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

Many many many things are carcinogenic. Sunlight is carcinogenic.

You really shouldn’t worry about it too much. Media uses scare tactics like saying “Doing this will double your chance of getting cancer!” That sounds terrifying, but when you look at the numbers and see that it really just takes your odds from 1/10000000 to 1/5000000, it puts that into proper perspective.