Cancer is a serious illness that can affect various parts of the body.
Research suggests that around one in two people will develop some form of cancer in their lifetime, with cancer of the breast, bowel, lungs and prostate among the most common.
Treatment for cancer is usually complex, and involves multiple therapies, some of which come with significant side effects, such as sickness, extreme fatigue and hair loss.
Although survival rates for cancer are always improving, the disease remains one of the most common causes of death in the UK.
Experts state that while detecting cancer early is often the best way to ensure a positive outcome, overall prevention should be a person’s top priority.
Living a healthy lifestyle can help reduce the risk of cancer. Find out how in our tips below.
Lifestyle choices to help prevent cancer
More than a quarter of all cancers are linked to smoking, with tobacco use widely considered a major contributory factor to lung, mouth, throat, voice box, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney cancers.
Visit the NHS Better Health website to find out how to get quitting support.
Aim to eat a diet that is high in fruits and vegetables, and low in foods that contain a lot of sugar and saturated fat. Although diet alone cannot prevent cancer, foods that are rich in minerals, vitamins and antioxidants can promote overall health and wellbeing.
Visit the NHS Eat Well website to find out how a balanced diet should look.
Drinking large quantities of alcohol on a regular basis has been found to be a leading cause of liver cancer. Guidelines advise that you should drink no more than 14 units of alcohol in a single week. A single unit of alcohol is roughly equivalent to half a pint of beer or lager.
Visit the NHS Better Health website for practical tips on how to drink less.
Studies have shown that around 30 minutes of daily physical activity, such as walking, jogging and cycling, can reduce the risk of cancer. Being active also helps to maintain a healthy weight, which in turn helps to prevent many types of cancer, including breast, colon and kidney cancer.
Visit the NHS Better Health website for lots of useful free tools to help you get active.
Over exposure to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays is the leading cause of skin cancer. During the summer months you should avoid spending prolonged periods in direct sunlight, and always wear sun cream and cover exposed skin when outside.
Visit the NHS UK website to find out how to keep yourself and your family sun safe.
The NHS proactively invites certain people to come forward for cancer screenings and preventative cancer vaccinations. It is important that when you receive such an invitation, you take up the offer. Many cancers, including bowel cancer, are much more treatable when detected early.
Visit the NHS UK website to find out more about the national cancer screening programmes.
Useful links
Information on cancer, including signs and symptoms, as well as what to do to prevent cancer, can be found by following the links below:
