HEALTH TIPS: PREVENTING CANCER – WORLD CANCER DAY 2020 – ‘Close the care gap’

Dr. Tariq Jagnarine
Family Medicine, Endocrinology/Diabetes

World Cancer Day 2022 marks the first year of a new three-year campaign centred on the issue of equity. The campaign theme, ‘Close the care gap’, recognises the power of knowledge, and challenges assumptions. This first year of the campaign raises awareness about the lack of equity in cancer care, and explains the barriers that exist for many people in accessing services and receiving the care they need; and how these barriers potentially reduce a person’s chance of surviving cancer.
About one in every three persons would develop some form of malignancy during his or her lifetime. Despite these grim statistics, doctors have made great progress in understanding the biology of cancer cells, and they have already been able to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. However, instead of just waiting for breakthroughs, we can do a lot to protect ourselves right now. Screening tests can help detect malignancies in their earliest stages, but being alert for symptoms of the disease is important.
An estimated one in three women and one in two men would develop cancer in their lifetime, making the odds high that, at some point, the disease would impact you or someone you love. While certain factors that can lead to cancer, like genetics, are out of our control, there are some things we can do to lower our risk. Most cancers can be prevented through lifestyle change. Lifestyle factors, such as one’s type of meals, exercise, smoking, drinking, are very important to evaluate, since they can easily increase cancer risk. Data implicate obesity, smoking, and alcohol use, among other factors in cancer diagnosis. These are all modifiable with a simple change in lifestyle.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than four in 10 cancer cases are linked to lifestyle factors you can change.
The American Cancer Society developed this simple reminder of what to check for and when to check with a linkage to specific cancers:
C: Change in bowel or bladder habits – Colon Cancer
A: A sore that does not heal – Skin cancer
U: Unusual bleeding or discharge – Cervical Cancer, Endometrial Cancer
T: Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere – Breast Cancer
I: Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing – Throat Cancer
O: Obvious change in a wart or mole – Skin Cancer
N: Nagging cough or hoarseness – Lung Cancer
It’s a rough guide at best.

The vast majority of such symptoms are caused by nonmalignant disorders, and cancers can produce symptoms that do not show up on the list, such as unexplained weight loss, or fatigue. But it is a useful reminder to every person to listen to your body and report sounds of distress to the doctor.

The 10 commandments of cancer prevention are:
1. Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke. We don’t have to be international scientists to understand how to protect ourselves and our families.
2. Eat properly. Reduce our consumption of saturated fat and red meat, which may increase the risk of colon cancer and a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. Increase the consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
3. Exercise regularly. Physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of colon cancer. Exercise also appears to reduce a woman’s risk of breast and possibly reproductive cancers. Exercise would help protect persons from other diseases, even if they don’t lose weight.
4. Stay lean. Obesity increases the risk of many forms of cancer. Calorie count; there is a need to slim down, take in fewer calories, and burn more with exercise.
5. Reduce alcohol intake, limit alcohol use to an average of one drink (glass or beer) a day. Excess alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx (voice box), esophagus (food pipe), liver, and colon; it also increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. Smoking further increases the risk of many alcohol-induced malignancies.
6. Avoid unnecessary radiation exposure. Get medical imaging studies only when they’re needed. Check homes for residential radon, which increases the risk of lung cancer. Protect yourself from ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, which increases the risk of melanomas and other skin cancers. But don’t worry about electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage power lines, or radiofrequency radiation from microwaves and cell phones; they do not cause cancer.
7. Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins, such as asbestos fibres, benzene, aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
8. Avoid infections that contribute to cancer, including hepatitis viruses, HIV, and the human papillomavirus. Many are transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles.
9. Make quality sleep a priority. Admittedly, the evidence linking sleep to cancer is not strong. But poor and insufficient sleep increases are associated with weight gain, which is a cancer risk factor.
10. Get enough Vitamin D. Many experts now recommend 800 to 1,000 IU a day, a goal that’s nearly impossible to attain without taking a supplement. Although protection is far from proven, evidence suggests that Vitamin D may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and other malignancies.
There are a lot of things people can do, and it largely comes down to leading a well-balanced, healthy life, with exercise. Reference is not made to earth-shattering things: These are mostly small tweaks just about everyone can do to lower their risk, and most of them are good for our overall health and general wellbeing, physically and mentally.