eli5: Why does it seem like everything is carcinogenic and does that mean if it is, it causes cancer?

Question

I feel like I am always hearing about how things are carcinogenic, like red meat or air conditioners or aspartame. Why does it seem like *so* many things are carcinogenic and does that mean they cause cancer? Because it’s starting to feel like everything causes cancer…

This is the type of thing that gets my anxiety going so I’d love if someone who understands this better than I do can explain it.

In: 354

Answer 1

In short, “the dose makes the poison”.

If you have limited exposure to a dangerous substance, you have lower risk. If you have repeated/high exposure, you have a higher risk.

For many substances, the threshold for acute risk is pretty high. Like, you could probably get cancer from a rubber duck, but you would have to chew on that rubber duck for eight hours a day, every day, for forty years straight. And by that point, you would have a higher (but not guaranteed) cancer risk. So realistically, you don’t need to avoid rubber ducks.