What Is Cancer Prevention?
Cancer prevention involves taking steps to lower your risk of developing cancer. This includes maintaining a healthy lifestyle, avoiding exposure to known carcinogens, and getting vaccinated or taking preventive medications.
How to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
Here are essential lifestyle changes that can help prevent cancer:
Quit Smoking
Smoking is linked to multiple cancers, including lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervical, and kidney cancer. Even exposure to secondhand smoke increases lung cancer risk.
Chewing tobacco is also dangerous, contributing to oral, throat, and pancreatic cancer. Avoiding tobacco or quitting smoking is a significant step in cancer prevention. If you need help quitting, talk to a healthcare provider about smoking cessation options.
Adopt a Healthy Diet
While a nutritious diet alone cannot guarantee cancer prevention, it significantly reduces risk. Follow these guidelines:
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Base your diet on plant-based foods like whole grains, beans, and vegetables.
- Choose lighter, leaner foods. Limit high-calorie foods, refined sugars, and animal fats.
- Drink alcohol in moderation. Excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast, colon, lung, kidney, and liver cancer.
- Limit processed meats. Regular consumption of processed meats may slightly increase the risk of certain cancers, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization.
- Follow a Mediterranean diet. A Mediterranean-style diet, rich in extra virgin olive oil and mixed nuts, has been associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. This diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and healthy fats while limiting red meat.
Maintain a Healthy Weight and Stay Active
Maintaining a healthy weight lowers the risk of cancers such as breast, prostate, lung, colon, and kidney cancer.
Physical activity plays a key role in cancer prevention. Besides helping with weight control, exercise itself reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer.
- Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of intense aerobic activity per week.
- A combination of moderate and intense activity is beneficial.
- Try to incorporate at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily. The more, the better.
Protect Yourself from the Sun
Skin cancer is one of the most common yet preventable cancers. Follow these sun protection tips:
- Avoid midday sun. Stay out of direct sunlight between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM when UV rays are strongest.
- Seek shade. Use sunglasses, hats, and protective clothing when outdoors.
- Cover up. Wear tightly woven, bright, or dark-colored clothing, which blocks more UV radiation than light-colored, loose fabrics.
- Use sunscreen generously. Apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher), even on cloudy days. Reapply every two hours, especially after swimming or sweating.
- Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps. They emit harmful UV radiation similar to sunlight.
Get Vaccinated
Certain viral infections increase cancer risk. Vaccinations can prevent some of these infections:
- Hepatitis B: Reduces the risk of liver cancer. Those at high risk include people with multiple sexual partners, individuals with sexually transmitted infections, intravenous drug users, and healthcare workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens.
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV): HPV is a sexually transmitted infection linked to cervical cancer, genital cancers, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
Avoid Risky Behaviors
Risky behaviors increase the likelihood of infections that may lead to cancer. Preventive steps include:
- Practice safe sex. Limit sexual partners and use protection. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) like HIV and HPV increase cancer risk. HIV/AIDS is linked to anal, liver, and lung cancer, while HPV is associated with cervical, anal, penile, throat, vulvar, and vaginal cancers.
- Avoid sharing needles. Intravenous drug use with shared needles spreads HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, all of which increase the risk of liver cancer. Seek professional help for substance abuse if needed.
Regular Medical Checkups & Cancer Screening
Routine self-exams and cancer screenings increase the chances of early detection when treatment is most effective. Screenings for skin, colon, cervical, and breast cancer can significantly improve survival rates.
At Eternal Medical Center, we provide expert guidance and support in cancer prevention and early detection.
Finally, Don’t miss our article on Stem Cells for Cancer: Understanding the Future of Treatment.
