Preventing Cancer Through Wellness
Eight healthy behaviors can go a long way toward improving your health and lowering your risk of many cancers–as well as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Small changes can have a big impact.
- Maintain a Healthy Weight: Keeping a healthy weight can be hard, but it has health benefits, including lowering the risk of 13 different cancers.
- Exercise Regularly: While it’s not always easy to find the time, fitting in at least 30 minutes of activity every day can make a difference.
- Avoid Tobacco: Tobacco causes many types of cancer, along with other serious problems. If you smoke or use smokeless tobacco (like chewing tobacco, snuff or snus), quitting is one of the best things you can do for your health.
- Eat a Healthy Diet: Focus on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and keep red meat and processed meat to a minimum. It’s also important to cut back on saturated and trans fats, and choose healthy more often.
- Limit Alcohol: Drinking alcohol can increase the chances of developing six different types of cancer. Zero is best; just ½ to 1 drink a day can increase the risk of breast and colon cancer.
- Beware of UV Radiation: While the warm sun can feel great, too much exposure to its ultraviolet rays can lead to skin cancer, including melanoma. Tanning beds can be just as harmful. Skin damage starts early in childhood, so it’s especially important to start using sun protection at an early age.
- Practice Safe Sex: Sexually transmitted infections–like human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis, and HIV–can cause a number of different cancers. Practicing safe sex can lower the chance of getting a sexually transmitted infection. Talk to a healthcare provider for more information on vaccination that can help lower your risk of developing cancer.
- Get Screening Tests: There are a number of important screening tests that can help protect against cancer. Some of these tests find cancer early when it is more treatable, while others can actually help keep cancer from developing in the first place. Check with your health care provider to see what screenings are available to you.
Siteman Cancer Center. (n.d.). 8IGHTWAYS® to stay healthy and prevent cancer | Siteman. 8ight5ays to Stay Healthy and Prevent Cancer.
https://siteman.wustl.edu/prevention/8-ways/8-ways-to-stay-healthy-and-prevent-cancer/
Cancer Facts
Between 30–50% of all cancer cases are preventable. Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer.
What Is Cancer?
Cancer is used as a broad term to refer to diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control. There are over 100 types of cancer, and cancer cells can spread to all parts of the body through tumors, the blood, and lymphatic systems.
Types of Cancer
While there are over 100 kinds of cancer, some of the most common ones are:
- Carcinoma
- Sarcoma
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Multiple Myeloma
- Melanoma
- Brain & Spinal Cord Tumors
What Are the Risk Factors?
Unfortunately, you may not have control over some of the risk factors of developing cancer. Having the knowledge of possible risk factors can lead to prevention or early diagnosis. The most common risk factors include:
- Age: The median age for a cancer diagnosis is 66. The older you are, the higher your risk for cancer.
- Unhealthy Diet & Obesity: Eating a balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight may help lower your risk of cancer.
- Environmental Exposure & Infectious Agents: External elements such as tobacco, chemicals, radiation, and infectious organisms can increase your risk of cancer.
- Alcohol: Excessive alcohol consumption increases your risk for cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, colon, rectum, liver, and breasts.
- Family History: If a family member has been previously diagnosed with certain cancers, you may be at a higher risk of developing it yourself.
Where Can I Learn More?
Don’t wait too long to talk to your doctor about risk factors, screening tests, and other prevention tactics.
– Mental Health Moment –
Major Life Changes
Major life changes can take a serious toll on our mental health. The uncertainty, disruption to our routines, and increased demands on our time and energy can leave us feeling overwhelmed, anxious, or depressed.
The good news is that there are proactive steps we can take to protect our mental health as we navigate life’s twists and turns. By developing healthy coping mechanisms and prioritizing self-care, we can not only survive major life changes, but use them as opportunities for growth and transformation. Here are some practical tips:
- Prioritize Self-Care: When our lives are in flux, it’s more important than ever to make time for the basics: getting enough sleep, eating nourishing foods, exercising regularly, and engaging in activities that help us relax and recharge.
- Build a Strong Support System: Surround yourself with people who can offer emotional support, practical assistance, and a compassionate ear.
- Practice Stress Management Techniques: When we’re under a lot of pressure, it’s crucial to have healthy ways to process and release that tension.
- Be Patient & Kind With Yourself: Avoid judging yourself harshly. Instead, treat yourself with the same compassion you would a close friend.
- Set Realistic Expectations: Remember that adapting to change takes time. Focus on small, incremental steps forward and celebrate your progress along the way.
- Maintain A Sense Of Control: When so much in our lives feels uncertain, it’s empowering to identify areas where we can exert some control.
- Seek Professional Support If Needed: If you find that you’re really struggling to cope, don’t hesitate to reach out to a mental health professional.
