Not using tobacco products, eating in accordance with age, gender and past disease history, reaching ideal body weight, being protected from harmful sun rays, avoiding environmental and chemical carcinogens, and maintaining an active lifestyle significantly protect against cancer. Creating social awareness and taking precautions for cancer types caused by environmental and chemical compounds are of great importance for public health.
CAUSES OF CANCER
Cancer formation is not always seen as a result of biological risk factors (age, gender, race). These factors, limited to lifestyle changes and individual precautions, are not sufficient alone to prevent cancer formation. It is very important to control the conditions that impair the health of the whole society and are carcinogenic, such as air pollution, smoke exposure due to tobacco product use, or indoor smoke due to the use of solid fuels, with measures to be taken with social unity and integrity. The risk factors that should be known in order to prevent the formation of cancer due to these causes by minimizing the important risk factors in the formation of cancer, both individually and socially, can be briefly listed as follows;
- Alcohol use
- sexually transmitted HPV infection
- Hepatitis B (HBV) or other cancer-causing infections
- Ionizing and ultraviolet radiation
- Air pollution
- Use of tobacco products, especially cigarettes
- Being a passive smoker (exposure to tobacco smoke)
- Overweight or obesity
- Inadequate and unhealthy diet
- insufficient physical activity
- Indoor smoke due to the use of solid fuels
- Use of substances that can cause cancer in the work environment
- Annual screenings recommended for cancer diagnosis
DON’T FEAR CANCER, BE FEAR OF LATE
There are screening methods for the diagnosis of breast, large intestine, cervix, prostate and lung cancers, which are common in our country, without any symptoms. The slogan ‘Fear not of cancer, but of being late’ emphasizes an important reality. Early diagnosis in cancer saves lives, so it is vital to carry out the recommended screenings at the specified ages, especially for breast cancer, colon cancer and cervical cancer, which are common cancers.
In this way, it is possible to detect in the early period before some symptoms occur and before the cancer spreads in the body. Individuals with certain risk factors and over a certain age should be screened for early diagnosis and for the success of cancer treatment. It should not be forgotten that cancer is a preventable and early diagnosis disease with lifestyle changes and effective use of screening methods.
In order to obtain more successful results from cancer treatment, screening methods should be used effectively. For individuals with advanced cancer that has not been screened, treatment options are less and success rates may decrease. For example, thanks to mammography screening in women, breast cancer treatment can be provided only by surgery without the need for chemotherapy in the early period. Delay in the diagnostic process can change the course of the disease by causing the treatment process to start late and increase life-threatening risk factors.