Awareness about cancer is the first step which, combined with deliberate actions (via proper diet, exercise, lifestyle and screening tests) can help achieve cancer prevention.
Awareness about cancer is understanding how what you are born with (gender and genetics) interacts with your age, and what you live with (pre-existing illnesses, habits and environment), and together contribute to increasing the risk of several cancers.
Diet
Overall, low-fat, high-fiber diet is shown to decrease cancer risk. Following a primarily plant-based diet will get you a lot of phytochemicals and antioxidants. The large amount of fiber in plants also promotes good gut health. A healthy diet must be based on lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and grains.
Exercise
Scientists say obesity will soon be the number one preventable cause of cancer. Regular exercise helps reduce your chances for cancer by helping you lose fat and maintain a healthy weight. The key steps to get there are being physically active for at least 30 minutes each day, and maintaining a healthy weight, which is a BMI of 18-24 for Indians.
Lifestyle Modification
Modifying lifestyle to eliminate the factors that are known to increase cancer risk are shown to significantly reduce the cancer incidence. Such risk reduction approaches include staying away from tobacco, excessive alcohol use, practicing safe sex, minimising exposure to ionizing radiations, etc.
PRACHI Hope Foundation is developing targeted efforts to encourage proper cancer-preventive diet, exercise and lifestyle modifications through establishment of Cancer Prevention Centers for general public. Please contact PRACHI for further information and participation.