“HEALTH NEWS THAT
YOU CAN USE”
WHAT ARE OUR GREATEST HEALTH RISKS?
Americans rank cancer as their top health concern. A recent survey also shows
that most people believe nothing can be done to prevent cancer.
It is true that cancer is the second leading cause of death (behind heart attacks
and strokes).
About 500,000 deaths from cancer occur annually in the United States. However,
about a third of these cancers are related to lifestyle factors ~ things that could have
been changed. What are these factors?
Personal Decisions and Lifestyles that accentuate cancer mortality:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Physical Inactivity
Diet Choices
Obesity
Tobacco Use
Excessive Sun Exposure
Omitting Screening / Testing (for early detection)
REDUCING THE RISK OF CANCER
Some things that determine your general risk of cancer cannot be changed ~ age,
race, family history of cancer. But, we all can take charge of other risk factors:
•
Eating healthy foods: accentuate foods from plant sources, aim for 5
servings of fruits and vegetables daily, accentuate whole grain products
(such as cereals) rather than processed grains (pastries), limit red meat
consumption, especially those that are processed (hot dogs, salami)
•
Getting regular physical activity at least 30 minutes of moderate activity on
5 or more days each week, maintaining a healthy weight, that is, balance
your daily calorie intake with your activity level, losing any excess weight.
•
Protect your skin from the sun. Avoid direct midday sun exposure; keep
covered. Use a sunscreen regularly.
•
Eliminate tobacco use.
products.
Stop use of any smoking or chewing tobacco
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, your attitude and
actions determine more than half of your life-long health status.
Here is a look at the overall US population risk for commonly occurring cancers.
This was published in the Mayo Clinic Health Letter, July 2002
A closer look at the cancer numbers
What woman hasn’t wondered about her chances of getting breast cancer? Men often wonder about prostate
cancer.
The lifetime risk of getting either of these cancers is in the double-digit range. The risk of dying of these
cancers is about 3 percent — considerably less than the risk of getting them. By contrast, the numbers show lung cancer
to be the leading cause of cancer death.
This table outlines the recent data on the lifetime risks of developing cancers that have spread (invasive
cancers) and of dying of these cancers.
TYPE OF CANCER
(INVASIVE)
BLADDER
BREAST
COLON & RECTUM
LEUKEMIA
LUNG
MELANOMA
LYMPHOMA
(NON-HODGKIN'S)
OVARIAN
PROSTATE
UTERINE
SEX
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
WOMEN
MEN
WOMEN
LIFETIME RISK* OF GETTING
THIS CANCER
3.50%
1.10%
0.10%
12.50%
5.90%
5.60%
1.40%
1.00%
7.90%
5.90%
1.70%
1.20%
2.10%
1.80%
1.70%
16.70%
2.70%
(1 IN 29)
(1 IN 89)
(1 IN 909)
(1 IN 8)
(1 IN 18)
(1 IN 18)
(1 IN 70)
(1 IN 96)
(1 IN 13)
(1 IN 17)
(1 IN 58)
(1 IN 82)
(1 IN 48)
(1 IN 57)
(1 IN 58)
(1 IN 6)
(1 IN 96)
LIFETIME RISK* OF DYING OF
THIS CANCER
0.70%
0.30%
0.03%
3.20%
2.40%
2.40%
0.90%
0.70%
7.70%
4.80%
0.40%
0.20%
1%
0.90%
1.00%
3.20%
0.50%
(1 IN 139)
(1 IN 303)
(1 IN 3,333)
(1 IN 31)
(1 IN 42)
(1 IN 42)
(1 IN 106)
(1 IN 137)
(1 IN 13)**
(1 IN 21)
(1 IN 286)
(1 IN 500)
(1 IN 101)
(1 IN 112)
(1 IN 96)
(1 IN 31)
(1 IN 196)
Source: National Cancer Institute, 2001, based on cancer cases in the United States for all races diagnosed during 1996 through 1998.
*Percentages representing lifetime risk are rounded for ease of reading. Lifetime risks listed as "1 in" are derived from percentages of risk
before rounding.
**A man's lifetime risk of dying of lung cancer is actually slightly less that 1 in 13.