Cancer Prevention: Lifestyle as the Definitive Means of Cancer Control.

Abstract

(from the chapter) International research using the techniques of geographic pathology has provided sound information on the causes of major chronic diseases, including coronary and vascular diseases and many types of diverse cancers. It turns out that most of these chronic diseases relate to personal lifestyle and habits anywhere in the world. In the United States, for instance, it can be calculated, based on the annual publications of the American Cancer Society, that currently about 36% of cancers in the lung, urinary bladder, kidneys, renal pelvis, and also pancreas occur mostly in tobacco users. Fortunately, tobacco use and cigarette smoking is decreasing more in men than in women, and so are the diseases caused by tobacco. Yet, more women in the United States die annually due to lung cancer, than due to the much-feared breast cancer. Individuals who also use alcohol and smoke have a high risk of cancer in the oral cavity and the esophagus. Extensive alcohol use alone, especially hard liquor, is a risk factor for cancer of the esophagus, and cancer of the rectum. A large proportion of the cancers that occur in Western populations are related to nutritional traditions. For example, cancer of the large bowel (distal colon and rectum), postmenopausal breast, prostate, ovary, and pancreas are associated with a traditional nutritional habits involving carcinogens in well-done meats, and also an intake of high fat, low fiber, and low vegetables and fruits. The underlying mechanisms will be discussed in this chapter. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)