(Dec 16) I DIDN'T know whether to laugh or to cry. A successful housing developer called me on my mobile phone urgently.

He sounded anxious and panicky. He had eaten over 20 sticks of beef satay over the weekend. He later read in one of our local dailies that red meat (and he had burnt red meat at that!) causes cancer.

I wanted to laugh at his naivete and ignorance. At the same time, I could have cried for his woeful lack of understanding of the cause of cancer. But I did neither and kept my composure.

I patiently explained to him that there is no one-on-one link between a single exposure to a carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) and cancer. Yes, animal protein brought to a very high temperature may be converted to a carcinogenic form.

But he had to eat a lot of terribly burnt satay, say 30 sticks a day for 30 years, to increase his risk of contracting certain cancers, for example, cancer of the stomach or cancer of the colon.

Even with that atrocious diet, there is still no guarantee of him getting cancer!

My poor, ignorant acquaintance is not alone. Many people harbour myriad myths about the cause of cancer. Air pollution is thought to cause lung cancer, but this has never been proven. Hair spray is another culprit (even less evidence for that).

What about the mobile phone with which I used to counsel my acquaintance? That was thought to cause brain tumours.

What is the cause of cancer?

If we are semantic purists, the answer is ... nothing. The right question to ask should be: "What increases your risk of getting cancer?"

Since we are on the path of asking appropriate questions, let us continue. "What lifestyle should I adopt to lessen my chance of cancer? Are there any preventive steps I can take?"

We all inherit a set of 23 chromosomes (which contain genes that are made up of DNA) from each parent. There are about three billion DNA base pairs.

About 10% of us inherit some erroneous DNA from our parents, which places us at a slightly higher risk of getting cancer.

The phrase "slightly higher risk" has to be fully understood. If it rains tonight and your car wipers and brakes are faulty, you are at a "slightly higher risk" of being involved in an accident as you drive home. Most of the time, with due care, you get home safely.

Factors in the environment can also affect your risk of getting cancer. The word "environment" also includes the conditions in your mother's womb as she gestates you for nine months. It includes your early childhood environment. There is really nothing you can do about both of these.

What about "lifestyle" then? Regular exercise, a well-balanced diet, a normal body weight, moderate alcohol consumption and no smoking are probably important in lowering your cancer risk, but not by that much.

However, with this healthy lifestyle, you will also lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's and a whole host of nasty disorders of ageing and degeneration.

Not to forget, age is by far the greatest risk factor. The older we get, the greater our chances are of being diagnosed with cancer.

Viruses may set off a chain of events in our cells that lead to cancer. Two cancers can be prevented by vaccination. They are hepatitis B virus-induced hepatocellular carcinoma and cancer of the cervix, which is in the main linked to the human papilloma virus.

Run along to your favourite GP tomorrow and check whether you need these vaccinations.

How often do we hear a cancer patient railing at the unfair world, "I don't smoke and I don't drink alcohol. I am also chaste to boot. And yet, I am down with cancer?"

The corollary: "My grandfather lived till a hundred and he led a debauched life of smoking, drinking and womanising" is also bandied about.

This only shows that there are many variables that affect our cancer risk, too many for us to fully understand at present.

I guess my point is "do-the-doables" and not waste sleep and hair over what is beyond your control.

Even more importantly, do not fall prey to unproven strategies. You can pick up these alternative and complementary fixes by the hundreds by word of mouth or from the dailies and internet that purport to prevent cancer. They disappoint almost all of the time.

To reiterate, whether you get cancer or not depends on your inherited DNA, the environment you were exposed to from your early in utero life and the unhappy outcome of certain nature-nurture interactions. Growing older is by far the most important risk factor of all, ceteris paribus.

Put simply, choose your parents, live a healthy lifestyle, don't grow old and wish yourself lots of luck.

Dr Albert Lim Kok Hooi is a consultant oncologist. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Information published in this article is not intended to replace, supplant or augment a consultation with a health professional regarding the reader's own medical care. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.