Retiring Without Having the Dreaded Disease: Cancer

Which is more important to prevent cancer?
1a. Checking the radon level in your home.
b. Eating the right type of breakfast cereal.

2a. Losing weight.
b. Banning food additives from your cupboard.

3a. Having a positive mental attitude.
b. Protecting yourself from emf rays emitting from your computer.

Are they too tough for you? Well, every day some new study reports that another possible cause of cancer is found. Soon, common things that you do daily will be reported to cause cancer. So it is paramount for you to find out what is really important and what is not, so you can rationally set your priorities to protect yourself and your family from cancer.

Well, here are the answers for the questions above.1b, 2a and 3a. These are the answers chosen by leading cancer experts. Below is a list of top personal cancer prevention measures.

1. Do not smoke or chew tobacco.
2. Go for regular cancer screen tests.
3. Perform breast or testicular examination.
4. Minimize sunlight exposure.
4. Avoid high alcohol intake.
5. Avoid passive smoking.
6. Reduce overall dietary fat.
7. Eat more food fiber.
8. Eat more fruit and vegetables.
9. Maintain normal weight.
10. Exercise regularly.

Cancer is a slow disease and preventing cancer is a lifelong process of awareness and self-care. On the other hand, each and every big or small steps in that process can be taken quickly and most of them easily. One example is stopping smoking which is not easy but it is the biggest and best step of all. According to experts, about 50% of all cancers could be prevented if people were to follow the top priorities changes in lifestyle and diet outlined below. Together with the avoidance of environmental risk factors, you can be very confident that you are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of cancer.

When it comes to cancer, you might notice that things like smoking, drinking, exercise, weight control, sun exposure and keeping track of your health are all the things that you have absolute control which you can change or avoid. So it is totally up to you whether you really want to change your lifestyle to minimize the risk of getting cancer.

Tobacco
As expected, tobacco usage leads the list of cancer risks. Smoking not only cause lung cancer but also cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus and parts that have no direct linked with smoke, namely the pancreas, cervix and bladder. It's no surprise that chewing tobacco causes oral cancers.

Tobacco has remained a highly cancer risk but all the warnings are directed to the smoker. Passive smoking which is exposure to tobacco smoke from smokers in enclosed and poorly ventilated spaces such as in a plane has become a major concern. A non-smoker's cancer risk increases in half if he lives with a smoker. So is working 8 hours a day in a smoky environment.

Booze intake
High alcohol intake definitely isn't good for your health but does it increase cancer risk? Yes, heavy drinker has a greatly increased risk of cancers of the mouth, throat and liver while moderate consumption of alcohol seems to be a negligible risk. A heavy drinker who smokes definitely stand the highest risk of getting cancers.

Sun exposure
In terms of the number of cancer cases that could be prevented, avoiding excessive sun exposure is more important than both alcohol and tobacco. Most of the cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are caused by too much sun exposure. Luckily this form of cancer are treatable and causes fewer deaths. So, if you are often under the sun, use a sunscreen lotion of at least SPF15 and wear protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses.

Screen and self test
Regular cancer screening tests and self examinations are method of early detection rather than cancer prevention. However, early detection can lead to a higher chance of curing the cancer or preventing death due to cancer. The most important DIY tests are breast self examination for women and testicular self examination for young men. Be on the lookout for suspected skin cancer. The most important test by doctors are Pap smear test and pelvic exam, physical exam of the breast, mammogram and colorectal cancer tests.

Weight
Obesity can linked with increased cancers risk of colon, breast, prostate, gallbladder and female reproductive system. Hence exercise is crucial in controlling obesity. Studies show that people with sedentary jobs have a higher risk of colorectal cancer and exercise can help in lowering this risk.

Mental attitude
Maintaining a positive mental attitude also important. Even though there is no proof to show that stress reducing techniques can help in preventing cancer, a person who has a positive attitude may smoke less and have better eating habits and this may help in lowering cancer risks.

Environment
Cars, trucks and factories spewing out pollutants to the environment. Carpets and walls releasing formaldehyde fumes. Pesticides seeping into ground water. Toxic waste dumps in the neighborhood. Even though you can't control this risk, your chance of exposure are less compared with lifestyle factors.

Electromagnetic fields
Even though most people worry about electromagnetic fields from high tension cables, computer screen etc, the chance of getting cancer is very low compared with smoking and sun exposure.

The best method to prevent cancer is to change your lifestyle. Most people will find changing their lifestyle are very difficult until when it is too late. As they say habits die hard.