Health

Reduce Your Risk of Cancer

By making some small changes to your lifestyle, you could reduce your risk of developing cancer by more than a third. Judy Hobson reports

While there's little you can do about your genetic make-up, and no way of halting the ageing process – the main cause of cancer – you can give yourself the best chance of keeping the disease at bay simply by being more physically active, watching your weight and quitting smoking.

Since the Nineties, the number of people diagnosed with cancer in the UK has increased by 12 per cent, largely due to the fact that we are living longer. The biggest risk factor for developing cancer is our age. After the mid-thirties our cell system starts to break down. If there’s too much damage, cells start to get out of control, divide and create more cells that can eventually form a tumour.

There are now 352,000 cases of cancer a year in the UK – 179,000 men and 173,000 women. However, the charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK) says 42 per cent of these could be prevented if we changed our lifestyle. Indeed, leading cancer expert Professor Karol Sikora, 54 formerly chief of the World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer programme and now chief medical officer of Proton Partners International, believes that if we did this, as many as 50 per cent could be avoided. So what can you do to reduce your risk?

To continue reading and find out what you can do to reduce your risk of cancer, click here

What do you think to these tips? Do you have anything else to share?

Let us know what you think and share your experiences with us and others. Just follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and YouTube

Other stories in Health

Seniors can learn piano without pain
Hear today...
Stay safe in the sun
Relaxation Tape and Daily Yoga Video
Do you need a private GP
Can private health insurance buy peace of mind?
Prepare for care
Can a carer ever become part of the family?
The mind body connection
Public underestimating summer heat risks
Tango and Yoga... on prescription
Over-65s face ‘hidden’ scourge of malnutrition
Finding Fibre
Hip op hope for cancer patients
Health News: May
Spreading the Massage Messsage
Tackling extremes of pain
Stay active to stop 'senior moments'
B12: The overlooked vitamin
When silence is not golden
How Stressed are you?
Hi-tech revolution for retirement
Maximum energy, minimum effort
Vitamins: Gummies fill the gap
How to keep your prostate healthy
Facing up to phobias
When you've got to go...
Tracking the hidden cancer
Men, women and drugs
The secret killer in your home?
Keeping dementia at bay
Flexible, Friendly, Fitness with FLexercise
Colour me happy
Keeping fit indoors
Living with tinnitus
Put eye health in the driving seat
Opening up hospice care
How will our care homes look in the future?
Easing Migraine Misery
Sweet dreams are made of this
The Hidden Signs of Alcoholism
It's all in the timing
Just Do It
The Age of Anxiety
Online health: Click or Curse?
Nuts reduce risk of killer diseases
It’s never too late for sport
Tooth Discolouration Why It Happens and What You Can Do About It
Easing Leg Cramp Agony
The 10 best health apps
Ear Implant can Change Lives
Easing Pain for IBS sufferers
Staying Moblie
Foods After 50
Look after your legs
Eating for a healthy heart
Here's to better hearing
How to avoid diabetes