Cancer Risk Reduced Through Simple Approaches

Cancer.  One of the most dreaded words an individual can hear, but some hear it more than once.  Cancer is a complex disease condition, impacting an average of 38.5% of the human population. This means that almost 4 out of 10 people will be diagnosed with cancer, once, during their lifetime. Are there things we can do, as individuals, to reduce our risk, act as a means of prevention, and maybe improve our outcome, if diagnosed with cancer? There are, and some of them are so obvious that they are commonly dismissed.

Cancer Risk and Prevention
Cancer Risk and Prevention

Cancer development has many contributors and often develops over years, being diagnosed when it is at a stage that creates clinical problems.  There are many different types of cancer, but most tend to have similar underlying etiologies or cellular pathways, which help to fuel their development and progression. One of the biggest shared underlying cellular processes is inflammation, which directly impacts the ability of the tumor or cancer to develop, progress and spread.

In reality, we have three main stages of cancer development:

  • Initiation
  • Promotion
  • Progression

These stages often occur over many years and the earlier we intervene, the better the outcome in most cases.  However, we need to realize that intervention is not just through diagnosis, but through modification of factors that may be contributing to the condition. It is possible, based on research, to intervene at any of these stages, acting as a means of prevention to further progression, via diet, lifestyle factors and herbal usage.

Factors Contributing to Cancer Development and Progression

If you read through any magazine, listen to the news or read research, we quickly realize that many things we encounter daily can contribute to cancer formation.  In many instances, it would seem like the only means to cancer prevention would be to live in a plastic bubble.  This thought or realization can create fear for some, but this doesn’t need to be the case.  For others, they may think that everything causes cancer, so what’s the use in any effort?  This also is not a good mindset to be in. What we do need to see is that, yes, indeed, there are many things that contribute to cancer, but we do have a choice and through those choices, we can improve outcomes and reduces our risk.  Nothing, however, is 100%.

No one person is immune to cancer development, myself included. I have discussed, in prior articles, my ‘cancer thoughts’ when it came to my own personal realizations.

Contributors to cancer can basically be reduced to 4 categories:

  • Lifestyle factors
  • Dietary factors
  • Environmental factors
  • Genetic influences

According to a study in the International Journal of Cancer (Wilson, et al, 2017), there are 8 broad groups of cancer contributors, which include:

  1. Smoking (including second hand smoke)
  2. Dietary Factors (low intake of fruits/vegetables and high in red, processed meats)
  3. Overweight and Obesity
  4. Alcohol consumption
  5. Physical inactivity
  6. Solar UV light radiation
  7. Infections (eg; HPV, HIV, hepatitis, Helicobacter)
  8. Reproductive factors (lack of breastfeeding, contraception use, hormone therapy)

In this same study, they determined that through modification of the above factors, it was quite possible to reduce cancer by upwards of 33% , especially in cases of lung, colorectal, melanoma and breast cancer.

In the 2017 National Cancer Opinion Survey, most people that participated were familiar with things like smoking and sun exposure, increasing the risk of certain cancers, however, only 31% realized that an overweight body condition and 30% that excessive alcohol consumption can also contribute to cancer.

Reducing Cancer Risk and Emphasizing Prevention

There are many factors involved with cancer, as outlined above, but if we dig closely, we often find connectors between them.  What we have to look at is how cells are functioning and in cases of cancer, they are not doing so well.  Many times, it is not just a group of cells that are abnormal, but we also have general poor health in the individual, along with a compromised immune response.

The bottom line connector in most cases of cancer is the process of inflammation, which impacts cellular function overall, including immune health.  If we look at the risk factors, we can begin to see that all contribute to inflammation on some level.  We may be consuming a diet high in meat and processed foods, which are not just pro-inflammatory in and of themselves, but also often deprive the body of nutrients vital for overall health.  Smoking, through the use of tobacco and inherent chemicals, directly contributes to inflammation, as does an inactive lifestyle and overweight body condition.  Activity or exercise help to reduce inflammation in the body, along with positively impacting other organ systems.  UV light exposure is an irritant, creating cellular damage and inflammation, as is alcohol in excessive consumption.  The infection mentioned (HPV, HIV, Hepatitis and Helicobacter), are also direct irritants, contributing to cellular damage and immune challenges.  In the reproductive category, we have likely inflammatory changes secondary to alterations in normal hormone pathways.

What it boils down to, in our quest to reduce risk, is mitigation of the inflammatory process and oxidative stress. By looking at the list above, we see potential means of intervening and reducing that risk.  However, we need to understand that there are other variables that we are exposed to that may be out of our control, which get back to the environmental category.  This would include chemicals in the air we breathe, water we consume and in some foods that we grow.  We try our best, but some things are just out of our hands. Does that mean we still can’t intervene?  Of course not!

I’ve always held the adage that cancer is a result of ‘too much bad and not enough good’.  This is rather simplistic, but I feel it applies to most cases.  There are things we cannot avoid, but we can still try to offset their effects on our health through diet, exercise, herb usage and a positive mental attitude. If we do these 4 things, we will be providing a lot of ‘good’ for the body, which may help it to defend itself against the ‘bad’.

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is not only beneficial from a nutrient point of view, but also rich in potent phytochemicals that can help to defend against carcinogens.  These foods are high in antioxidant value, which then help to protect our cells against oxidative cellular stress.  Herbs, which there are numerous, also help us not just in nutrient provision, but aid in modifying the inflammatory process and providing antioxidant support.  Simple and consistent exercise regimens help in many regards, from improving overall attitude, modifying inflammatory conditions and stimulating the immune response.

Cancer Prevention. It’s Up to You

Cancer can be a devastating diagnosis and no approach to therapy is 100%.  What does appear to be evident is that the level of participation that the patient or person puts forward greatly contributes to the end result.  There are many means of cancer prevention, intervening at any stage, and impacting prognosis.  This does not mean that a ‘cure’ is the end result, but more so implies that you have a choice and through that choice can potentially skew things into your favor.

Other valuable articles to support your overall health:

 

Author:  Tom Schell, D.V.M., CVCH, CHN

 

 

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