Cancer is preventable

Whenever I hear the word cancer oftentimes I feel some chills. Though I hear it and read about it many times it still sounds alien for some reasons. I know of some people who have died because of it. My former accountant and a very good friend of my sibling had a couple of chemo sessions but unfortunately was not able to survive.

I know of lung cancer, breast cancer, and then prostate, then that is it. I suppose I am also not that well-informed about cancer like most Filipinos. So I Google “cancer” and Wikipedia gave lots of basic and important information.

Cancer is 90-95% caused by environmental factors and 5-10% due to hereditary genetics. The first one has a staggering percentage so I decided to read further about it; and the second sounds too complicated. =)

These environmental factors include tobacco smoking (25-30%), poor diet that leads to obesity and other diseases (30-35%), infections (15-20%), radiation (10%), lack of regular exercise, pollution, and even stress.

Tobacco is one of the components of most manufactured cigarettes. So if you are smoking cigarettes you are smoking tobacco. We Filipinos love to eat. But I don’t know exactly which foods may cause cancer. I remember a tomato sauce brand claiming prevention of cancer if consumed regularly. Infections are due to bacteria, viruses, and other microscopic organisms. Radiation is another complex topic. I need to make more research on these causes.

So if I don’t smoke, if I eat nutritious foods, and do regular physical activities then there should be less chance for me to get cancer? It should. But of course this is easier said than done especially the eating part. Because of the numerous gatherings and events Filipinos love to celebrate we become careless. But most importantly, it’s what we do every day. It is what we consume every day. So the best time to start preventing cancer is now. And the best way is to always educate yourself and your loved ones.

I shall write more about cancer on the next coming posts. Please feel free to share your thoughts.