Make these 5 lifestyle changes and choices to lower your risk of cancer

Dr. BS Ajaikumar

Cancer is not just one disease — it is a ‘constellation’ of many diseases that affect different parts of the body and are of many types and subtypes. To reduce your risk of cancer, you need to be aware of the many factors that work together to cause cancer and then do your best to avoid or reduce exposure. Some of these risk factors cannot be changed or altered — for example, you cannot stop growing older, nor can you do anything about gene mutations you may have inherited. What you can do, however, is make lifestyle changes and choices to lower your risk of cancer. Let’s consider five such things:

1. SCREEN IT, LOSE IT
Many cells undergo a “precancerous” stage before they turn cancerous. For cervical (part of the female reproductive system), oral and colorectal cancers, these precancerous cells are very distinctive in their appearance or their response to diagnostic tests. Because of this, they can be detected easily during routine examination and surgically removed/destroyed before they pose any significant danger to the surrounding tissue and the health of the person.

2. GET VACCINATED
In cases where a virus is known to cause a type of cancer, a vaccine can help prevent the cancer. The human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV) are two such. Persistent infection with some of the HPV types can lead to cervical, anal, vulvar and vaginal cancers, while long-term HPV infection can lead to liver cancer. Thankfully, we now have effective vaccines against both the viruses.

3. KICK THE BUTT AND THE CHEWABLES
Tobacco is responsible for one out of every three cancer cases in our country. One in four Indians over the age of 15 years use tobacco in some form. Cigarette smoke contains more than 250 harmful chemicals and at least 16 ‘carcinogenic’ or cancer-causing chemicals. In India, more people use smokeless products such as khaini (dried/fermented coarsely-crushed tobacco leaves) than bidis or cigarettes, which unfortunately also contain carcinogens. Quitting tobacco is one of the best ways to reduce your cancer risk.

4. WORK ON YOUR WEIGHT
Obesity and a higher amount of body fat can increase the risk of cancers of the endometrium, breast, ovaries, thyroid, liver, kidney and pancreas. We are not clear about why this happens, but it may be linked to low-level, chronic inflammation, altered hormone levels or oxidative stress. No matter how it happens, reducing weight — which is best tackled through exercise and a healthy diet — can help lower cancer risk.

5. EXERCISE OFTEN
Walking for 30 minutes a day, five days a week can help reduce the risk of 13 types of cancer including cancers of the breast, colon, oesophagus, liver, stomach and kidney. Experts recommend that you must get either 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of intense activity or a combination of both, every week, to lower your cancer risk. The best part: you don’t have to go to a gym for this type of exercise; even walking at a pace of about 1 km in 12 minutes for half an hour during your lunch break counts as exercise.

Experts are constantly trying to understand what in our environment can be linked to cancer. For example, consumption of processed meats, exposure to indoor pollution from the combustion of coal, outdoor pollution, chewing of betel quid (with/without tobacco), workplace exposure to leather dust, asbestos and soot, and exposure to UV radiation can all lead to cancer. Salon workers who use hair dyes, though not users themselves, may also have an increased cancer risk. There is no conclusive evidence that cosmetics and their ingredients increase cancer risk, but more research is needed there. Naturally, it is not possible to avoid all these risks. The only thing we can do is be aware of what can legitimately increase our cancer risk and do our best to reduce exposure to them.

(The writer is Chairman & CEO of HealthCare Global Enterprises.)