A healthy lifestyle would prevent 4 out of 10 cancers. The National Cancer Institute alerts the population to the effects of tobacco, alcohol and poor diet.
Prefer walking to transport or fruit juice to alcohol: these are two behaviors that the National Cancer Institute (INCa) would like to see spread. This September 16, the health agency is launching a major campaign aimed at the population. The posters which are present in transport, newspapers or on the Internet, invite the French to adopt healthier behaviors. This is indeed the condition for preventing many cancers. Of the 355,000 cases diagnosed each year, 140,000 could be prevented. But risk factors are still very widespread in France.
62,000 tobacco and alcohol related deaths
“40% of cancers could be avoided if we change our daily behavior,” recalls INCa, which is partnering with the Ministry of Health for this campaign. Knowledge is being able to act. »Lung, colon, breast, liver… There are many organs affected by a poor lifestyle. The risk factors too. The consumption of tobacco, alcohol, but also a lack of physical activity and a poor diet promote the occurrence of many cancers.
Other elements are more difficult to control, such as air pollution or occupational exposure to carcinogenic elements. But adopting healthier habits – by moving more and smoking less, for example – could significantly improve the death picture from cancer. Alone, alcohol and tobacco are responsible for 62,000 deaths. Better to stop consuming them, in the eyes of INCa.
More fruit, more sport
INCa therefore provides some valuable advice that is easy to put into practice. Some overlap: more physical activity helps reduce overweight – another risk factor for cancer. 30 minutes of exercise daily is a minimum to accomplish. Taking care of your diet also helps to keep your figure.
INCa therefore recommends limiting as much as possible the intake of red meat – which promotes colorectal cancer – and processed foods, including cold meats. The industrial preparation of these products often results in an excessively high fat, salt and sugar balance. “Fruits and vegetables play a protective role thanks to their richness in fiber, vitamins and antioxidant minerals,” recalls the health agency. Whole grain foods are also recommended. “
Survival on the rise
A cancer diagnosis is no longer synonymous with a death sentence. The latest figures published by the National Statistics Office, in the United Kingdom, have much to be hoped for. For the most frequent tumors, the majority of patients are likely to live another decade. 89% of people with skin cancer can believe it anyway, as can 80% of those whose cells are located on the breast or prostate.
Overall, long-term survival has doubled in 40 years, thanks to earlier detection and more targeted treatments. But these good results do not apply to all tumors: the pancreas, lungs and brain suffer from very high mortality. Less than 10% of patients can expect to be alive after a decade. Lynda Thomas, of Macmillan Cancer Support, also recalls that “survival is not necessarily synonymous with a quality of life” in the columns of theInternational Business Times. Many patients still suffer from the after-effects of intensive and invasive treatments.
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