10 Steps to Cancer Prevention
Living a healthy lifestyle, at every stage of life, is the best method available to prevent a cancer diagnosis. Most people know and understand this as a general principal, but putting it into practice is the challenging part.
It can feel overwhelming to tell yourself one day, “Today is the day I am going to become healthy!” A better approach is to identify those things that contribute to a healthy lifestyle and start making them a part of your day-to-day life, step by step.
Think about which of these 10 steps you already practice, then give yourself a pat on the back for the healthy choices you already make that prevent cancer! Then, slowly and steadily, think about how you can add more of these healthy steps into your daily routine.
10 Guidelines to Preventing Cancer
1. Avoid tobacco in every form, including secondhand smoke.
2. Eat properly – this means reducing processed food, sugary drinks, and red meat while increasing your intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
3. Exercise regularly – moving your body for 20-30 minutes a day is helpful for cancer prevention, even when it doesn’t result in weight loss.
4. Stay lean – this can be accomplished with a combination of eating less and moving more.
5. Limit your alcohol intake to no more than one drink a day.
6. Avoid exposure to radiation in all its forms – including medical tests (only when medically necessary), radon exposure in your home, and unprotected sun exposure.
7. Avoid toxins and chemical exposure in the environment – this also includes processed foods, plastics, and cleaning products, all of which include chemicals that can be harmful.
8. Avoid infections that contribute to cancer like hepatitis, HIV, and HPV. Know that vaccines are available that can help protect you from these infections.
9. Make sleep a priority. While poor or insufficient sleep is not conclusively associated with a cancer diagnosis, it is associated with weight gain, which is a cancer risk.
10.Get enough vitamin D. Most Americans do not get enough of this important vitamin. Supplements are readily available, and 800-1,000 IU is the recommended daily dose.
Dr. Srilata Gundala is the owner and founder of Hope & Healing Cancer Services in Hinsdale, Illinois. She recommends these lifestyle changes for all her patients, as they have many benefits, “It is never too late to start living a healthy lifestyle. While cancer prevention is never 100% in the hands of patients, making the choice to live a healthy life benefits everyone, even those living with cancer. Healthy choices and early detection can prevent future cancers and make the challenges of getting through treatment more manageable.”
Another helpful guide for early cancer detection is the CAUTION acronym created by the American Cancer Society (ACS) to be used as a simple reminder to identify the seven most common warning signs of cancer. The ACS recommends that people should pay attention to these symptoms that may indicate the need for medical attention to rule out cancer.
C: Changes in bowel or bladder habits
A: A sore that does not heal
U: Unusual bleeding or discharge
T: Thickening or lump in the breast or other areas of the body
I: Indigestion or trouble swallowing
O: Obvious changes in a wart or mole
N: Nagging cough or ongoing hoarseness
Cancer prevention and early detection are the best defenses we have against a negative outcome after a cancer diagnosis. At the root of both these things – prevention and detection, is a commitment to choosing health.
If you are interested in learning more about healthy lifestyles, you can read THIS and THISand THIS, too.
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
