Healthier Lifestyles could Cut Cancer Cases by One Third

Cancer Prevented – Adopting Changes in Lifestyle

One third of cancer cases in the UK can be prevented if people tend to have healthy intake, exercise regularly and reduce on alcohol. Data from the World Cancer Research fund indicate that 20,000 cases of breast cancers and around 19,000 cases of bowel cancer could be prevented annually with few changes in the overall lifestyle.

More than 351,000 new cases of cancer have been reported in the UK in 2013 and WCRF had mentioned that 84,000 could have been prevented from these diseases. Dr Rachel Thompson, head of the research had stated that simple changes in diet and the lifestyle could make tremendous difference could combat against this dreaded disease.

She added that even minor adjustments like 10 to 15 minutes of physical activity every day, reducing the intake of alcohol or restricting the consumption of high calorie foods as well as sugary drinks could be beneficial in reducing the risk of cancer.

She also mentioned that on cutting out smoking, having a healthy body weight seemed to be the most important factor which a person could do to prevent the risk of cancer. There seems to be strong evidence that being overweight or obese could increase the risk of 10 cancers.

Connection between Healthy Lifestyle/Risk of Developing Cancer

The connection between a healthy lifestyle and the risk of developing cancer is a known fact and the new data seeks in preventing cases in 13 of the UK’s common cancer cases.For instance in the case of men, around 9% of them suffer from advanced prostate cancer which could be prevented every year if men were not overweight or obese.

Cases of lung cancer could be reduced by 15,000 by accomplishing people to quit smoking and around 38% cases of breast cancer could have been stopped especially in postmenopausal women by way of increasing physical exercises as well as by reducing body fat.

According to WCRF, 2,200 cases of kidney cancer and 1,400 cases of pancreatic cancer could have been prevented if the people had implemented a healthier lifestyle. The director of health and well-being at Public Health England, Prof Kevin Fenton had said that the UK was presently behind cancer survival rates when compared with the other European countries.

Cancer is thought as Lottery

He further added that the connection between tobacco and cancer is generally known and accepted willingly by the public though several are not completely convinced that on eating healthy food, exercising regularly and avoiding the consumption of alcohol could lower the risk of cancer.

 He stated on major factor was that cancer prevention was not in the public consciousness. Amanda McLean, Fund director adds his comments that `prevention should be part of the solution to the epidemic and we are fooling ourselves if we tend to think that we can treat our way out of the problem. Professor Kevin Fenton of Public Health England has recently informed, `the harsh reality is thatwe are behind on survival rates when compared to their European counterparts’.

According to Richard Roope, of Royal College of GPs added that `GPs do not want to be killjoys though we need to work together to support patients over lifestyle choices. Cancer is thought as being a lottery but we have more control over our health than we think.