Prevention is the best way to fight cancer. This means getting your community to do things that will protect their health, such as getting screened, exercising and quitting smoking.
There are more than 100 kinds of cancer. Most are caused by a combination of factors over time. While people can’t change some risk factors, such as their genes or aging, they can protect themselves from others, for example, by not smoking.It is easier, when possible, to prevent cancer than to treat it. Share these tips on how to lower cancer risk.
Screening Tests Help Detect Cancer
Regular screening tests may find breast, cervical and colon cancers early, when treatment is likely to work best. Lung cancer screening is recommended for people who are at high risk.Vaccines Help Lower Cancer Risk
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine helps prevent most cervical cancers and several other kinds of cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine can help lower liver cancer risk.Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices Affect Cancer Risk
- Quit smoking. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death. Cigarette smoking causes almost all cases. Smoking also causes other cancers, including cancers of the mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, liver, stomach and colon, and more. Of the more than 700 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 69 can cause cancer.
- Steer clear of secondhand smoke. Being exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increases your risk of developing lung cancer.
- Protect your skin. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the U.S. Protect yourself by seeking shade, applying sunscreen and wearing sun-protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses.
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink. Drinking alcohol raises the risk of several cancers, including female breast cancer.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese can raise your risk of getting certain cancers, including uterine, breast (after menopause) and colorectal cancers.