Many cancers are preventable, although not all of them. The biggest factor is that prevention mostly works by avoiding things that damage cells over time. One important truth is that prevention lowers your overall risk of getting stricken with cancer, a disease which many people are often very likely to feel helpless about.
However, it has become increasingly clear that the risk of getting cancer is promoted by certain things we do in the course of many years. But getting cancer does not mean someone did something wrong.
In the past several weeks, we have dedicated the discussion on this page to the reasons why treating cancer is so challenging in Nigeria, as well as focusing our attention on certain cancers that do not develop in the traditional sense of presenting with obvious growths around the body that are easily identifiable.
On the whole, recent studies from around the world identify several ways by which we can act to reduce the odds of developing cancer. These studies indicate that more than one-third of all such cancers can be prevented.
Cancers of the lungs, stomach, and cervix make up nearly half of all these cases. This means that measures taken through medical interventions and lifestyle changes, reducing occupational risks, or tackling environmental pollutants, can help in preventing these cancers.
Preventable cancers, like lung cancer, can be avoided by stopping smoking if you already do so or not start at all, because the main cause is tobacco smoking. Also, you must avoid second-hand smoke by excusing yourself from enclosed spaces where smoking is taking place.
Skin cancers, including melanoma, represent another group that is preventable. By avoiding too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds, this group of cancers can largely be prevented. Therefore, the use of sunscreen, staying in the shade, wearing appropriate clothing, and avoiding tanning beds all help to avoid this skin disease.
Cervical cancer is now known to be caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV, and the kind of cancer it causes is avoided by regular Pap smears and HPV screening. To definitely prevent it, the HPV vaccine should be taken starting at about age nine, especially in girls. In an analysis of the scale of the problem in 2022, nearly 19 million new cases of cancer were identified from around the world.
Nearly 40 per cent of that number was related to about 30 changeable risk factors such as inadequate or suboptimal breastfeeding, ultraviolet irradiation, air pollution, and inadequate physical activity, high body mass index which is related to obesity, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. The latter two causes were the first and second most common factors responsible for preventing cancers.
Among these factors, the most ubiquitous risk factor was tobacco smoking, which was linked to 15 per cent of all cancers that year. Among men, the risk associated with smoking was almost one-quarter. Another common preventable cancer is stomach cancer.
Here also, the main causes are cigarette smoking, infection with Helicobacter pylori, and a generally poor diet. Therefore, the prevention ought to be straightforward. Treat H. pylori when it is diagnosed, do not smoke, and eat more fruits and vegetables. Another deadly cancer is liver cancer, caused mainly by infection with Hepatitis B and C, heavy alcohol intake, and obesity.
Prevention involves taking the Hepatitis B vaccine, treating Hepatitis C, limiting alcohol intake, and maintaining a healthy weight. Colorectal cancer is yet another type of cancer whose main causes are age, genetics, diet, obesity, alcohol, and smoking. Prevention follows a healthy diet, regular exercise, routine screening by colonoscopy and limiting alcohol intake.
Unfortunately, not all cancers are preventable. Among the ones that are not fully preventable are those that are driven mainly by age, genetics, or random cell mistakes. These include pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, some leukaemias and lymphomas, and many childhood cancers.
Mouth and throat cancers, mainly caused by smoking, chewing tobacco, heavy alcohol intake and HPV infection, are preventable by avoiding tobacco smoking or chewing and heavy alcohol intake. In women, breast cancer is partly preventable but certain risk factors that have to do with the genes, the level of circulating hormones, alcohol intake, and obesity may serve to promote the disease.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to believe that prevention should be achievable by limiting alcohol drinking, diligently engaging in regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight.
Some high-risk women can take medicines to reduce their hormone levels or have surgery such as a double mastectomy to remove the risk entirely.
Ovarian and endometrial (uterine) cancer are also partly preventable, being that they are linked to obesity, hormone levels, and genetic makeup.
Prevention is achievable by keeping to a healthy weight, the use of birth control pills for ovarian cancer, and sometimes surgery in high-risk women involving hysterectomy that could also involve the removal of the ovaries. In summary, you can lower the risk, but you cannot always stop it. The big prevention list is a remarkably simple one.
The biggest preventable cause is cigarette smoking. Therefore, avoid smoking. Then get vaccinated for both HPV and Hepatitis B.
Exercise regularly, as it has been proven that moderate, regular exercise helps to keep fit and obtain weight control. Therefore, staying within a healthy weight range is both achievable and desirable as a preventive measure for a number of cancers.
Eat more food derived from plants, and especially so with less processing. The same is true for meat; the more natural meat is at the time of purchase, the healthier it is likely to be. Since this column debuted in 2013, there has been a constant thread urging readers to limit the amount of alcohol they consume. It is not without foundation that alcohol plays a role in causing conditions from cancer to high blood pressure, blood vessel diseases and challenges with libido. In addition, the sobriety necessary for social interactions is removed by alcohol.
Therefore, as a rule, less is better. Protect your skin from the sun to avoid skin cancer. To protect yourself from the surprise of being diagnosed with colon, cervical, breast, and lung cancer, it is important to undergo the relevant screening periodically. Lastly, avoid contact with known carcinogens such as radon and asbestos, especially as used in roofing materials, ceiling boards and some chemicals used in insecticides and pesticides.
– Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie
@ Punch Newspaper
