By Supa Greenix

About 40 percent of cancer cases are considered preventable - Washington Post

Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, is the chief of the division of hematology and professor of medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami. He is author of the books “When Blood Breaks Down: Life Lessons from Leukemia” and “Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and the Public’s Trust.”

 

Many of us have been personally affected by cancer — including me. I’m an oncologist, and my own family history is one of the reasons I decided to specialize in caring for people with cancer and in conducting cancer research. My mom has lung cancer, and several relatives from both my mom and my dad’s side were also diagnosed with cancers. It’s no wonder I worry about cancer affecting me one day.

About 1 in 5 people around the world will develop cancer throughout the course of their lives. In 2021, almost 1.8 million new cancer cases were reported in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The following year, about 600,000 people died of cancer in the country.

But there are steps you can take to reduce your risk. About 40 percent of new cancer diagnoses in U.S. adults age 30 and older are considered preventable, according to a study from the American Cancer Society.

Here are 11 scientifically backed ways to reduce your risk.

1

Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans

What our parents told us growing up is true: Eating fruits and vegetables is good for our health. A study that included data collected over decades on about 27,000 people in Europe found that eating a lot of cruciferous vegetables in particular — such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and turnip greens (both cooked and raw) — reduced the risk of at least six types of cancer compared to low consumption. High consumption of fruit reduced the risk of seven cancers. (Low consumption was defined as less than one serving per week, and high as one or more servings.)

Don’t like broccoli or cauliflower? Just about any vegetable you eat will help make you healthier, and many of them are good sources of fiber. Increasing your intake of dietary fiber is a great way to reduce your risk of colon cancer. So I also recommend incorporating whole grains — such as barley, brown rice, millet, quinoa and farro — and beans into your diet.

2

Cook with plant oils such as olive and canola

Regularly eating a lot of butter was linked to a higher risk of dying of cancer in a recent study that looked at more than 200,000 adults in the United States enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study. On the other hand, higher intake of plant oils, such as olive and canola, were linked to a lower risk.

3

Eat less red and processed meats

Research has found an association between colorectal cancer and eating red meat and processed meat. If you enjoy grilled meat, as many of us do, you should know that some studies also suggest that people who consume more meat cooked at a high temperature have a slightly higher chance of developing colorectal cancer. Because there is strong evidence that red or processed meats increase cancer risk, my advice would be to limit consuming and grilling those in particular.

4

Avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and ultra-processed foods

Consuming a lot of sugar-sweetened beverages in teenage and adult years has been associated with an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. Researchers who looked at the diets of people in the United Kingdom also found a link between ultra-processed foods and cancer risk. Ultra-processed foods contain little or no whole foods and are often energy dense, high in salt, sugar and fat, and low in fiber. They can include chips, cereals, frozen meals and even yogurts. To identify whether a food is ultra-processed, check the label for ingredients you wouldn’t have in your home kitchen, such as thickeners, emulsifiers and stabilizers.

5

Wear sunscreen every day

Most melanoma and non-melanoma (basal and squamous cell skin cancer) diagnoses are attributed to UV radiation, including tanning beds: Melanoma risk increases by 75 percent in people engaging in indoor tanning before the age of 35, and with years of use and number of sessions. Skin cancer risk also increases with age — reflecting cumulative sun exposure — and in people with light-colored skin.

I suggest wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve shirt whenever you spend a lot of time outside, like going to the beach or on a long bike ride, in addition to applying sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher every day.

6

Keep alcohol intake to a minimum

Multiple studies conducted over decades in tens of thousands of people point to alcohol causing cancer. In the American Cancer Society study, drinking alcohol contributed to about 5 percent of new cancer diagnoses in men and about 6 percent of cancer diagnoses in women. While we commonly associate alcohol with cancers of the oral cavity or esophagus, by far the greatest number of cancer diagnoses attributed to alcohol consumption was actually breast cancer, with over 44,000 in the United States in 2019.

But how much alcohol is too much? Alcohol intake is a risk for cancer in a dose-dependent manner: The more you drink, the higher your cancer risk. Even those who have one drink per day have a modestly increased risk of some cancers. Clearly, less alcohol is better, and each of us must determine our own tolerance for cancer risk when deciding how much to drink.

7

Check your vaccination status

Yearly, almost 700,000 cancers worldwide are attributed to HPV, including cancers of the cervix, anus, genital areas, and head and neck. But thanks to the introduction of the HPV vaccine, the CDC estimates that the number of certain HPV infections has decreased by over 70 percent in women age 14-24 over the past two decades.

The HPV vaccine is recommended for everyone through age 26 and for some adults up to age 45.

Hepatitis B infections are the most common cause of liver cancer worldwide. Check your medical records to make sure you’ve already received the hepatitis B vaccine. When in doubt, ask your doctor to conduct a blood test to check for antibodies and get vaccinated if needed.

8

Get colonoscopies starting at age 45

Screening tests look for cancer in people who don’t have symptoms. But there’s one screening test that can actually prevent cancer before it happens: a colonoscopy. When you undergo a colonoscopy, your doctor can remove abnormal growths from your colon — called adenomas — before they turn into cancer. The United States Preventive Task Force recommends colon cancer screening for adults age 45 through 75.

9

Exercise regularly

Getting a lot of exercise is associated with substantive risk reduction in a number of cancers, including cancers of the breast, colon, bladder, esophagus, stomach and endometrium, among others. A 2024 study showed that people who exercised for just two or more hours per week reduced their risk of head and neck cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (such as biking under 10 mph or brisk walking) or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise (such as cycling 10 mph or faster or running) per week.

10

Maintain a healthy weight

Obesity has been linked to 13 types of cancers. Scientists are still trying to understand this connection, but they think it may be related to the chronic inflammation, insulin resistance and metabolic issues — like prediabetes — that are common with obesity, and that have also been linked to cancer.

Sustained weight loss may help with risk reduction. A recent study looked at the use of GLP-1 agonist drugs in a population of over 1.6 million patients with Type 2 diabetes in the United States. When compared with patients who used insulin to control their diabetes, those who used GLP-1 inhibitors had lower rates of 10 of those 13 cancers during 15 years of follow-up. They also lost weight.

Other studies have shown that sustained weight loss by any method is associated with reduced cancer risk, as is weight loss through bariatric surgery.

11

Don’t smoke. And if you do, try to stop.

Cigarette smoking was the greatest contributor to new cancer diagnoses in the American Cancer Society study. It was responsible for 86 percent of lung cancer diagnoses and over 50 percent of cancers of the esophagus and bladder cancers, among many other cancer types.

Other forms of tobacco consumption are no better: For example, in an hour-long hookah session, you can inhale 100 to 200 times more smoke than with a single cigarette.

It’s never too late to stop. In fact, people who stop smoking reduce their cancer risks substantially: The risk of lung cancer drops by half with 10 to 15 years of smoking cessation and actually falls to almost nonsmoker levels for those who quit by age 40. Similarly, the risk of esophageal cancer diminishes by 30 percent and the risk of bladder cancer falls to 50 percent with 10 years of smoking cessation.

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