Fighting Cancer :Together we Can,Together we Will
30-05-2017 | Posted By: Mona Singh | 3752 View(s)
Cancer is one word which is dreaded by one and all. The very fact that it is perceived to be a life-threating disease is not true to some extent as it is very much possible to recover from it if it is diagnosed at the right time and at the right stage. The most important thing is to be aware of the possible symptoms of this disease and going in for regular health checkups and be alert to any abnormal developments in the body.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a serious health condition which is characterised by out-of-control cell growth. There are around 200 different types of cancer. Cancer is considered to be one of the leading causes of deaths all around the world. The most common types of cancer among men are prostate, lung, colour, rectum, stomach and liver. On the other hand, the most common types of cancer among women are colon, breast, rectum, lung and stomach. Doctors believe that different factors can reduce cancer risk. If you get Cancer, you might feel depressed and demotivated. Cancer is a disease which affects the lifestyle of a person and might make them vulnerable. Thus, you should take care of your health and follow some expert tips to reduce your cancer risk and keep Cancer at bay.
There are various reasons for the increase in the incidence of cancer these days and it can be attributed to a number of reasons which we will discuss in detail. Before we move on how we can reduce our cancer Risk-Here are some facts.
Facts you should be aware of:
-Around 15 Lac New Cancer Cases are reported every year
-More than 70% of the cases are in the Advanced Stages
-It is estimated that one in five men and one is six women have high chances of having cancer over their lifetime.
-It is the second leading cause of deaths worldwide
-The common notions are that Cancer means -No Survival. Not always true-People can have a normal Life after overcoming Cancer.
-Cancer is curable if detected and treated early.
-The chances of Relapse even after becoming cancer-free is always there especially during the first five years of Treatment but anything is possible so always hope for the best and be prepared for the worst.
According to GLOBOCAN 2018, Data-Common Cancers affecting Men are Cancers of Mouth, Lung and Stomach while in Women they are Cancer of Breast and Cervix
All said and done the good news is that a vast majority of cases it can be prevented especially those related to consumption of tobacco and alcohol. Vaccination against viral infections can also help to a great extent in controlling and reducing the chances of Liver and Cervical Cancers.
Factors Affecting the increase of incidence of Cancer these days
-Lifestyle
-Decreased physical Activities
-Consumption of Tobacco and alcohol
-Delay in Marriage and Childbirth
-Less Child Bearing
-Dietary Practices like excessive consumption of Red meat, spices, chillies etc
-Consumption of Impure and contaminated Food
-It can also be Genetic. However, its percentage is less than 5%
Seek Immediate Medical Advice if
-One has a change in bowel or bladder habit
-A sore which does not heal
-Unusual bleeding
-A lump in the breast or other parts of the body
-Difficulty in Swallowing
-Change in Moles
-A Nagging Cough
-Hoarseness of Voice
Should you experience any of the above do not delay at all and consult a doctor immediately.
Expert Tips to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
1. Say ‘No’ to Smoking
Lung Cancer is one of the most common types of cancer and causes a lot of death every year. Majorly, lung cancer is caused due to smoking. That is the reason that Doctors tell you that the major anti-cancer step that you can take is to quit smoking, or better never start it. According to a study, smokers who succeeded in reducing their number of cigarettes from 20 to 10 per day were able to reduce their lung cancer risk by 27%. Also, it is not just lung cancer; smoking has also been linked to more than a dozen other cancers.
Do not think that if you are a non-smoker, it cannot harm you as more than 3000 cases of lung cancer occur as a result of exposures to passive smoking or the Second-hand smoke every year. Thus, if you see anyone smoking near you, kindly asks them to not smoke in public areas. Or if it is someone close, help them to quit smoking.
2. Drop that Glass of Drink
Alcohol is harmful to health, and we all know that. But many people are not able to resist that glass of wine when they are in a party or celebrating something. However, you must know that alcohol consumption increases the chances of getting cancer, particularly those of the throat, mouth and oesophagus. Thus, you must quit drinking now to prevent yourself from getting cancer.
3. Choose and Create a Healthy Food Plate
You must eat healthily to keep diseases and illnesses at bay. Include vegetables, fruits and other foods from plant sources- such as beans and whole grains in your diet. Choose foods which are low in calories. Also, many different foods may help you to prevent certain types of cancer such as tomatoes, watermelon and other foods which contain lycopene. So, eat healthily to reduce the risk of getting cancer.
–Limit the Intake of Processed meats.
According to a report of The International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer agency of the WHO-It was found that eating large amounts of processed meat can slightly increase the risk of certain types of cancer.
–Avoid Having Too Much Sugar
Sugar aids in increasing calories and triggers obesity. It can also lead to some types of cancers. Having Less sugar can help avoid Diabetes and a lot of other diseases as well
–Have Garlic
Garlic helps to stimulate the immune system and can be helpful in fighting cancer.
–Become a Coffee Lover
Coffee contains caffeine which helps in stimulating the metabolism of the body which in turn makes the body healthier and fit.
–Refrain from Fried Food
Fried and Foods Roasted at high Temperature along with Baked Foods can possess potential cancer-causing compounds. This happens because of the chemical changes which occur in the food. Prolonged exposure to this compound can cause many types of cancer. Besides Fried foods can lead to
obesity and diabetes
-Always drink Unadulterated Water
Drinking pure water can help reduce exposure to several carcinogens and chemicals. Always drink water from reliable sources stored in clean containers preferably steel and avoid storing water in plastic containers.
–Green Tea
The Green Tea has healing powers and contains EGCG which is chemically known to be an anti-cancer compound.EGCG and antioxidants in green tea stop cancer cells from growing killing cancer cells and preventing the formation of new blood vessels in tumours.
-Marinate Meat
Non Vegetarians are believed to be at a higher risk of contracting Cancer-Marinating meat is an option to prevent it. Processed Meat may contain cancer-causing heterocyclic amines which form when meat is heated at high temperature and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which are formed on meat when it is cooked with the help of charcoal. One should marinate meat for at least an hour before cooking the food to stay Healthy
-Eat Broccoli
Broccoli is a superfood which can help avoid cancer. Having Steamed Broccoli on a regular basis instead of Boiled as the vegetable loses a lot of its nutrients while boiling. Broccoli in its raw form contains B-Vitamins and has a low content of fat, Carbohydrates and Fibre.
4. Say ‘Goodbye’ to Stress
Stress is one of the major causes of almost all health conditions. People always wonder if stress can raise your cancer risk. Although there is no full-proof evidence that stress is an independent risk factor for cancer, however, stress pushes people to adopt unhealthy ways to cope with stress such as overeating, drinking, smoking or taking self-medication which can raise your risk of getting cancer.
5. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Most of the people do not know this fact that being overweight can also increase their risk of getting cancer. If you maintain a healthy weight, it might lower your risk of various types of cancer, especially breast cancer, prostate, lung cancer, colon cancer and kidney cancer. According to a study, food, nutrition and physical activities affect cancer and cancer prevention.
6. Do Exercise Regularly
According to studies conducted, all forms of physical activities help in preventing many types of cancer. Researchers have shown that if you do just 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily, you can reduce your risk of various common types of cancer.
Doctors say that it does not matter much what kind of exercise you do- you just do it. Thus, make it a daily routine of working out. If not much, you must take out at least half an hour daily for exercise so that you can remain fit and healthy and also prevent cancer. You can consider exercising as one of the biggest Tips to Reduce Your Cancer Risk
Follow an Active Lifestyle. Make exercises a part of your lifestyle. Try to walk around at frequent intervals even at the workplace instead of sitting on the desk for prolonged hours.
7. Avoid Obesity.
Avoid being obese at all cost. Eat lighter and leaner by choosing fewer high-calorie foods.
8. Get Vaccinated
Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about vaccination against Hepatitis B and HPV. Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer whereas
HPV can lead to genital cancers and cervical as well as squamous cell cancers of the head and neck.
9. Keep Yourself Protected from the Sun
Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and is also one of the most preventable. To prevent yourself from the sun, follow the below tips:
• Stay out of the sun when the sun’s rays are the strongest between 11am-3pm during Summers
•Try being in the shade when outdoors as much as possible and wear Sunglasses to minimise the effect of sun rays on your eyes
• Use must always use sunscreen lotion before going out in the sun.
• Always keep your exposed areas covered and wear loose-fitting Bright or Dark Coloured cotton clothes
• Wear loose-fitted clothes that cover as much skin as possible.
10. Tips to Reduce Your Cancer Risk: Get Regular Health Care Checkup done
One of the best ways to keep cancer at bay is getting a regular health checkup. You must go for checkups and screen for various types of cancers- such as cancer of the colon, skin, cervix and breast. This way, cancer can be discovered early and then treatment is most likely to be successful.
There are many people who are apprehensive of not visiting Doctors or seeking medical help because of several reasons be it monetary or psychological but what they fail to understand is that by not doing so they are not only putting their lives at stake but could also end up affecting the lives of those around them so do not delay-Never ever and seek help-The earlier the better.
Cancer is a life-long severe health condition, and therefore, you must follow the above-mentioned Tips to Reduce Your Cancer Risk. Go for regular health checkups and keep illnesses and diseases at bay. Always remember that Prevention is Better than Cure.
Cancer Treatment
The Treatment of Cancer has made rapid strides over the years though we are yet to conquer the disease. There are better ways to handle the treatment than before aided by advancement in Science and Technology.
-Advances in Cancer Surgery has become less mutilating as there is an emphasis on cosmetic and functional outcomes and reconstruction. Chest and Abdominal Surgeries are now performed by minimally invasive surgery and Robotic Surgery
Best Oncologist in Delhi- Get the List of Top Cancer Specialists
-The concept of Multidisciplinary Teams and Tumour Board Discussion ensure the best clinical outcomes for patients
-The Use of Precision based Radiation Therapy Techniques like IMRT, IGRT
etc allows better treatment results with minimum side effects.
-Immunotherapy and targeted therapy offer better disease outcomes with few side effects
-Latest Histopathological Techniques such as immunohistochemistry, liquid biopsy and next-generation sequencing are available for the treatment of cancer.
-Availability of tools such PET-CT makes the job of specialists much easier
Best Hospitals to get treated as per The Times of India Hospital Survey
Indian Celebrities who had a Brush with Cancer
Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala was diagnosed with ovarian cancer won a tough battle and is now coming out with her memoir, Healed-How cancer gave me a New Life. She got treated in the United States and has now been cancer free of Six Years.
Yuvraj Singh
We all know Yujraj Singh as a Cricketer renowned for his fitness levels. He was diagnosed with Lung Cancer immediately after the Cricket World cup in 2011. Yuvraj made a comeback to Cricket after only six months of his treatment in the United States in March 2012. His strong self-belief and the sheer will to play for India again made him prove others wrong
Irrfan Khan
The news that Irrfan Khan had high -grade neuroendocrine cancer came as a shock when he announced it last year in London. He continues to battle it out with all his might.
Rakesh Roshan
One of the Bollywood Celebs was diagnosed with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the Throat and underwent surgery on January 8 this year. He is fighting the battle with all his might.
Anurag Basu
Way back in 2004, Anurag Basu suffered from Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia-A type of Blood Cancer and doctors gave him just two months to live but he fought and fought hard to live till date.
Sonali Bendre
Sonali Bendre was found to be suffering from metastatic cancer. She took it to Twitter to express the state she is in. “Sometimes when you least expect it, life throws you a curveball. I have recently been diagnosed with high-grade cancer that has metastasized, which we frankly did not see coming” Sonali Bendre tweeted. As soon as the tweet about her went viral, everyone started praying for her speedy recovery, and best wishes started pouring in for Sonali Bendre. She underwent treatment in New York. and says that she was really glad to be visited by so many friends and family members including her industry counterparts like Vivek Oberoi, Farah Khan, Sonam Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, and others.
Nafisa Ali
In November Last Year, Veteran actor Nafisa Ali announced that she was suffering from Peritoneal and Ovarian Cancers. Her family is a constant source of Motivation and her children are her reasons to get better.
Tahira Kashyap
Tahira Kashyap wife of Bollywood Actor Ayushman Khurana was found to have Breast Cancer. She was detected with DCIS(Ductal carcinoma in situ) with high-grade malignant cells last year and has been fighting the disease. She says that it has taught her to be mentally strong and live with it.
Lisa Ray
In the year 2009-She was diagnosed with Multiple myelomas, cancer that affects plasma cells in the blood. She underwent treatment and was declared cancer-free in 2010 but still lives the disease since multiple myeloma is incurable. She considers staying active and working as a responsibility of being a cancer survivor. She does not mind her looks post-cancer treatment and feels more confident and less conscious besides feeling much healthier than before and in much better shape.
As per Dr Shruti Singh, a practising oncologist -Whoever you are, you have the power to reduce the impact of cancer for yourself and for people around you. Do not be fearful. Be Hopeful, be aware and win the war against cancer is what she has to say to those who have had a brush with Cancer.
