Find motivator for healthy lifestyle moves
June holds a lot of meaning for me. It is our daughter’s birth month, our wedding anniversary, and June 1, National Cancer Survivor’s Day, reminds me how blessed I am to be alive. Three years have passed since I heard the words “You have cancer” on June 20, 2011.
If you have been there yourself or with a loved one, you know the change those words bring. What is astounding is how many of us will hear those words in our lifetime. In 2014, there will be an estimated 1,665,540 new cancer cases diagnosed and 585,720 cancer deaths in the United States. Cancer remains the second-most common cause of death in the U.S., accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths.
Honestly, it does not have to be this way. Although we do not know ways of preventing many types of cancer, we do know a lot about reducing rates of lung, cervical, oral, colon, skin, liver and many other cancers.
Prevention is something you often hear about as it relates to a particular type of cancer. The recommendations below can significantly reduce the incidence of many cancers, including the four most common in the U.S. – breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• Do not smoke. Do not allow anyone to smoke near you, in your house or in your car. If you do smoke, do so away from others so that you are not putting their lives at risk also.
• Keep a healthy body weight.
• Do not use tanning beds and always use adequate sunscreen. Tanning beds are particularly dangerous for younger users; people who begin tanning younger than age 35 have a 59 percent higher risk of melanoma, a very dangerous skin cancer.
• Get a Hepatitis B vaccination (at any age) to prevent liver cancer and an HPV vaccination (9-26 years old) to prevent cervical, oral and rectal cancer.
• Have a colonoscopy or a stool screening test done routinely starting at age 50.
• Exercise regularly.
• Limit your alcohol.
• Eat five or more servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily (fresh if possible, but frozen and canned are good options, too).
Perhaps some of these recommendations are easier for you to follow than others. Maybe you tried to quit smoking and failed or joined a gym and never used the membership. How do you find the motivation to try again?
Fear is not a great motivator for most people, even after a disease like cancer. For me and for most of us, we do better at making positive lifestyle changes by focusing on the positive parts of what we want to accomplish and why we want to do it. I want to be around for my daughter as she grows up, and I know exercise will help me stay healthy to do that. Sleeping better, feeling better and having more energy when I exercise also helps me stay motivated.
Taking positive steps to a healthier life and limiting your risk of a potentially fatal disease starts with small changes. Find one thing you know is within your reach. Maybe you will go for walks with a friend, call your health care provider to discuss stopping smoking or stop eating at fast-food restaurants. Whatever it is, support from a friend, co-worker or family member can help you stay committed to the change you want to make.
As I celebrate this milestone of the time since my diagnosis, I do what I can to stay healthy. And I want to help you avoid hearing the painful words I did three years ago.