

14. It is recommended to get hepatitis B vaccine and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine as early as possible

15. If you are at high risk of cancer, it is best to get screened in advance and develop a plan for regular physical examinations and cancer prevention examinations to serve as the first line of defense for your own health.

Looking in the mirror of rumors

Such rumors arise due to people's fear of cancer and misunderstanding of the pathogenesis of cancer, as well as the fact that family members may indeed suffer from cancer together, which makes the public believe that cancer is contagious. In fact, these situations are more caused by common lifestyles, eating habits or environmental factors, rather than the direct transmission of cancer itself in daily life. In this regard, we should see the essence through the phenomenon and understand the pathogenesis of cancer through authoritative sources, so that we can take due precautions without being overly anxious.

Author: Zhang Xiufeng, deputy chief physician of the Anorectal Department of Hangzhou Third People's Hospital

Review | Pan Zhanhe, Chief Physician, Master Supervisor, Department of Oncology, Zhongshan Hospital, Xiamen University