One in two people get cancer. Fortunately, we are curing over half the people these days that come through the door with cancer. Gender and race sometimes play a role. African Americans have a higher rate of prostate cancer than Caucasians. Diet and environment also seem to play a role in the development of some cancers.
Inheritance plays a part.
There are some well-described genetic cancers. Some Ashkanazi Jewish women have higher incidence of breast cancer because of the BR-CA 1 genetic abnormality. Their children can inherit this genetic risk of breast cancer. Some families are known to have a high incidence of cancer even though a genetic basis has not yet been discovered. It is probable, with time and research additional genetic causes will be found.