What Could Lead to Cancer?
Cancer is one of the most prevalent diseases in today’s world. Many people around the world suffer from cancer every day. The exact reason and cause for many types of cancer are still unknown but some factors are contributing to increasing the risk of certain cancers.
The cases are increasing at a higher rate. Researchers have studied the prevalence of cancer and it is observed that one out of nine Indians will develop cancer once in their lifetime. Hence cancer is becoming one of the major causes of death.
Many things could lead to cancer in a patient. One of the major factors is lifestyle changes and habits. Cancer is one of the lifestyle diseases that can be caused by lifestyle habits. It majorly involves eating habits, drinking, physical activities, etc.
Genetic changes are also one of the major causes of cancer that is observed in 5 to 10% of patients. This implies that although we cannot prevent cancer, we can largely reduce the risk of cancer. This can be done by implementing lifestyle changes into your daily life.
Things that are the most common cause of cancer
There are numerous causes of cancer but some of the factors are common in many types of cancer. Some of these factors are:
Tobacco consumption
Tobacco is one of the most common factors that cause cancer. Most of the Indian population consumes tobacco daily. Tobacco is the single factor that can cause different types of cancers. Consumption of tobacco can lead to mouth, tongue, throat, lung, cervical cancer, etc.
Chewing tobacco in any form such as Tabaku, Gutka, pan masala, etc. Can lead to mouth and throat cancer. Other forms of tobacco intake such as vaping, smoking cigarettes, hookah, etc. are also harmful and can lead to cancer.
Taking tobacco in any form is hazardous to health, hence must be prohibited. Tobacco chewing is quite common in rural India and oral cancer is one of the most common types of cancer which affects village people.
The risk of cancer due to tobacco can be reduced by quitting the consumption of tobacco. Although most people find it difficult to quit, there are many ways to help them.
There are many support groups and communities which help people quit smoking and tobacco intake. Professional health is also available in hospitals and clinics.
Alcohol consumption
It is a well-known fact that alcohol consumption is harmful to health. Alcohol is known to disrupt the functioning of the kidneys and liver, but it is also one of the major factors that can increase the risk of cancer.
Alcohol consumption can make a person more prone to mouth, throat, larynx, esophagus, liver, colon, rectum, and breast cancer. Usually, we consider a high amount of consumption of alcohol with cancer which is true of some types of cancer. But even a small amount of alcohol consumption can lead to cancer such as breast cancer.
Excess consumption of alcohol not only increases the risk of having cancer, but also increases the risk of having other lifestyle diseases such as hypertension, liver diseases, anxiety, and depression.
The risk of cancer from alcohol can be reduced by reducing the amount of alcohol intake. A person who is addicted to alcohol can take professional help and quit drinking.
Intaking processed food
In today’s running world, many of us don’t have time to prepare healthy food at home. Therefore, a lot of working people prefer consuming processed food items that are ready to eat. Processed food items include many things such as chips, bread, packed milk, juices, etc. These food items that have already been cooked, frozen, canned, cured, packaged, etc. to preserve them, are known as processed foods.
Most of the food items in our fridge and pantry are processed food. It may be difficult to avoid eating these items, but with daily habits and strong determination, these food items can get replaced with healthy fresh food.
Anyone can avoid intaking such items by making small changes in their daily life food choices. You can make a list of grocery items before going to the market and avoid purchasing processed food items or buy more fruits and vegetables to avoid eating processed food. You can make more time for cooking and try out new recipes to enjoy your meal.
These small changes can have a lot more positive effects on you than you can think of.
Limited physical activity
It is quite common for most people to say that they have desk jobs, and they don’t get time for exercise or gym. Limited physical activity can increase the risk of cancer. Sitting for hours can lead to obesity which is one of the major risk factors for cancer.
Not only cancer, but obesity can lead to many other lifestyle disorders such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc.
Exercising daily for at least 30 min can reduce this risk drastically. Normal exercises such as jogging, cardio, yoga, swimming, cycling or running, etc can help a person stay out of the risk zone of having cancer.
Unhealthy food
There are several unhealthy food items that an individual usually takes daily, which can lead to cancer. Food items such as sugary drinks, raw meat, undercooked seafood, processed cheese, flavored dairy products, etc. Are associated with increasing the risk of cancer.
Cold drinks and processed juices have higher sugar levels than fresh fruit juices. These sugary contents are associated with causing obesity which eventually leads to cancer. Therefore, these sugary drinks are risk factors for cancer.
Other food items like undercooked seafood or raw meat are associated with stomach cancer and intestine cancer. To avoid such diseases, one must quit eating these food items and switch to healthy food, such as protein, beans, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, etc.
Adding healthy food to the diet can improve your immune system and help your body fight against cancer cells at an early stage.
Cancer rounds are one such organization that helps people suffering from cancer get a consultation from India’s top doctors. We work with patients and doctors to build a bridge of reliability and provide the best treatment available to the patients. You can send us a query and our team will contact you.
