Steps to prevent cancer

Considering the causes of cancer, it can be seen that this disease can be largely prevented by choosing a suitable lifestyle. In the following, we will review the measures that are effective in preventing cancer.

1- Avoid smoking

Smoking and even exposure to tobacco smoke increase the risk of various types of cancer, especially lung cancer. Avoiding smoking and deciding to quit has a significant effect on cancer prevention.

2- Follow a healthy diet

Although choosing a healthy diet can not guarantee that people do not develop cancer, it can reduce the risk of developing the disease. Considering the following, a healthy diet can easily replace harmful foods:

• Consider a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables and use plant-based foods such as whole grains and beans in your meals as much as possible.
• Avoid consuming too many calories. Avoid overweight and obesity by choosing low-calorie foods and avoiding sugar and fat.
•  Avoid alcohol. As mentioned, continuous and excessive alcohol consumption is one of the main causes of cancer, and by avoiding it; malignant cancerous glands in the body can be prevented.
• Limit red and processed meats such as sausages. According to the World Health Organization, the continued consumption of processed meat is directly related to the incidence of cancer, and replacing it with plant proteins can reduce the risk of cancer.

3- Do not forget to exercise

Proper body weight can reduce the risk of various types of cancer, including breast, prostate, lung, colon, and kidney cancers. By having mobility and physical activity, in addition to maintaining vitality, it is possible to control body weight and prevent cancer. For this reason, it is recommended that people exercise for an average of 30 minutes a day.

4- Do not underestimate the sunburn

Skin cancer is one of the most common and preventable types of cancer. It is important to pay attention to the following points in preventing skin cancer:

• Avoid exposure to strong sunlight, especially between 10 am and 4 pm when the amount of sunlight is more intense.
• Wear sunglasses and a hat. These devices protect the skin from intense sunlight.
• Using sunscreen, even on cloudy days, is especially important and reduces the risk of cancer by reducing the amount of sunburn.
• Avoid solariums. One of the long-term side effects of solarium salons is skin cancer. Therefore, in order to maintain health and prevent cancer, it is recommended to avoid tanning with solar devices.

5- Do not forget the annual checkup tests.

Cancer is easier to treat in its early stages. Therefore, with regular and periodic tests, if a person has cancer, it can be treated quickly and before the disease reaches its more advanced stages, and the subsequent risks can be prevented.

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How to treat cancer?

As mentioned before, if cancer is diagnosed early, it can be prevented from progressing and treated more easily. The following are the most common treatments for cancer:

Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy is one of the most well-known methods of cancer treatment. This method uses chemical components as drugs that kill the cancer cells (target the cancerous cells) and help shrink the tumors. However, the side effects of these drugs can be severe.

Hormone therapy: This method involves the use of drugs that change the way some hormones work in the body or interfere with their secretion by the body. This method will be effective in treating cancers such as prostate and breast cancer.

Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy has played an important role in the treatment of cancer in recent decades. This method uses drugs and other therapies to strengthen the immune system and encourage it to fight cancer cells.

Personalized Medicine: This method of treatment is based on a person’s genetics. This means that the drugs considered in this method are specific to each patient.

Radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is one of the most common methods used in the treatment of cancer. In this method, gamma, X, and Gama rays are used to kill cancer cells. This method may be used alone or in combination with the other treatments mentioned.

Stem cell transplantation: Using radiation therapy and chemotherapy are destroying some normal cells in the body (including white and red blood cells). The use of stem cell transplantation can be useful in the recovery of these cells and the treatment of cancer, especially leukemia.

Surgery: Performing surgery when a person has a cancerous tumor, can prevent the spread of the disease and be effective in treating it.

Targeted Drug Therapy: Drugs used in targeted therapy have a similar function to drugs used in chemotherapy with the only difference that these drugs only target cells that have abnormal growth and proliferation. In this method, unlike chemotherapy, the normal cells do not damage.

An overview of what has been said shows that cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. However, by choosing a proper lifestyle, most of the deaths associated with this disease can be prevented. By presenting this article and emphasizing the ways to prevent cancer, we hope to play our part in reducing the growing trend of this disease and reduce the heavy burden that this disease brings to individuals, their families, and even communities.