Cancer risk can significantly go up as one grows old, but a recent report from the American Cancer Society has revealed changing trends, with rising cancer rates now seen in younger adults, particularly women.
Alarming trends highlighted in the report show rising rates of early-onset cancers, including breast, uterine, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers, among adults under 50. While genetic and lifestyle factors play a role, experts are now exploring the impact of environmental exposures on this troubling rise.
Simple lifestyle changes such as maintaining a healthy weight, quitting smoking, moderating alcohol intake, and eating a nutrient-rich diet can significantly lower cancer risks.
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Do You Believe Lifestyle Changes Can Significantly Reduce Cancer Risk?
Here are some small steps you can take today which can go a long way in cancer prevention:
Maintain a healthy weight
Losing weight by adopting a healthy lifestyle can significantly reduce your risk of cancer from lifestyle factors. Being overweight or obese is associated with a higher risk of getting 13 types of cancer including breast cancer, colon cancer, uterus cancer, gallbladder cancer, liver cancer among others. These cancers make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States each year.
Stay tobacco-free
Quitting tobacco-based products like cigarettes and smokeless tobacco can cut your cancer risk dramatically. Tobacco use is associated with cancers like lung cancer, mouth cancer, and bladder cancer. A decade of quitting cigarettes can lower your lung cancer risk by 30-50% and also reduces risk of bladder, esophagus, or kidney cancer. This can further go down with subsequent years of kicking the butt. You can reduce risk of mouth, throat, or voice box cancer by quitting these products for 5-10 years.
Eat fibre-rich foods
Consuming foods rich in fibre can keep your gut healthy, prevent weight gain, and cut risk of at least 13 types of cancer. It especially reduces the risk of bowel cancer. Fibre-rich foods can add bulk to your stool, helping its movement in the bowel. It also clears out harmful substances from your bowel.
Don’t drink alcohol
Drinking alcohol is linked to seven kinds of cancer including that of mouth, throat, voice box, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, and breast cancer. US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy recently urged for updating labels for alcoholic beverages to highlight this risk. The Surgeon General added that alcohol is the third-preventable cause of cancer in the US, after tobacco and obesity.
Wear a sunscreen
Sun’s harmful UV rays could raise skin cancer risk and it’s important to wear sunscreen for prevention of this deadly disease. It works by blocking or absorbing the UV rays that cause skin cancer. While there has been a concern about sunscreen causing cancer, there isn’t clear evidence about sunscreen use increasing the risk for breast cancer or any other kind of cancer.
Physical activity
Working out everyday not only keeps you fit and in shape, it also reduces risk of several chronic diseases including cancer. People who are physically active face a lower risk of developing several commonly occurring cancers like breast cancer, colon cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, lung cancer among others.
Being up-to-date with your cancer screening is important as it plays a vital role in cancer prevention by detecting the disease in its early, more treatable stages, often before symptoms appear. Early detection through screening can reduce cancer-related mortality and improve long-term survival rates. It also allows for timely interventions, reducing the likelihood of advanced disease progression.
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