Lowering Cancer Risk: Put Yourself First

You're young, vibrant and healthy; no need to worry about cancer, right? Well, while your risk of developing cancer at a young age may be low, especially if you have no family history of the disease, now is the time to begin to think about ways to keep that risk low for years to come.

It's no surprise that exercise and a healthy diet are the first steps to creating a cancer-preventing lifestyle, but what else can you do? Featured speaker at the GE Healthcare Day, Dr. John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, explains what all women should do to both lower their risk of developing cancer and increase their chances of catching cancer at its earliest, most treatable stage.

Q. If a woman is in relatively good health and has no history of cancer in her family, should she be concerned about her cancer risk?

A.The key thing to keep in mind is that 95 percent of Americans are born healthy, and later something goes wrong to make them sick. Preventing disease of any kind is not rocket science; eating right, exercising, not smoking can all dramatically reduce your risk of dying from pretty much anything, not just cancer.

The reason cancer is so much more at the forefront is that it takes people in the prime of their life. Cancer is the leading cause of death in people between the ages of 5 to 75. But if a woman is a non-smoker, and gets regular exercise - she doesn't have to win any medals - her risk of dying in mid-life is 8 percent. But her non-exercising, male counterpart's risk of dying from cancer is 40 percent.

Q. While cancer strikes both men and women, are there any factors that increase a woman's risk more than a man's risk of cancer?

A. Well, sun exposure affects both men and women's risk of skin cancer, but if a woman is inclined to sit in the sun and tan, her risk for malignant [skin cancer] is high. Additionally, the data clearly shows that women need to watch their alcohol consumption. There is a relationship between high alcohol intake and head and neck cancer, as well as cancer of the liver, but even moderate alcohol intake raises the risk of breast cancer, which, of course, is a much greater concern for women.

Q.What overall advice do you have for women who say they are too busy to think about their own health?

A. Women are famous for taking care of everyone but themselves; they take care of their husbands, their children. But women need to put themselves first and take care of their own health needs to ensure the health of their entire family.