Cancer risks and how to minimise them

Essay by zooplankton September 2004

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Smoking causes many types of cancers, such as lung cancer, cervical cancer and bladder cancer. Therefore to prevent yourself from getting cancer, you should not be smoking. You should also not smoke in front of other people their risk of cancer is increased by breathing in the harmful smoke. A person should also avoid exposure to chemicals, like asbestos, that can cause lung cancer. Lung cancer, which is almost wholly attributable to smoking, is the third most common cancer among women and the most common cancer suffered by men in the UK. Rates of lung cancer in women have risen in direct relation both to the number of cigarettes smoked each day and the number of women who smoke.

Drinking too much alcohol can cause stomach and other cancers. Some doctors even think that drinking is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, the most common women's cancer.

Women are advised to keep their consumption down to 14 units or less a week. Pregnant women are further advised to cut down to one or two units a week or stop drinking alcohol altogether as the alcohol may harm the baby. Men should also drink no more than 21 units of alcohol each week.

Eating two servings each of fruit and vegetable daily also help to prevent cancer as they have high antioxidant content. Regular exercise and healthy eating, such as eating food with good cholesterol and fat, boosts your immune system. A good immune system and good health also help in preventing cancer. However, people can get cancer even if he or she leads a healthy life style as cancer can emerge and develop due to genetic predisposition and virus.

Skin cancer can be prevented by putting on sunscreen when you go out into the sun for...