Regardless of the enormous amount of research and related developments, cancer remains one of the major worldwide killers second only to cardiovascular diseases. Apart from cancer cases resulting from genetic defects, cancer is a preventable disease requiring major lifestyle changes, namely maintenance of healthy diets, proper physical activity and other healthy habits.
Cancer is defined as a group of diseases associated with improper growth of cells that cannot be controlled and results in tumors and the following intrusion into other parts and systems of the body. Beginning in one group of tissues and organs, cancer can expand to other parts of the body. There are five main categories of cancer, such as carcinoma starting in the skin or tissues covering the organs, sarcoma beginning in bones, muscles, fat as well as other supportive tissues, leukemia starting in blood-forming tissues, lymphoma and myeloma starting in the cells of the immune system and central nervous system cancers starting in the brain and spinal cord. Depending upon a particular type, cancers can vary in terms of their symptoms, the speed of tumor growth and reaction to certain treatments. However, regardless of these specifics, most of these cases, except for those caused by genetic defects and environmental pollution, can be prevented through changes in people’s lifestyles.
The statistical data on cancer morbidity and mortality is striking. Anand et al (2008, p. 2097) noted that more than 1 million Americans and more than 10 million people worldwide were diagnosed with cancer which is commonly recognized as a preventable disease. At the same time, only 5-10% of cancer cases are caused by genetic defects, whereas the remaining 90-95% resulting from unhealthy lifestyles and environmental pollution could be prevented (Anand et al., 2008, p. 2098). Currently, cancer mortality rates are relatively stable after increasing for several previous decades (Jemal et al., 2009). However, as a preventable disease, cancer requires further changes in diets, amounts of physical activity and other lifestyle aspects.
The main changes in diets which need to be made to reduce the risks of cancer include increased intake of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, minimal consumption of meat, fat and fried products, caloric restriction and moderate use of alcohol. Donaldson (2004) admitted that nutrition plays a major role in cancer and offered evidence for the promotion of an anti-cancer diet composed of abundant portions of flaxseed, fruits and vegetables which are believed to reduce the risks of cancer.
Insufficient physical activity attributed to improper body fat balance is another influential factor increasing the risks of cancer. Fair and Montgomery (2009) investigated the impact of insufficient physical activity upon carcinogenic processes and concluded that regular physical exercises can become an effective preventative strategy that should be adopted for minimizing the risks of cancer.
In addition, other lifestyle aspects, such as cigarette smoking, sun exposure and stress need to be addressed to reduce the risks of cancer. In contrast to uncontrollable factors, such as genetic defects, people are able to make the necessary changes in their attitudinal behaviors regarding smoking and sun exposure to reduce their cancer risks (Cotter et al., 2007).
Taking into account the evidence that cancer is a preventable disease, everyone should make appropriate changes in lifestyles, such as adopting healthy anti-cancer diets, increasing amounts of physical activity, stop smoking and alcohol drinking to reduce the risks of cancer.
References
Anand, P., Kunnumakara, A., Sundaram, C., Harikumar, K., 2008. Cancer is a preventable disease that requires major lifestyle changes. Pharmaceutical Research, 25 (9), pp. 2097 – 2116.
Cotter, T., Perez, D., Dessaix, A., Baker, D., Murphy, M., Crawford, J., 2007. Cancer and lifestyle factors. Cancer Institute NSW Monograph [Online]. Web.
Donaldson, M., 2004. Nutrition and cancer: A review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet. Nutrition Journal, 3 (19), pp. 1-21.
Fair, A. & Montgomery, K., 2009. Energy balance, physical activity and cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiology, 472 (1), pp. 57-88.
Jemal, A., Siegel, R., Ward, E., Hao, Y., Xu, J., 2009. Cancer statistics. Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 59 (4), pp. 225 – 249.