How to reduce your cancer risk
Q: It seems like lots of my contemporaries are getting cancer. I’m 48 and want to know how I can dodge the bullet. -- Doria T., Mobile, Alabama
A: That’s a great question since cancer cases are increasing in folks your age -- and there is quite a lot you can do to reduce your risk.
In the U.S., the death rate from cancer has plummeted 33% since 1991, thanks, in part, to better screening techniques, advances in treatments and fewer people smoking. But the incidence of several cancers is increasing, especially in younger adults. According to an article in Nature Briefing, in people younger than 50 “uterine cancer has increased by 2% each year since the mid-1990s. Early-onset breast cancer increased by 3.8% per year between 2016 and 2019.” And oral, esophageal, stomach, liver, pancreas, and colorectal cancers are increasingly frequent.
What’s fueling the increase? A study out of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, published in Pharmaceutical Research, says 5%10% of cancer cases are caused by inherited genetic factors alone; 90% or more are from a combination of environmental exposures and lifestyle choices.
The researchers cite the obesity epidemic as a major contributor and say 30%-35% of cancer deaths are linked to diet choices (fast and fried foods, red meat, added sugars). Other reasons for the increase in cancer diagnosis? Excess alcohol, environmental pollutants, infections, stress, and physical inactivity.
Americans have a 40% chance that they’ll develop cancer. Luckily, improvements in nutrition and avoiding overeating as well as getting physical activity can slash your risks. It’s also helpful to adopt effective stress management, have a good posse and sense of purpose, and get quality sleep, according to Cedars-sinai Medical Center.
To grab onto your healthiest future, take a look at the science-backed lifestyle upgrades outlined in Longevityplaybook. com’s free newsletter. And for advice on how to improve your immune function, check out the iherb.com blog, “Low Immune Function.”