(The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
You’ve probably heard conflicting reports about cancer prevention. Sometimes a specific cancer-prevention tip recommended in one study is advised against in another. Often, what’s known about cancer prevention is still evolving. However, it’s well-accepted that your chances of developing cancer are affected by the lifestyle choices you make. I’m going to be listing the best ways to prevent cancer.
Talk to your health care professional about cancer screening. Some tests can help detect cancer early, when treatment is more likely to be successful, and some can also detect precancerous conditions before they become cancer. While screening has been proven to save lives, screening guidelines aren’t always “one size fits all.”
About one of every three Americans will develop some form of malignancy during his or her lifetime. Despite these grim statistics, doctors have made great progress in understanding the biology of cancer cells, and they have already been able to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. If you’re interested in preventing cancer, take comfort in the fact that simple lifestyle changes can make a difference.
Skin cancer is the most common and most preventable cancer in the United States. More than 96,400 people are diagnosed with melanoma annually. Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation causes most skin cancer. Be sure to use adequate sun protection year-round. Never use indoor tanning beds.
Instead of just waiting for new breakthroughs, you can do a lot to protect yourself right now. Screening tests can help detect malignancies in their earliest stages, but you should always be alert for symptoms of the disease. The vast majority of such symptoms are caused by nonmalignant disorders, and cancers can produce symptoms that don’t show up on the list, such as unexplained weight loss or fatigue. But it is a useful reminder to listen to your body and report sounds of distress to your doctor.
Nearly 1,736,000 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year and more than 606,800 will die. However, research shows that up to 50% of cancer cases and about 50% of cancer deaths are preventable with the knowledge we have today. Prevention and early detection are more important than ever — and are proven, effective strategies to lower health care costs.
Early diagnosis is important, but can you go one better? Can you reduce your risk of getting cancer in the first place? It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health estimate that up to 75% of American cancer deaths can be prevented.
(The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Don’t Drink Alcohol or Use Tobacco
Using any type of tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer. Smoking has been linked to various types of cancer — including cancer of the lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney. Chewing tobacco has been linked to cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Even if you don’t use tobacco, exposure to secondhand smoke might increase your risk of lung cancer. Avoiding tobacco — or deciding to stop using it — is an important part of cancer prevention. If you need help quitting tobacco, ask your doctor about stop-smoking products and other strategies for quitting.
Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke.You don’t have to be an international scientist to understand how you can try to protect yourself and your family.
If you choose to drink, limit yourself to an average of one drink a day. Excess alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx (voice box), esophagus (food pipe), liver, and colon; it also increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Smoking further increases the risk of many alcohol-induced malignancies.
Eat a Healthy Diet (The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Although making healthy selections at the grocery store and at mealtime can’t guarantee cancer prevention, it might reduce your risk. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Base your diet on fruits, vegetables and other foods from plant sources — such as whole grains and beans. Maintain a healthy weight. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-calorie foods, including refined sugars and fat from animal sources. If you choose to drink alcohol, do so only in moderation The risk of various types of cancer — including cancer of the breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver — increases with the amount of alcohol you drink and the length of time you’ve been drinking regularly. Limit processed meats.
Reduce your consumption of saturated fat and red meat, which may increase the risk of colon cancer and a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. Increase your consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
A report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the World Health Organization, concluded that eating large amounts of processed meat can slightly increase the risk of certain types of cancer. In addition, women who eat a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts might have a reduced risk of breast cancer. The Mediterranean diet focuses mostly on plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and nuts. People who follow the Mediterranean diet choose healthy fats, such as olive oil, over butter and fish instead of red meat.
(The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Maintain a Healthy Weight and Intermittent Fast
Maintaining a healthy weight might lower the risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney. When your body isn’t carrying around the extra weight, your body doesn’t have to support the extra weight. The extra cardiovascular strain your body is putting into maintaining the extra fat your body stores goes away. This will in turn allow your body to not only be healthier, it can become more efficient.
Obesity increases the risk of many forms of cancer. Calories count; if you need to slim down, take in fewer calories, and burn more with exercise.
You can also implement fasting as part of your daily routine to help your body detoxify from food. Intermittent fasting is key to this, and as mentioned above, a healthy diet, including the keto diet are extremely helpful in maintaining a healthy body that can fight off cancer and other illnesses.
Be Physically Active and Avoid Stress
Physical activity counts, too. In addition to helping you control your weight, physical activity on its own might lower the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer. Adults who participate in any amount of physical activity gain some health benefits. Exercise in return can release endorphins, avoiding stress, and avoiding any psychological or physical stress can help you. This in turn can increase your immune system function, allowing you to not fall privy to any disease or illness.
Physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of colon cancer. Exercise also appears to reduce a woman’s risk of breast and possibly reproductive cancers. Exercise will help protect you even if you don’t lose weight.
For substantial health benefits, strive to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. You can also do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. As a general goal, include at least 30 minutes of physical activity in your daily routine — and if you can do more, even better.
Protect Yourself from the Sun
Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer — and one of the most preventable. Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest. When you’re outdoors, stay in the shade as much as possible. Sunglasses and a broad-brimmed hat help, too. Wear tightly woven, loose fitting clothing that covers as much of your skin as possible.
Get enough vitamin D. Many experts now recommend 800 to 1,000 IU a day, a goal that’s nearly impossible to attain without taking a supplement. Although protection is far from proven, evidence suggests that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and other malignancies. But don’t count on other supplements.
Opt for bright or dark colors, which reflect more ultraviolet radiation than do pastels or bleached cotton. Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30, even on cloudy days. Apply sunscreen generously, and reapply every two hours — or more often if you’re swimming or perspiring. These are just as damaging as natural sunlight.
(The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Be Vaccinated (The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. One of these infections is Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for certain adults at high risk — such as adults who are sexually active but not in a mutually monogamous relationship, people with sexually transmitted infections, people who use intravenous drugs, men who have sex with men, and health care or public safety workers who might be exposed to infected blood or body fluids.
Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins such as asbestos fibers, benzene, aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Another one to consider is human papillomavirus. HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical and other genital cancers as well as squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. The HPV vaccine is recommended for girls and boys ages 11 and 12. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of vaccine Gardasil 9 for males and females ages 9 to 45.
Avoid Risky Behaviors including Drug Use
Another effective cancer prevention tactic is to avoid risky behaviors that can lead to infections that, in turn, might increase the risk of cancer. Limit your number of sexual partners and use a condom when you have sex. The more sexual partners you have in your lifetime, the more likely you are to contract a sexually transmitted infection — such as HIV or HPV. People who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of cancer of the anus, liver and lung. HPV is most often associated with cervical cancer, but it might also increase the risk of cancer of the anus, penis, throat, vulva and vagina.
Make quality sleep a priority. Admittedly, the evidence linking sleep to cancer is not strong. But poor and insufficient sleep increases is associated with weight gain, which is a cancer risk factor.
Sharing needles with people who use intravenous drugs can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B and hepatitis C — which can increase the risk of liver cancer. If you’re concerned about drug misuse or addiction, seek professional help.
Visit Your Doctor Often (The Best Ways to Prevent Cancer)
Regular self-exams and screenings for various types of cancers — such as cancer of the skin, colon, cervix and breast — can increase your chances of discovering cancer early, when treatment is most likely to be successful. Ask your doctor about the best cancer screening schedule for you.
Avoid infections that contribute to cancer, including hepatitis viruses, HIV, and the human papillomavirus. Many are transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles.
Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation. Get medical imaging studies only when you need them. Check your home for residential radon, which increases the risk of lung cancer. Protect yourself from ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, which increases the risk of melanomas and other skin cancers. But don’t worry about electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage power lines or radio-frequency radiation from microwaves and cell phones. They do not cause cancer.
