Take measures to prevent cancer

Each week the headlines proclaim new findings about cancer: Low-fat diet fails to decrease cancer. Lifestyle changes may help prevent cancer. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables doesn’t prevent cancer. Tea does. With so many conflicting and confusing messages, it’s tempting to sit back and do nothing, but then you’d miss some important opportunities to improve your health.

Here are some simple lifestyle changes that can help you thwart the deadly disease.

Don’t smoke (or hang around with smokers).

Tobacco is far and away the No. 1 cause of cancer, and smoking accounts for about 30 percent of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Smoking increases the risk of cancer of the lungs, larynx, mouth, throat, esophagus, bladder, pancreas, cervix, kidneys and stomach, as well as some leukemias.

What to do: For detailed suggestions that have helped millions quit, go to www.quit.com, or the ACS Web site, www.cancer.org.

Practice safe sex.

Two types of the human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease, are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer in the United States. Cervical cancer kills about a third of women diagnosed with it.

What to do: Get regular Pap smears. And ask your doctor about a vaccine called Gardasil, which was recently approved by the FDA. It’s the first vaccine ever developed to prevent cancer.

Drink coffee or tea – and go easy on alcohol.

According to new research, tea may help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer; and coffee, the risk of liver cancer. Alcohol, which may protect the heart, can raise a woman’s cancer risk – and it’s almost certain to do so when consumed in excess. Even two drinks a day are associated with increased risks for breast, intestinal, liver, esophageal and larynx cancers, according to a 2005 review of 156 cancer studies published in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis.

What to do: “Women at high risk of breast cancer should abstain from or limit their alcohol,” says Dr. Carolyn D. Runowicz, president of the ACS and author of “The Answer to Cancer” (Rodale Books, 2005). Other women should consume no more than one drink a day, and men should limit themselves to two. You can enjoy your daily coffee and tea.

Exercise.

A good, sweaty workout – or even a relatively light, leisurely one – lowers your risk of obesity and may help prevent cancers of the breast and colon.

What to do: The National Cancer Institute recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity five days a week, or 20 minutes or more of vigorous activity three or more days a week.

Protect yourself from the sun.

Skin cancer is the nation’s most prevalent cancer – more than a million Americans are diagnosed each year. It’s also the most preventable, and it’s often easily detected.

What to do: Wear sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher that contains avobenzone (Parsol 1789), titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Hats, sunglasses and dark, tightly knit clothing are key protectors as well.

Get screened.

Cancer screenings are becoming more sophisticated and sensitive. Mammography remains the best way to identify breast cancer early. Screenings are even more effective for cervical and colon cancers.

What to do: For information on tests recommended for healthy people at normal risk, see the cancer-screening guidelines at www.cancer.org.

Stay slim.

Obesity increases the risks for all sorts of cancers, including cancer of the breast, uterus, kidney, pancreas and colon. “When you’re 20 percent over your ideal body weight, you begin to see increased risk, and it continues to increase with every pound gained,” says Runowicz.

What to do: To determine whether your weight puts you at risk, give yourself a virtual weigh-in with the body-mass-index calculator at www.realsimple.com/bmi.

Eat well.

The Women’s Health Initiative diet study, published in 2006, looked at the effect of low-fat diets on cancer in postmenopausal women (no studies this comprehensive have been done on premenopausal women). It found that although a low-fat diet didn’t significantly reduce the incidence of colorectal cancer, it seemed to be of some benefit in preventing breast cancer. Research is mounting in support of the idea that cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, are cancer-preventing. Other helpful foods are from the “pizza group” – namely, tomato sauce, garlic and olive oil.

Red and processed meats may increase the risk of colon cancer, according to a study by the ACS.

What to do: Eat your broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, olive oil and garlic, but ease up on the red meat. The NCI recommends that women consume seven servings of fruits and vegetables a day, while men should eat nine. For more information on serving size and foods that can keep you healthy, go to www.mypyramid.gov.