#WorldCancerDay: 13 Steps to Significantly Reduce The Risk of Cancer

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Since year 2006, every February 4 has been set aside as the World Cancer Day. The 2016 edition is the 10th anniversary of the global awareness campaign about the disease. The theme of the campaign for this year is We, I can.

The theme speaks to the reality that that every single person can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Cancer, a group of diseases marked by uncontrolled multiplication of abnormal cells, will kill more than eight million people worldwide this year, which is equivalent to the entire population of New York. Half of these will be people of working age (30-69 years old), says WorldCancerDay.org.

Here are 13 steps to significantly reduce the risk of cancer...


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1. Stopping smoking. This notoriously difficult habit to break sees tar build-up in the lungs and DNA alteration and causes 15,558 cancer deaths a year.

2. Avoiding the sun, and the melanoma that comes with overexposure to harmful UV rays, could help conscientious shade-lovers dodge being one of the 7,220 people who die from it.

3. A diet that is low in red meat can help to prevent bowel cancer, according to the research - with 30 grams a day recommended for men, and 25 a day recommended for women.

4. Foods high in fibre, meanwhile, can further make for healthier bowels. Processed foods in developed countries appear to be causing higher rates of colon cancer than diets in continents such as Africa, which have high bean and pulse intakes.

5. Two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables a day were given as the magic number for good diet in the research. Overall, diet causes only slightly fewer cancer deaths than sun exposure in Australia, at 7,000 a year.

6. Obesity and being overweight, linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, causes 3,917 deaths by cancer a year on its own.

7. Dying of a cancer caused by infection also comes in highly, linked to 3,421 cancer deaths a year. Infections such as human papilloma virus - which can cause cervical cancer in women - and hepatitis - can be prevented by vaccinations and having regular check-ups.

8. Cutting back on drinks could reduce the risk of cancers caused by alcohol - such as liver cancer, bowel cancer, breast cancer and mouth cancer - that are leading to 3,208 deaths a year

9. Sitting around and not getting the heart pumping - less than one hour's exercise a day - is directly leading to about 1,800 people having lower immune functions and higher hormone levels, among other factors, that cause cancers.

10. Hormone replacement therapy, which is used to relieve symptoms of the menopause in women, caused 539 deaths from (mainly breast) cancer in Australia last year. It did, however, prevent 52 cases of colorectal cancers.

11. Insufficient breastfeeding, bizarrely, makes the top 10. Breastfeeding for 12 months could prevent 235 cancer cases a year, said the research

12. Oral contraceptives, like the Pill, caused about 105 breast cancers and 52 cervical cancers - but it also prevented about 1,440 ovarian and uterine (womb) cases of cancer last year

13. Taking aspirin also prevented 232 cases in the Queensland research of colorectal and oesophagal cancers - but as it can also cause strokes, is not yet recommended as a formal treatment against the risk of cancer.

Top cancer causes each year:

Tobacco: 15,558 cases

Sun exposure: 7,220

Inadequate diet: 7,089

Overweight and obesity: 3,917

Infections: 3,421

Alcohol: 3,208

Insufficient physical activity: 1,814

Hormone replacement therapy: 539

Insufficient breast feeding: 235

Oral contraceptives: 157



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