6 Ways You Can Better Your Chances of Preventing Cancer 

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Everyone wishes to live a long and healthy life—a life wherein you get to make the most out of every single second, a life where you create new memories and traditions. But as life goes on, people get sick, and one of life’s greatest threats is cancer.  

Cancer is a disease that is a result of abnormal development of cells in the body. With cancer, the body’s old cell doesn’t die but instead grows abnormally and generates new and irregular cells that can destroy other cells, making the body weaker.  

Unfortunately, cancer is a reality that everyone fears of having. With that, you should be practicing various ways to mitigate your chances of having cancer, as listed below:  

  • Early Detection  

One of the best ways to prevent your body from developing cancer is through early detection. You can consult with your physician to organize screening through services like ezra.com, and you can start from there. 

With early detection, you can prepare for what’s yet to come. If your body has developed early signs of cancer, the scan will display which type of cancer you’re most likely to develop. With the help of early detection, there’ll be higher chances of treating and beating your cancer, allowing you to live a longer and healthier life, or to pre-empt it entirely by removing precancerous growths. 

  • Avoid Smoking  

Doctors cannot stress enough how much you need to avoid smoking, no matter how stressed and old you are. Smoking can cause various diseases and might be a cause of lung cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking causes 9 out of 10 lung cancer deaths. If you’d like to live a longer life, you should quit smoking immediately.  

If you’re having difficulty with trying to quit smoking, there are a lot of support groups that you could join or seek professional help from a therapist that focuses on smoking cessation. 

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  • Eat Healthily 

If you’d like to stay healthy, you should eat healthy meals. As people say, you are what you eat. If you’d like to live a healthy life, you should begin to cut out eating unhealthy foods, snacks, and drinks and start eating a balanced diet.  

When eating healthy, you should maximize your consumption of fruits and vegetables and never miss a single meal without them. Additionally, you should also choose to reduce your consumption of foods high in calories and focus on foods that provide plenty of the right nutrients. On top of this, it’ll be beneficial to avoid eating processed foods as they contain numerous preservatives that help store them for more extended periods.  

If you wish to consume alcohol, try to keep it in moderate amounts and intervals. It’s still best to avoid drinking alcohol for a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, you should also avoid drinking carbonated sodas or beverages high in sugar and choose to drink water instead.  

  • Exercise Regularly 

Along with eating healthy meals, it’ll be best if you get to pair it with regular exercise to keep your body moving and your muscles healthy. When it comes to exercising regularly, it doesn’t mean that you need to hit the gym and do high-intensity workouts. You can easily exercise at home using cardio workouts and spend at least 30–40 minutes of exercise four times a week. 

  • Protect Your Skin from the Sun 

While getting regular sun can help improve your mood, you should also be careful as unfiltered sunlight can result in your developing skin cancer.  

To prevent developing skin cancer, you should try to apply proper skin protection and safety by:

  • Use Sunscreen—If you plan on going outside, regardless of the weather, you should apply sunscreen to any exposed parts of your body or parts of your body that you plan on revealing. Ideally, you should use a sunscreen with a broad spectrum, which includes UVA and UVB protection, with a minimum SPF of 30. If you plan on swimming, opt for water-resistant sunscreen and be sure to reapply regularly.
  • Avoid Midday Sun—As much as possible, try to stay out of the sun from 10 AM to 4 PM as those times are when the sun hits the strongest, which can burn your skin.  
  • Stay in the Shade—You can also try to stay in the shade by using an umbrella or parasol to cover your body from the sun. It would also be helpful if you protect yourself with full length clothing such as wearing long sleeves, pants, boots, and a hat.  
  • Avoid Tanning Beds—There have been numerous health concerns regarding the use of tanning beds. Doctors have stated that even a single session of using a tanning bed could cause lots of harm to your skin. If you’d like to get a good tan, you can do it naturally using sunscreen, or by applying tanning sprays and lotions.  

By practicing proper skin protection, you can decrease your chances of developing skin cancer over time. Just remember never to skip on wearing sunscreen, even if it’s a cloudy day.  

  • Practice Cleanliness 

You could develop cancer if you don’t practice proper hygiene, and this doesn’t mean that you need to wash your hands and clean your belongings (though you should be doing that as well to avoid other illnesses and maintain general comfort)—it also covers practicing safe sex and avoiding sharing used needles.  

Ideally, you should consistently use a condom when you have sex, especially with new partners, and always use newly opened needles. This will help to avoid the possibility of contracting STIs like HPV, which has been linked to the development of cervical cancer. 

Conclusion  

Life is precious, and you should consistently try to keep your body healthy as possible and avoid catching any diseases, especially cancer. In order to mitigate your chances of developing serious illnesses like cancer, you should still practice preventive measures by eating a healthy diet and regular exercise. On top of this, it never hurts to get yourself scanned for any possible formation of cancer inside your body, just to be safe. After all, genetic predisposition is a big risk factor for cancer patients, so even your best wellness efforts won’t save your from a family history of cancer. However, you can still reduce the chances of it developing as well as keep a careful eye out to catch any preliminary signs and stop the spread before it really starts.

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