Cancer Prevention Choices

People who live healthful lives have a better chance of avoiding cancer. Research shows that the majority of all cancers may be prevented with healthy lifestyle choices that should begin as early as childhood. These healthy lifestyle choices may reduce your risk of getting cancer during your lifetime.

Click on these links for more detailed information below.

1. Avoid Tobacco
2. Exercise Regularly
3. Eat Fruits and Vegetables daily
4. Maintain a Healthy Weight
5. Limit Sun
6. Limit Alcohol
7. Protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases
8. Get Annual Check-ups and Screenings
9. Learn your Family History of cancer and disease

Avoid tobacco – Research shows that people who begin smoking as teenagers suffer more damage than those who begin smoking as adults.

Model responsible behavior for your children. The best idea is to never smoke.

For more specific information about lung cancer prevention information, click here.

If you do smoke, please quit.
SCCA's Smoke-Free Life Program is designed to help you quit smoking and stay that way.
Call the Tobacco Quit line for help at 1-877-270-STOP (7867) or in Spanish, 1-877-2NO-FUME (266-3863).
Smokeless tobacco can cause cancer of the mouth. Avoid all tobacco products.
Children and infants should avoid exposure to secondhand smoke.
Smokers should smoke outdoors and away from children.

Exercise regularly – All it takes is 30 minutes a day, three to four times a week. Regular exercise may help decrease the risk of several types of cancer, including colorectal and prostate cancer.

Encourage your family to get involved in activities. Turn off the TV and get them outside and doing something physical.
Choose activities that you can do together, like bike riding, walking, hiking, or swimming. Play tag with your kids, toss a football, play soccer, or jump rope.
Schedule evening family walks after dinner.

Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day – Research shows that eating at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day can reduce your risk of bladder, colorectal, esophagus, lung, prostate, and stomach cancers.

Generally, a serving is about ½-cup; this may be somewhat smaller for children.
Plan your meals in advance to include fruits and veggies.
Keep washed, pre-cut fruits and veggies on hand for a healthy snack, such as:
- Apples
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Celery
- Orange slices
Stock the refrigerator with single servings of applesauce, fruit cocktail, fruit juice, or low-fat yogurt for healthy snacks.
Involve your children in meal planning and ask them to choose a favorite vegetable or fruit for each meal.
Eat a balanced, low fat, high-fiber diet.

Maintain a healthy weight – By now most people have heard the statistics that two of every three Americans are overweight, which causes heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. But it’s also associated and certain cancers.

Health-care professionals are concerned that so many of today’s children are obese that they will actually have a shorter life span than their parents.
By incorporating a healthy diet and a regular exercise program into your life, you can lose weight, keep it off, and improve your overall health and chances of getting certain cancers.

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research is interested in the science of exercise, weight loss, and cancer prevention. Read more about decreasing breast cancer risk with exercise.

Limit time in the sun – Skin damage occurs over time. Studies show that children tend to get 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure by age 18.

Limit the amount of time you and your children are in the sun, especially between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. when the sun’s UV rays (“ultraviolet" - that cause sunburn and skin cancer) are the strongest.
Use sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.
*SPF indicates how long skin can be in the sun and maintain a low risk for sunburn. The higher the SPF number, the longer it protects a person from burning rays. SPF of 8 protects twice as long as an SPF of 4. Most sunburn can be prevented by using a sunscreen with an SPF of 15.)
Wear sunglasses or a hat with a visor to avoid damaging your eyes.
Consider wearing a hat that shades your face, ears, and neck.

Limit alcohol consumption – One drink a day has been found to reduce some health risks, such as heart disease. But even one drink a day can increase the risk of other types of cancer, such as breast cancer.

Model responsible behavior for your children.

Limit the amount of alcohol you drink.
Smoking, combined with alcohol, has proven to greatly increase the risk for oral, esophageal, lung, and some other types of cancer.

Protect yourself from sexually transmitted diseases -

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine to prevent infection from four types of human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV-16 and HPV-18, which cause nearly 70 percent of cases of cervical cancer worldwide and HPV-6 and HPV-11, which cause about 90 percent of cases of genital warts. This vaccine is recommended for women who have not yet become sexually active.
Because neither of the vaccines provides complete protection against other HPV types, some of which cause cervical cancer, about 30 percent of cervical cancers and 10 percent of genital warts will not be prevented by these vaccines.
In these instances, practice safe sex or abstain for intercourse.
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center opened a study last year to test non-vaccine HIV prevention.

Get an annual check-up and recommended screening tests – Annual check-ups are a great first-line defense on catching diseases, like cancer, including visiting your dentist.

There are very few cancers that can be found early with screening tests, but those that are currently available include

breast cancer
cervical cancer screening
colon cancer screening and
prostate cancer screening

Learn your family’s history of cancer and disease – Some types of cancer tend to run in families, such as breast, colorectal, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

Talk with your doctor about your family history of cancer and other diseases.
Learn more about what types of cancer your child may be at risk for and if there are proven prevention steps to minimize risk, include following some of the steps included on this site, and participate in recommended screenings.
The National Cancer Institute offers risk assessment and reduction information specifically about family history, which constitutes a fairly small proportion of risk. http://understandingrisk.cancer.gov/

December 2007