Lifestyle Changes To Avoid “The Big C”

Although risk factors naturally become more prevalent as we get older, anyone, at any age, is at some risk of developing “the big C”. You may have heard conflicting reports about what you can do to lower your risk, but fortunately, there are a few sure-fire lifestyle choices you can make to reduce your chances of getting cancer…

Maintain a Good Weight and Exercise Regularly

Maintaining a healthy weight for your age and gender can reduce the risk of a number of different cancers, including cancers occurring in the breast, lungs, prostate, kidney, and colon. A good level of physical activity can also do a lot to lower your risk. Aside from helping you keep at a healthy weight, exercise in itself has been found to reduce people’s risk of getting breast and colon cancer. As you’ve probably heard, this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the benefits of exercise. If you want to get the most substantial benefits possible, try to get around 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise a week, or 75 minutes of more vigorous activity. As a bare minimum, people should aim to walk for roughly 30 minutes a day. If you can fit in more than that, even better!

Seek Regular Medical Attention

With a lot of cancers, the earlier it’s detected by a medical professional, the easier it will be to treat effectively. With this in mind, you should be seeing your physician for annual check-ups, and talking to them about any abnormalities you notice in your health. There are simple screenings for breast, colon, skin and cervix cancers, but you should also be learning about less common cancers, any risk factors that apply to you, and treatment options, with resources such as this website: Mesotheliomahelp.org. Getting tested and becoming intimately aware of the state of your health can be a hassle, but the consequences of neglecting this, particularly as you get older, can be disastrous. If you know it’s been a while since you spoke to your doctor and asked about your risk of cancer, set an appointment as soon as possible.

Get Immunized

Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of work to be done before we completely rid the world of cancer. However, you can still reduce your risk significantly by immunizing yourself against certain viruses. Hepatitis B, for example, can greatly increase a person’s risk of getting liver cancer. The vaccine for this is highly recommended for adults who carry a higher risk, such as people who are sexually active with more than one partner, people who have already had sexually transmitted infections, and health care workers who are exposed to blood and other bodily fluids. You can find more info on vaccinating yourself against this disease at cdc.gov. While diseases like this pose more of a threat to some adults than others, it’s always a good idea to get immunized if possible.

If you were worried about the possibility of cancer, take this advice on board, and you’ll have a greatly reduced risk.