Quitting Smoking Is A Good Way To Avoid Lung Cancer
What is the best way to become a cancer “survivor?” Don’t ever develop cancer, and if you do, catch it early! While many cancers are of unknown origin, and many are related to your genes, approximately 40% of cancers are preventable or so easily detected that treatment is almost routine. So, how do you avoid cancer? Some steps are obvious.
Here’s a big one: quitting smoking.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), using tobacco is the leading preventable cause of cancer and cancer deaths. It’s not just lung cancer, although about 30% of all lung cancers are associated with smoking. Tobacco also causes cancers of the mouth and throat, voice box, esophagus, stomach, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder, cervix, colon and rectum, and a type of leukemia. The CDC estimates that cancers linked to tobacco use make up 40% of all cancers diagnosed.
You can reduce your risk of lung cancer by not smoking and avoiding other people’s secondhand smoke. Stopping at any age will cause your damaged lung tissue to gradually start to repair itself. No matter how long you’ve smoked.
Stay away from all tobacco. The CDC finds that E-cigarette aerosol is not harmless, it can contain harmful and potentially harmful substances, including nicotine and other cancer-causing chemicals and heavy metals. There’s no proof, either, that their use helps with smoking cessation.
Want to quit smoking? The American Lung Association offers a free program, Join Freedom From Smoking, that is one of the most effective programs in the country.
Don’t smoke? There are still precautions to take. When was the last time your home or workplace was tested for radon? This colorless and odorless radioactive gas is the second-leading cause of lung cancer in the United States, and it’s the leading cause among people who don’t smoke, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Avoid or limit exposure to cancer-causing agents. Wear a respirator on construction sites or when renovating your home to avoid inhaling dust and aerosols, including asbestos and chemicals such as arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, silica, vinyl chloride, nickel compounds, chromium compounds, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers. Learn more at The American Cancer Society (ACS) website.
A healthy diet is important. We know the importance of putting down the salt-shaker and “eating your colors” for your heart health, but a good diet can also help prevent cancer. A healthy diet, per the ACS, includes a variety of vegetables in “colors” such as dark green, red, and orange, plus fiber-rich beans and peas. You should also consume fruits, especially whole fruits in various colors and whole grains.
Limit or avoid red and processed meats such as bacon, hot dogs and lunch meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grain products and highly processed foods. Highly-processed foods are processed foods that add ingredients like artificial colors and flavors, preservatives for shelf stability, and ingredients to preserve texture. These include many packaged foods. A trick for determining if an item is ultra-processed? Check the label, if there are more than five ingredients and you can’t reproduce the item in your consumer kitchen, it’s probably highly-processed.
Your alcohol consumption has been linked to cancer. In its Report on Carcinogens, the National Toxicology Program of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists alcoholic beverages as a known human carcinogen linked to head and neck cancer, esophageal cancer, liver cancer, breast cancer, and Colorectal cancer. People who do choose to drink alcohol should have no more than one drink per day for women or two drinks per day for men.
Eating a healthy diet can greatly reduce your lifetime risk of developing, cancer with the added benefit of helping you avoid heart disease and diabetes.
An ACS cancer prevention study linked excess weight to 13 different kinds of cancer, including esophageal, gall bladder, ovarian, kidney and female breast cancer. Extra pounds account for about 11% of cancers in women and about 5% of cancers in men the US. Additional studies have shown a link between weight loss and a lower risk of some types of cancer, such as breast cancer after menopause and endometrial cancer.
While you’re at it, exercise. Physical activity has been linked to a lower risk of cancers, including colon cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer, bladder cancer, esophagus cancer and stomach cancer. Adults should get 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US and it only takes one severe sunburn in your childhood or youth to almost double your chance of a melanoma diagnosis later on. The American Academy of Dermatological Association tells us to seek shade when the sun’s rays are strongest, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Remember, if your shadow is shorter than you are, get out of the sun. Wear sun-protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirt, pants, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses with UV protection. Apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher, every two hours. Take extra precautions with babies, children and teens, sun protection in the first 20 years of life is key to skin cancer prevention later. And by the way, there is no such thing as a “healthy” or “base” tan. Any darkening is a sign of skin damage!
While the majority of colorectal cancers occur in people older than 50, it can occur in young adults and teenagers and these cancer rates are rapidly rising among adults in their 20s, 30s and 40s. When caught early this is one of the most treatable cancers, so be vigilant. The most common warning sign for the disease is passing blood in the stool but diarrhea, constipation, or other change in bowel habits, narrow stools and weight loss with no known reason are also signs.
Get vaccinated! A medical miracle, the Human Papilloma Vaccine helps protect individuals against cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers in females and anal cancer, and certain head and neck cancers, such as throat and back of mouth cancers, in both males and females. To protect your child against these cancers later in life they should get two doses of HPV vaccine at the age of 11 or 12 years. The vaccine is now offered to everyone through age 26 years. HPV vaccination of adults is less effective because they may have already been exposed to HPV, but individuals up to 45 years who were not already vaccinated can consult with their doctor about their risk for new infections and the possible benefits of vaccination for them.
Finally, be proactive. Know your family history, what cancers they had, and when they developed. Make your doctor aware of early-onset disease. Know if your ethnic or racial makeup is predisposed to certain cancers and learn the warning signs. Women should know how their breasts look and feel through self-examinations and report any changes to their doctor immediately. Inspect your skin between scheduled skin checks for any changes in moles or any sores that bleed or don’t heal. Inform your doctor of any weight loss or changes in your bowel habits.