…Continued Leading a Healthy Lifestyle to Prevent Cancer (Part 1)
4. Move your body and get active! Being active can keep you healthy, and you are never too young or too old to stay active. Everyone should exercise. Keeping yourself active may lower your risk for certain types of cancer. So make time for exercise, throw away the excuses and get moving now! 30 minutes a day of exercise can make so much of a difference to your health, both physical and mental. 5. Stay protected from the sun Everyone loves the sun, but little may know that too much sun exposure can actually be detrimental to your health. The damaging effects of the sun are on the skin, and cumulative effects can lead to skin cancer. So how do we protect ourselves? Staying in the shade outdoors can minimize sun exposure. If there is a need to go out in the sun, slather on some sunblock! Wear a big hat, and also sunglasses to protect the sensitive skin around your eyes. Do not forget to also protect your skin with clothing at all times. Avoid suntanning as well because it is not as glamorous as it seems to be! 6. Get immunized: Against Hepatitis B, Human papillomavirus (HPV) Chronic hepatitis B can be the precursor of liver cancer. On the other hand human papilloma virus is associated with cervical cancer in women. Therefore vaccination against these organism may prevent specific cancer. 7. Get regular medical care to detect cancer early Cancers if found early carry a better outcome as they would not have grown and spread. Currently, several screening tests are available to the community and these tests increase the chances of detecting certain cancers early, when they are most likely to be curable. Some examples include mammography for breast cancer, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer, endoscopy for stomach cancer, imaging tests, cancer markers, and taking tissues to be studied under the microscope to detect any abnormalities e.g. in screening of cervical cancer. Please ask your doctor for further information and details regarding these screening tests. They will advise you accordingly.
Prepared by: Prof Dr Esha Das Gupta Helped by IMU student: LIOW YING JIE
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