Question: What are the chances of getting cancer or are you born with it also what are the symptoms?

Alexis Barr answered on 18 Jun 2013:

The current estimates are that 1 in 3 people will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime. This might sound scary but many of these cancers will be killed successfully or will not affect quality of life. The risk of getting cancer increases as you get older so the chance of getting cancer under the age of 50 is much lower.
Some people are born with mutations in their DNA that mean they are at a higher risk of getting cancer. Some genes that we know about are BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53, for example. However, many people will get mutations during their life and are not born with a risk of getting cancer. Things like smoking and sunburn can increase someone’s chances of getting cancer.
The symptoms of cancer vary widely depending on the type of cancer. It’s difficult to cover all the symptoms here but some examples are: breast cancer will start with a lump in the breast, lung cancer might start with excessive coughing or chest pain, and brain tumours might start with headaches or dizziness. It’s important not to panic if you have any of these symptoms though because lots of other illnesses (which are not as serious) have similar symptoms).