Self Care

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Preventing risk factors of cancer

 

Avoid Smoking

Smoking is one of the leading causes of death. Two--thirds of all lung cancer deaths is caused by smoking. Others are the risks of cancer of the mouth,pharynx, larynx, esophagus, pancreas, uterus, cervix, kidney, and bladder.

Research also shows that second-handed smoking, which is the smoke blown your way from others cigarettes may even be worse than smoke directly inhaled, because its tar content has not been reduced by going through the cigarette’s filter. When you quit smoking, your lungs begin healing themselves, and some smoking-induced precancerous changes can be totally reversed.

Avoid Excessive Alcohol Use

Heavy drinkers may have a twofold to six-fold risk of developing throat or mouth cancer. The chances of developing cancer of the pancreas, liver, breast, stomach, and rectum also are greater if you drink alcohol. The news is even worse for drinkers who smoke. The risks of throat and mouth cancers escalate 15-fold, and the risks of esophageal cancer may increase by as much as 25-fold. Heavy drinking may keep the liver from detoxifying potentially cancer-causing substances from smoking. It also may irritate and make tissues of the mouth, throat, and esophagus more prone to cancer.

Eat Less Fat

Scientists are finding that a high-fat diet can increase the risk of breast and colon cancer. It also is a suspect in prostate and ovarian cancer. Fat may cause the body to make some bile acids that promote cancer, and definitely increases production of hormones. This tends to trigger the growth of some tumors in people. Several suspected cancer- causing chemicals are first stored in animal fat and then in the body fat of humans who eat the animals.

Eat More Fiber

Research shows that if most People had 20 to 30 grams of fiber daily, their risk of getting colon cancer would be cut in half.

The insoluble fiber found in wheat bran, whole-grain cereals and breads, vegebles and fruits, and the soluble fiber in such foods as oat bran and beans flushes possible cancer-promoting waste through the intestines and colon. It also may flush out fats and bile acids.

Protect Your Skin from the Sun

Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. It is easy to protect yourself from this threat: try to avoid direct sunlight between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., wear protective clothing when you are out in the sun, and use sunscreen with a sun protection factor of at least 15.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Overweight women have higher death rates from cancer of the uterus, gallbladder, cervix, ovaries, and breast. More overweight men die from colon, rectal and prostate cancers. Eating healthy foods in moderation and exercising regularly will help you tone up and lose weight. fiod oUi weight. Not only does 30 minutes of exercise at least three times each week combat obesity, it also helps reduce stress and regulate bowel movements.

Environmental Hazards

Workplaces are now regulated so that hazardous materials are not routinely released into the air, but if you work around chemicals or dust, let your medical provider know this during your next physical examination. Whenever you use paint, varnish, or any other chemical indoors, leave windows open. Have your house checked for radon leakage. Use pesticides and herbicides carefully, and wash fruits and vegetables before eating them.

Cancer Management

If cancer is detected and confirmed, several treatment options or combined options may be available. Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are the most common treatments. Antihormone therapy, immunotherapy, and regional perfusion are less common.

Surgery

The oldest form of cancer treatment, Surgery involves removing a tumor or cancerous growth.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation works by killing the cancer cells by exposing them to high doses of X rays.

Chemotherapy

Drugs that kill cancer cells by interfering with how they reproduce are taken orally or injected into the body.

Antihormone Therapy

These drugs have been successful in treating breast and prostate cancers. The anti- hormone medication most commonly used to treat breast cancer, tamoxifen, has some side effects, including hot flashes.

Immunotherapy

Drugs are used to boost the body’s own ability to fight cancer in the same way it wards off infections. The best known of these, interferon, has been successful in treating a rare form of leukemia but less successful against other cancers.

Regional Perfusion

Drugs are introduced to only the part of the body that has cancerous tissue. Damage to healthy tissue is minimal, the drugs may be more effective, and there are fewer side effects.