In my previous post I shared some important and common
information regarding what cancer is and how it can affect the lives of
millions of people. It is important to know that cancer is life changing for
anybody who is diagnosed as well as for the families and friends of the
patients. The worldwide challenge for years has been trying to discover or
invent a cure for cancer. However, as scientists, doctors, and the rest of
world make large contributions to cancer research, people still need to figure
out common life practices that can be turned into habits to help reduce the
risks of developing cancer.
Before looking further into the common life practices for
reducing the risks of cancer, I will share some information on how cancer
patients are treated once they are diagnosed. The three main methods for
treating cancer patients are surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. As I
mentioned in my first post, most cancers are discovered when a tumor is present
in the body. Because tumors are an excess amount of mutated cells, it is often
very beneficial for doctors to surgically remove a tumor from the body of a
cancer patient. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are harmless
and non-spreading and malignant tumors are cancerous and invading of other
cells. After a tumor has been removed or mostly reduced from the body, the
patient still needs to make sure that the tumor does not spread to any other
parts of the body. Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to treat cancer, and radiation
therapy is the use of penetrating rays or subatomic particles to treat cancer.
Both chemotherapy and radiation therapy are very common methods of preventing
the spread of cancerous cells through the body (Ward, 1995).
Now that we have looked at what happens to cancer
patients after they have been diagnosed, let’s figure out how we can avoid and
reduce the risks of getting cancer. Some of the very common cancers that can be
avoided by living healthy lives are lung cancer, liver cancer, skin cancer,
colon cancer, and heart cancer. Lung cancer is most commonly developed by
people who smoke tobacco and when people are exposed to tobacco smoke through
secondhand smoke. Avoid smoking tobacco and you can strongly reduce your risk
of getting lung cancer. Colon cancer and heart cancer are two common cancers
that are mainly caused by an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise. People who
eat balanced diets and are physically active every day are much less likely to
get colon or heart cancer. The consumption of alcohol can cause damage to the cells
and tissue of your liver, so by avoiding alcohol, you can heavily reduce your
risk of getting liver cancer. When you are out in the sun and exposed to UV
rays, your skin gets damaged and your body takes time to replace damaged
tissue. Avoid the risks of getting skin cancer by applying sunscreen to your
skin when you are in the sun. The American Cancer Society shares several healthy
practices in its organizational website at www.cancer.org/healthy/index and
the Prevent Cancer Foundation lists cancer reducing habits in its website at https://preventcancer.org/prevention/reduce-cancer-risk/ways-to-reduce-risk/.
References
American
Cancer Society. (2014). Stay Healthy.
Retrieved from www.cancer.org/healthy/index/
Prevent Cancer
Foundation. (2014). Ways to reduce risk.
Retrieved from https://preventcancer.org/prevention/reduce-cancer-risk/ways-to-reduce-risk/.
Ward, D.E.
(1995). The cancer handbook: A guide for
the nonspecialist. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press.
