How to prevent cancer and how to live after cancer

According to the statistics of the World Health Organization (WHO), at present, nearly one-eighth of the dead in the world die of cancer, and the number of deaths caused by AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria is even higher. So why do so many people die of cancer? The following is a detailed explanation for everyone.

Risk factors of cancer

Cancer is caused by a series of gene mutations and epigenetic effects, which makes the mechanism of controlling cell division and proliferation abnormal. In addition to uncontrolled division, cancer cells will locally invade the surrounding normal tissues and even transfer to other organs through the circulatory system or lymphatic system. Cancer patients have about a 50% chance of dying not from cancer, but from other causes. In life, the secrets of "how to prevent cancer" and "how to survive after cancer" are exactly the same, that is, don't smoke, exercise regularly, control your weight, eat healthily, stay away from toxins, drink less and reduce the psychological stress load.

Genetic factors only account for 5- 10% of the causes of cancer, and environment and habits are still the main causes, accounting for 90-95% of the total causes. According to the experimental results and epidemiology, the risk factors of cancer are:

Tobacco: Studies in recent ten years have proved that tobacco is related to lung cancer, pharyngeal cancer, gastric cancer, bladder cancer, renal cancer, esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer, because tobacco contains at least 50 known carcinogens.

Drinking alcohol: increases the risk of oral cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer and other cancers.

Diet: Lack of vegetables, fruits and whole grains, eating more red meat and processed products, using the wrong petroleum products, high-sugar diet and frequent use of salt products will increase the risk and mortality of many cancers.

Obesity: It is related to colon cancer, breast cancer and endometrial cancer.

Viral, bacterial and parasitic infections: 2 1% of cancers are caused by infection. For example, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection can lead to cervical cancer; Hepatitis B virus infection can lead to liver cancer; Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection can cause gastric cancer.

Ultraviolet rays, radioactive elements and some electromagnetic waves can cause gene mutation.

Hormones: related to breast cancer, endometrial cancer and prostate cancer.

Stress: Stress will reduce immunity, indirectly cause inflammatory reaction and oxidative damage, which will lead to the occurrence of many chronic diseases and cancers and accelerate the deterioration of most diseases.

Lack of exercise: related to colon cancer, breast cancer or other cancers. Lack of exercise leads to obesity, which increases cancer mortality. It also leads to decreased immunity and hormone imbalance, which indirectly increases cancer mortality.

Environmental pollutants: such as heavy metals, pesticides, asbestos, suspended particles, environmental hormones, etc.

Excessive medical treatment or diagnosis: such as infection during operation and treatment, extensive use of radioactive examination methods (such as mammography), psychological pressure caused by medical treatment or diagnosis.

Prevention of cancer

There is an article on the website that says "experts say that 40% of cancers can be prevented". Cary Adams, CEO of the World Alliance Against Cancer, was quoted as saying that 40% of cancers could be prevented if ordinary people could get vaccinated, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption, avoid excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays, eat properly, control their weight and exercise more.

Cancer prevention includes:

1. Regular physical examination: such as cervical smear, fecal occult blood examination, breast self-examination, ultrasound examination, X-ray examination of high-risk population, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, etc.

2. Safe sex: Genital human papillomavirus infection is a sexually transmitted disease, which is caused by human papillomavirus and can cause cancers such as cervical cancer, vagina, vulva and penis. Safe sex means being loyal to your partner and being single. In addition, correct and consistent use of condoms can also reduce the chance of infection.

3. Diet: Insufficient intake of vegetables and fruits is related to the occurrence of gastric cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer and colorectal cancer; Excessive animal fat intake is related to lung cancer, breast cancer and colorectal cancer; Obesity-related cancers include colorectal cancer, renal cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer and endometrial cancer. In addition, the article of 200 1 shows that women who ate a healthy diet before the diagnosis of ovarian cancer can live longer after the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Pay attention to the content of diet:

Eating a variety of vegetables, beans, whole grains and fruits without pesticide residues in different planting areas can not only absorb all kinds of nutrients in a balanced way, but also avoid the lack of some trace elements in a certain plot. The vegetables with the best anticancer effect are cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, kale and cauliflower. Besides, tomatoes, green peppers, white radishes, carrots, ginger and drinking more tea are also good for your health.

Selection of oil products: use less animal saturated fat, ban trans fat, supplement oil products containing omega-3, such as fish oil, virgin olive oil, rice bran oil and coconut oil, add a little oil, and stir-fry with clear water until cooked.

Eat less sugar: In 2004, the National Cancer Institute pointed out that a high-sugar diet is highly correlated with the risk of colorectal cancer.

Eat less salt products: Research in 2009 pointed out that eating more salt products will increase the incidence of gastric cancer and colorectal cancer.

4. Stay away from electromagnetic waves and radiation: Studies have shown that children exposed to electromagnetic fields are prone to leukemia, lymphoma and nervous system cancer. In addition, high-frequency use of X-ray examination, mammography and other forms of ionizing radiation will also increase the risk of cancer.

5. Use less oral contraceptives or hormone replacement therapy: It is reported that oral contraceptives will increase women's risk of breast cancer and liver cancer, and also increase women's risk of heart disease, stroke and thrombosis. Estrogen drugs used to control menopausal symptoms will increase the development of endometrial cancer or breast cancer, but this conclusion is still controversial.

6. Maintain a proper weight: Obesity is one of the risk factors for endometrial cancer and postmenopausal breast cancer, and obesity is closely related to kidney cancer, colon cancer and rectal cancer.

7. Exercise more: it can improve immunity, prevent obesity, keep happy and reduce the concentration of estrogen and insulin growth factor (IGF); High IGF concentration is associated with breast cancer, colorectal cancer and rectal cancer.

8. Reduce exposure to environmental toxins, including heavy metals, such as amalgam, antiperspirant, treated wood, crops and seafood in highly polluted areas, etc. ; Polychlorinated biphenyl; Asbestos used in building materials; Foods containing dioxins; Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contained in cosmetics, dry cleaning clothes, air fresheners, paints, building materials adhesives, deodorants, insect repellents and incense worship; Pesticide residues in vegetables, fruits, beans and cereals; Meat contains clenbuterol.

9. Get enough sleep in the dark: Adequate and regular sleep contributes to the normal operation of the endocrine system. Recent research shows that sleeping in the dark is more helpful to the endocrine system and can inhibit the development of cancer.

10. Do not smoke, drink or use recreational drugs: According to the statistics of Harvard Cancer Prevention Center, about 30% of cancer deaths in the United States can be attributed to the use of tobacco, and the harm of second-hand smoke and third-hand smoke to health is also amazing. Alcoholism is closely related to liver cancer, and alcohol can also cause various cancers in the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, the use of recreational drugs such as marijuana and cocaine has been proved to increase the risk of lung cancer.

1 1. Maintain emotional balance and reduce stress: This may be the most important point. The harm of stress to physical and mental health is quite amazing. Understand the source of stress, learn to ease the mood, face the pressure easily, always keep a cheerful mood, often tell jokes and have a sense of humor. Yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, massage and deep breathing techniques can relieve some stress; Gratitude, positive psychology and cognitive behavioral therapy can make you look at stress with positive beliefs; Meditation and mindfulness practice can go straight to the core, understand that there are joys and sorrows in life, adopt a non-judgmental and non-critical attitude towards your inner experience, accept yourself, and then face difficulties.

Know little about cancer

After suffering from cancer, there is probably a 50% chance that you will not die of cancer.

20 12 American cancer society American cancer researchers presented Dr. Yi Ning's paper from Virginia University of Common Wealth. Dr. Yi Ning and his research team obtained the data of 1, 988- 1, 994 and 1 from 1999 to 2004 respectively, and followed up the causes of their future deaths for an average of seven years.

The results show that:

At present, there are120,000 cancer patients in the United States, and this number has increased from 3 million in 197 1 to 9.8 million in 200 1.

Two thirds of these survivors have survived for more than five years.

During the follow-up period, 776 patients died, of which 5 1% died of cancer and 49% died of other causes.

Among the medical records that died of other causes, three-thirds of two dead died of cardiovascular diseases, 65,438+05% died of chronic lung diseases, and 4% died of Alzheimer's disease or diabetes.

Only 33% people will die of non-cancer causes after being diagnosed with cancer, but 63% people will die of non-cancer causes after 20 years of diagnosis.

The older you get, the higher the chance of dying from non-cancer diseases.

The results show that when a person suffers from cancer, there is about a 50% chance that he will not die of cancer, which means that if cancer patients continue to pay attention to the maintenance of overall health, it will not only help to overcome cancer, but also not die of other reasons. Interestingly, how to live to avoid dying from other causes (such as cardiovascular disease) is actually almost the same as how to avoid cancer or how to survive in cancer. The most important thing for a healthy life is not to smoke, exercise regularly, control weight, eat healthily, stay away from toxins, drink less, and reduce psychological stress load.

Prevention methods of cancer

Primary prevention is to eliminate or reduce the factors that may cause cancer and prevent the occurrence of cancer. About 80% of cancers are related to the environment and living habits. It is more important to improve living habits, such as quitting smoking and paying attention to environmental protection. In recent years, both immune prevention and chemoprevention belong to primary prevention, such as large-scale vaccination of hepatitis B vaccine and chemoprevention of colorectal adenoma by selective cyclooxygenase -2(COX-2) inhibitor.

Secondary prevention refers to how to find and treat cancer at an early stage once it occurs. Regular examination of high-risk areas and high-risk groups can not only find precancerous lesions and treat them in time, but also find early malignant tumors for treatment as much as possible, which can achieve better treatment results.

Tertiary prevention is rehabilitation after treatment, which can improve the quality of life, relieve pain and prolong life. Including all kinds of palliative care and symptomatic treatment. For the treatment of cancer pain, the World Health Organization put forward a three-level analgesic scheme, the basic principle is to transition from non-morphine drugs to morphine drugs; Start with a small dose and gradually increase the dose according to the analgesic effect; Mainly oral, rectal administration when ineffective, and finally injection administration; Give the medicine regularly.