Over Half Of All Cancers Can Be Prevented By Daily Lifestyle Choices
Braslavsky Gustavo
health-related. Stop smoking. Start exercising. Lose weight. Eat
better. Unfortunately, only 10 to 15 percent of these resolutions are
ever kept. Even more unfortunate is that these are exactly the things
that can help everyone prevent cancer.
John C. Ruckdeschel, M.D., a Medical Advisory Board member for the
Prevent Cancer Foundation and the president and CEO of the Karmanos
Cancer Institute in Detroit, is adamant about smoking's negative
health effects. "The major thing to avoid cancer is to stop smoking,"
he says. "If there's anything we have clear-cut, indisputable evidence
for, it's that."
What's more is that tobacco's harm can't be counter-balanced by doing
everything else right. "Eating broccoli all the time is not going to
reverse what smoking does," he says. "You have to cut it out of your
life."
Ruckdeshel explains that cancer itself is not some outside agent that
attacks the body. It is a harmful change within the body, on the
cellular level, that is caused by our genetic makeup combined with
what we either do or don't do every day to cause these cellular
changes to occur. Mutated cells begin replicating and taking over
precious internal real estate, forcing out the healthy cells.
Contrary to popular belief, most cancerous tendencies are not
determined by heredity, but are instead shifted into gear by what we
do on a daily basis - what we eat and drink, if we exercise, and a
host of other lifestyle choices. It is estimated that more than half
of all cancers could be prevented if we just took better care of
ourselves.
In addition to smoking, one dangerous pitfall is over-consuming foods
that are high in calories but low in nutrition, forcing the body to
struggle while processing large amounts of calories with no additional
physical activity.
"The overweight and obesity problems we're seeing in our population
are outgrowths of the sedentary lifestyle," says David Schottenfeld,
M.D., M.Sc., also a member of the Prevent Cancer Foundation's Medical
Advisory Board, as well as a professor of epidemiology and internal
medicine at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health. "We
need to recognize that as we look at the body weight issue, it causes
or influences one-quarter to one-third of the total cancer incidence."
With over-processed foods and sugary drinks, not only does the body
not get the vitamins it needs, it's left with thousands of extra
calories to try to dispose of. But without an extra amount of physical
activity to burn those calories off, they turn instead to fat. And
carrying extra pounds, especially around the waist, also puts someone
at a higher risk for cancer.
To do your part to prevent cancer, set a realistic goal for 2008, such
as:
--Stop smoking - Even if you don't succeed on the first - or tenth -
try, you owe it to yourself and those who love you to keep on trying.
And don't be afraid to ask for help. Studies show addiction to
nicotine is stronger than that of cocaine.
--Be more active - If you've got an exercise plan, great! Keep it
going and vary your routine to stay interested. But if you haven't
seen your running shoes since high school, it's time to get your feet
in gear. Start small - an afternoon stroll around the block, jogging a
minute or two every so often while walking your dog - and build from
there.
--Lose weight - Exercising will certainly help, but make it easier for
your body to drop excess pounds by not giving it what it doesn't need.
Read food labels and watch portion size. Keep saturated fats and
sugars to a minimum.
--Eat better - It may have seemed funny to hide your veggies under
your plate when you were a kid, but now, your body's not laughing when
you don't get the right nutrition. Make it a point to include fresh
produce in your diet - put an apple in your lunch bag, snack on some
berries during the day, sauté some spinach for dinner. It all adds up
and your body will thank you for it.
--See your doctor - Doing all the above steps will put you on the
right track, but you still need to see your health professional to be
screened for cancer. That means a mammogram every year for women 40
and over, a colonoscopy for men and women every 10 years starting at
age 50, a Pap test for women every year beginning at 21, and regular
skin checks and physical exams to be sure you're in tip-top shape.
About Prevent Cancer Foundation
The Prevent Cancer Foundation (formerly the Cancer Research and
Prevention Foundation) was started in 1985 when Founder and President
Carolyn Aldigé first understood the power of prevention to defeat
cancer - and recognized that too few of the country's resources were
used to promote cancer prevention research or education. Today, it is
one of the nation's leading health organizations and has catapulted
cancer prevention to prominence.
Since its inception the Foundation has provided more than $97 million
in support of cancer prevention and early detection research and
education programs. The Foundation's peer-reviewed grants have been
awarded to more than 300 scientists from more than 150 of the leading
academic medical centers nationwide. This research has been pivotal in
developing a body of knowledge that is the basis for important cancer
prevention and early detection strategies. For more information,
please visit http://www.preventcancer.org.
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