Curtains To Cancer

What Can You Do Today To Lower Your Cancer Risk?

Almost 40% of people are diagnosed with cancer at some stage in their lives and last year about 9.6 million people worldwide died from the disease.

Yet according to the World Health Organisation, 30% to 50% of cancer deaths could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors.

So what are those risk factors and what can you do about them? Here’s a list compiled by the WHO of the changes you can make to lower your chances of developing cancer.

DON’T SMOKE

Worldwide, tobacco use is the single greatest avoidable risk factor for dying from cancer. It kills around six million people each year from cancer and other diseases. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7000 chemicals, more than 50 of which are known to cause cancer.

Tobacco is implicated in many different types of cancer, including those of the lung, mouth, throat, oesophagus, larynx, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix. Secondhand smoke is also a killer – it has been proven to cause lung cancer in non-smoking adults, says the WHO.

Giving up should be a no-brainer, not just for your own health, but also for those around you.

CUT BACK ON ALCOHOL

Alcohol use is also a risk factor when it comes to many cancers, including cancers of the oral cavity, larynx, oesophagus, liver, colon, rectum and breast. Your risk of developing cancer rises with the amount of alcohol you consume.