According to a recent report, half of the men and one third of women in Australia will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recently reported that "more than 50 percent of all cancer diagnoses are down to lifestyle and the most notable among these causes are tobacco use, obesity, poor diet, lack of physical exercise, exposure to ultraviolet radiation either through the use of tanning devices or direct sun exposure, and failure to use or comply with interventions that treat or prevent infectious causes of cancer."
Kathy Chapman, director of the prevention program at the Cancer Council, however, believes that this news is more empowering than devastating. Chapman says that while most people think cancer is untreatable when the onset has occurred, she says that by merely looking at the findings rendered by the report - there is a lot of prevention that people can do.
According to AACR report, tobacco was the top cause of cancer, responsible for 33 per cent of diagnoses. In Australia, even when the number of tobacco smokers has gone down over the past few months, cancer from smoking is still on the lead against any other cause.
Obesity is also another factor of the increasing rate of cancer. Around two thirds of Australians are overweight or obese. Only one in 10 eats the recommended five serves of veggies a day.
AACR report states that, "Importantly, healthy approaches to living can also reduce cancer recurrence and improve outcomes following a cancer diagnosis.".
Ms Kathy Chapman, then recommends Australians to quit smoking (or, better yet,to never start smoking). Staying physically active with at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and opting to plant-based foods is another remedy that can be started right off and smoothly. On top of that, she also recommends getting serious with aims to moderate alcohol consumption.