Five simple steps may help to prevent cancer

There's much we can do to prevent cancer. That's because 80 percent to 95 percent of cancers have an environmental component, according to a brother-and-sister team of co-authors. The cancer deaths of family members, close friends and patients prompted Dr. Lynne Eldridge and David Borgeson to write and self-publish a new book that provides practical advice about preventing cancer.

I was impressed with the considerable effort when I recently met Eldridge at my neighborhood bookstore and began reading a copy of "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time."

Eldridge enthusiastically pointed out that much of what we need to do to prevent cancer comes down to common sense. Here are five of the authors' top lifestyle tips for modifying cancer-causing factors that we encounter in our daily lives.

1. Learn to manage stress: Chronic stress in our hectic lives can result in over-arousal of the nervous system. Blood pressure, pulse, breathing rate, stress hormones, blood sugar, blood clotting and muscle tension all increase in response to prolonged physical or emotional stress. The side effect is a decrease in natural killer cells, a type of white blood cell in your immune system that finds and destroys beginning cancer cells.

What you can do: Take time to relax each day. Calming activities such as talking to friends, reading, writing in a journal, meditating, practicing yoga, praying or attending religious services have been shown to improve the ability of the immune system to ward off cancer.

2. Get enough sleep: Our bodies produce the hormone melatonin while we sleep. Melatonin decreases the production of estrogen, the female hormone linked to breast cancer, and may be involved in other cancers as well.

What you can do: Sleep in total darkness. Exposure to any light while you slumber suppresses melatonin secretion.

3. Maintain a healthy weight: A combination of poor diet and obesity is the second leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States. Studies indicate that obesity accounts for 14 percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent in women. At the core of the problem, according to the authors, are "portion distortion" and lack of exercise.

What you can do: Do not eat while watching TV or reading; this sort of unconscious eating often leads to greater consumption. Enjoy frequent, small meals to increase your metabolism. Try eating with your nondominant hand to avoid gulping your food. Do not supersize when you eat out. For weight maintenance and cancer prevention, the authors also recommend exercise five or more days a week — gradually building up to 30 or 45 daily minutes for adults or 60 minutes for children.

4. Clear the air of smoke: Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable cancer in America. Cancers of the lungs, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and bone marrow are strongly linked to smoking.

What you can do: Talk to your doctor about the many stop-smoking aids on the market. Nicotine patches, gum, nose spray or inhalers are available, as well as prescription drugs, classes and support groups. Protect yourself and your family from the effects of secondhand smoke.

5. Use alcohol with care: About 4 percent of U.S. cancer cases are linked to alcohol. Excess alcohol causes vitamin deficiencies and may damage your genetic material.

What you can do: Consume no more than two alcoholic drinks per day for men or one for women. Also make sure you have an adequate intake of the B vitamin folic acid.

For more information: "Avoiding Cancer One Day at a Time," www.avoidcancernow.com.



Contact Dr. Elizabeth Smoots, a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, at doctor@practicalprevention.com. Her columns are not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Before adhering to any recommendations in this column consult your health care provider.

© 2007 Elizabeth S. Smoots