Cancer is one of the scariest words in the dictionary.
No one wants to hear that word – ever, whether referring to themselves or a family member. Yet how do we avoid such an encounter? The rates of cancer occurrence (except for colo-rectal cancer) have continued essentially unchanged for the last two decades. The rates of cancer deaths also continue unchecked.
Some types of cancer can actually be conquered. But for many cancers, the only therapy is palliative. The only hope is to prolong life for a few months. The only treatments are seen by many as worse than the disease. The answer to cancer is to prevent cancer from gaining a permanent residence in your body with lifestyle choices. The truth is: 80% of cancers can be prevented.
Cancer prevention is a three step process:
1) Avoid exposure to known carcinogens.
2) Participate in the known effective cancer screenings.
3) Maintain a healthy body through lifestyle choices.
Known carcinogens include Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), smoking, highly heated fats, sunburn, radon, environmental heavy metals among others. Known-effective screenings for cancer include screenings of breast, prostate, colon, skin, cervix, and lung.
These two strategies for cancer prevention are well publicized and practiced by a large majority of people – who are reminded of the need for these strategies by their health care professionals frequently. But the third strategy – maintaining health through lifestyle choices – is more problematic. Why? Because the lifestyle choices are personal choices made by individuals on a daily basis.
The three major lifestyle choices are:
• Exercise 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week reduces cancer risk by 33%.
• Eating a well-balanced plant-based diet reduces cancer risk 33%.
• Maintaining ideal weight reduces cancer risk 50%.
All of these, when taken together, can prevent 80% of cancers.
The most recent additional information came from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) in their Continuous Update Project (CUP). They report that 120,000 cases of cancer occurring each year in the United States are attributable to excess body fat – in the areas of the ovary, breast, endometrium, kidney, gall bladder, esophagus, pancreas, and colon. One-third of adults are obese and another one-third are overweight – adults and children are doubling their cancer risk.
Aside from not smoking, maintaining ideal body weight is the one most important action you can take to reduce your cancer risk. Lifestyle choices do matter. They are a question of life or death.