Cancer Prevention

Can you prevent cancer or reduce your cancer risk? How can you detect cancer early? What are the risk factors for different types of cancer? Concerned about cancer because it runs in your family? Frequently exposed to tobacco or environmental hazards? Just want to stay healthy? You can find answers to these questions and more using the resources in this area. What you eat and drink, how you live, where you work…all of these factors can affect your risk for cancer. Find out more about these risks and what you can do to minimize them.

EARLY DETECTION

If you can’t prevent cancer, the next best thing you can do to protect your health is to detect it early. Recognizing symptoms, getting regular check-ups, and performing self-exams are just a few ways you can do this.

SMOKING

Smoking is the most preventable cause of death. Learn about the health issues, get quitting tips, and find out about recent legislation. Smoking damages nearly every organ in the human body, is linked to at least 15 different cancers, and accounts for some 30% of all cancer deaths. And it costs billions of dollars each year. Yet one in five Americans still light up. If you or someone you love uses tobacco, you need to know about how tobacco kills and how to get the help you need to quit.

SKIN CANCER

The sun’s UV rays cause the vast majority of skin cancers including melanoma, which can be life-threatening. Melanoma is the most serious of the common type of skin cancer. The good news is that most melanomas can be found early and treated successfully. This brochure describes risk factors for this type of skin cancer, and important tips for finding it early.

DIET AND WEIGHT

Your diet can affect your risk for cancer. Get recommendations, recipes, and more. Eating right, being active, and maintaining a healthy weight are important ways to reduce your risk of cancer—as well as heart disease and diabetes. Eat and exercise your way to better health. What you eat (or don’t eat) and how active you are can influence your risk of developing cancer. Learn about the best ways to reduce your risk through simple lifestyle changes.

Ovarian Cancer

Some facts about ovarian cancer.

What is it?
Cancer of the ovaries is the sixth most common cancer in women. About 25,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year, and more than 14,000 women die of the disease each year. This makes it a more common cause of death than more prevalent, but more easily detected, cancers of the uterus and cervix.

It is difficult to detect ovarian cancer early – only about 25% of the cancers are found in the easily treatable stage, before they have spread beyond the ovaries. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are subtle and nonspecific. They include abdominal swelling and pain, indigestion, changes in urination and bowel habits, bloating and a feeling of pressure in the pelvis, weight changes, and unexplained vaginal bleeding. Since there are many non-cancerous conditions that can also cause these symptoms, it is important to have regular checkups and to consult with your physician if you are experiencing any symptoms.

Who is at increased risk?
Women who have no family members with ovarian cancer have a 1 in 70 risk of developing the disease during their lifetime. Women who have one first-degree relative with ovarian cancer have a risk of 1 out of 20 getting the disease too. Women with two first-degree relatives have a risk of 1 out of 14 getting ovarian cancer. A woman’s first-degree relatives include mother, sister and aunt either on her mothers or fathers side. A very small group of these women — 3 out of 100 of the women with two relatives — have something called autosomal dominant syndrome. This places them at very high risk for ovarian cancer. The three known hereditary syndromes that place a woman at exceedingly high risk are:
Ovarian cancer syndrome in which the family members have ovarian cancer at the same location on the ovary.
Breast-ovarian cancer syndrome, in which two or more family members have both of these kinds of cancer.
Breast-ovarian-endometrial-colorectal cancer syndrome, in which two or more family members have all of these kinds of cancer.

What are the general risk factors?
5 to 10 out of 100 women with ovarian cancer have 1 or more relatives with the disease.
A woman who has a history of infertility, has a higher risk of getting ovarian cancer.
A woman who did not have 1 or more children is at a higher risk.
A woman who menstruated, or started her period early, has a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.
A woman who has had breast, endometrial or colorectal cancer, has a higher risk of getting ovarian cancer.
A woman who entered menopause later than the average age, is at a higher risk. The average age for menopause is 52 years old.
A woman who is obese or very overweight, has a higher risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Source – National Institute Of Health

Prostate cancer prevention: What you can do?

You may help avoid prostate cancer by exercising and eating a low-fat diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish. But the jury’s still out on supplements and medications.

There’s no sure way to prevent prostate cancer — but you can make some choices that might help. Prostate cancer is complicated, and researchers are still trying to understand the full range of factors that cause it — and determine which prevention strategies are safe and most effective.

Experts know that diet and lifestyle choices play a part in prostate cancer risk. Some medications and supplements also show promise in preventing prostate cancer, but more research is needed in this area.

While any man can get prostate cancer, it’s most common in older men, men with a family history of prostate cancer and in black men. While age, genetics and race are factors you can’t change, there are some factors you can control.

Here are a few things that you can do to help lower your risk of prostate cancer — and a few things that are still not proved, but might help. These steps may also help prevent other cancers and health conditions such as heart disease.

Nutrition and preventing prostate cancer

So far, research does not support definite nutritional guidelines for preventing prostate cancer. However, you can reasonably act on these suggestions:

Don’t overeat. Eat moderate-sized portions and keep your calories under control.

Avoid high-fat foods. Prostate cancer rates vary greatly from one country to another, with the highest rates appearing in countries where people tend to eat a lot of fat. A diet high in saturated fats (such as animal fats found in red meat) may pose the greatest risk.

Make healthy choices. Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and whole-wheat bread. Limit sweets and salt.

Drink alcohol in moderation. Generally, this means no more than two drinks a day for men.

Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. A diet high in fruits and vegetables has been linked to a lower risk of various kinds of cancer. Recent studies cast doubt on the theory that lycopene — an antioxidant found in tomatoes — lowers prostate cancer risk. But don’t stop eating tomatoes. Eating plenty of all kinds of vegetables, including tomatoes, may help ward off prostate cancer and other cancers.

Eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids. While a diet high in most kinds of fat is linked to a higher risk of cancer and other health problems, there is an exception. Omega-3 fatty acids — a type of fat found in cold-water fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel — appear to reduce the risk of certain cancers.

Experts are still studying other foods to see whether they help prevent prostate cancer. While the verdict’s still out, eating more of these foods probably won’t hurt — and may help prevent cancer and other health problems:

Eat soy products and legumes. Soybeans and other legumes contain phytoestrogens, which are plant-based chemicals that behave like the hormone estrogen in the human body. These chemicals might help to prevent prostate cancer. In fact, one possible explanation for lower rates of prostate cancer in Asian men is that they eat more soy protein.

Drink green tea. Green tea contains antioxidants such as polyphenols that may help prevent certain cancers and other health problems.