WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- You've heard it all before: Exercise, eat right, don't smoke, and you can fend off major illnesses that plague the unhealthy.
As it turns out, these oft-repeated -- and oft-ignored -- nuggets of advice also can slash your chances of getting cancer.
Yet few realize they have power over cancer, the second leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly half of American adults feel they have no control over developing cancer, according to a public opinion survey conducted in December 2005 by the American Cancer Society. Forty-seven percent of people surveyed doubt they can prevent cancer, even though almost 65 percent are at least somewhat concerned about getting the disease.
"Based on this survey, we have a lot of work to do in empowering (people) that they can take control of their risk," said Carolyn Runowicz, president of the ACS and author of the book "The Answer to Cancer." The answer, hands-down, is prevention, Runowicz said.
Monumental advances in treating cancer have emerged in recent decades, and up to 64 percent of people survived their bouts with cancer between 1995 and 2000.
However, more than 1.3 million people were still diagnosed in the United States in 2005. In the same year at least 570,280 people succumbed to the disease -- more than 1,500 people a day.
Future deaths from cancer can be averted by making basic, healthy lifestyle choices, Runowicz said.
For example, cancers caused by cigarette smoking and alcohol use could vanish completely if these habits were stopped. Lung cancer claims the most lives of any cancer, with 87 percent of cases stemming from tobacco use.
One-third of cancer deaths in 2005 were attributable to nutrition, physical inactivity and obesity, also conditions people can act on.
"When I look at these findings, I think the average adult thinks about heart disease and diabetes, and they say, 'I have a sense of what I can do to avoid these diseases, but I'm not sure what I can depend on with cancer,'" said Robert Smith, director of cancer screening for ACS.
The truth is, the advice is one and the same.
For example, doctors recommend eating a moderate-fat diet, maintaining a healthy weight, shunning tobacco, avoiding excessive alcohol use, exercising and wearing sunscreen. Also essential is eating five or more fruits and vegetables a day and balancing calorie consumption with calories expended. These suggestions are often dispensed for avoiding diabetes and heart disease.
"The public can be forgiven for thinking they are overwhelmed by a number of health messages. But in fact, it doesn't have to be that complicated," Smith added.
With the rocketing obesity epidemic, some believe cancer prevention should start with children. Kids eat an excessive amount of calories, partially from the enormous portion size of American meals, said Peter Greenwald, the director of the Division of Cancer Prevention at the National Cancer Institute, an agency of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
For instance, the average main-course plate has grown from 9 inches to 12 to 14 inches over time, Greenwald said. Children can go to the movies and get a soft drink consisting of 40 ounces of sugar water and caffeine.
Beyond focusing on an individual's actions, entire segments of society can play a part in cancer prevention, Greenwald said.
Schools can emphasize the importance of recess and sensible food in the cafeteria, and city planners can make sure new neighborhoods have sidewalks, Greenwald said. He described otherwise picturesque neighborhoods where it's treacherous for a kid to ride their bicycles.
Smith also emphasized getting physical activity that does not require much preparation.
"It doesn't mean you have to carve out 30 to 60 minutes per day, which honestly many of us have a hard time doing," Smith said. Instead, park your car far from work, or take the stairs, he said.
Apart from behavior, people can also combat cancer through regular screenings prescribed by their doctor -- a precaution many do not take. In the ACS survey, 43 percent of people admitted they are not screened for cancer because they don't know what cancer to screen for.
The blame for lack of screening often rests on the shoulders of doctors and healthcare professionals who fail to discuss cancer screening with their patients -- especially amid the flurry of everyday illnesses. In the survey, just over half of people said they didn't get screenings because their doctors did not mention it.
"Physicians see so many patients who are dealing with hypertension and diabetes, that teachable moment doesn't come up during the exam," Runowicz said.
She recommended people return to see their doctors when they aren't concerned about an immediate problem. Their doctor should then seize on that moment to suggest screening.
Screening tests not only detect cancer in early stages, but they can detect cancer before it forms. For example, pap smears can pick up pre-cancerous cells, and colonoscopies can scout out polyps that would eventually turn into colon cancer.
Screening can also help detect breast, cervical and possibly prostate cancers. A large-scale research trial currently under way by ACS may also effectively screen for lung cancer.
New technologies are also within reach. Refinements in digital mammograms have already picked up more cancer than traditional mammograms, for instance. Protein screening, or discerning protein patterns in the body to predict whether you're at risk for certain cancers, is on the horizon, Runowicz said.
Likewise, certain drugs or vaccines may also hold promise as preventatives. For women at high risk for breast cancer, taking the medicine Tamoxifen may halt the onset of the disease. The National Cancer Institute is involved in a phase 3 clinical trial involving the effectiveness of Tamoxifen.
In 2005 an Australian researcher fine-tuned a vaccine to treat cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus. The vaccine, proven 100-percent effective in clinical trials, will likely be available in 2006.
Even with an arsenal of preventative advice, many people still believe that if cancer doesn't run in their family, they are immune to the disease. In reality, most cancers are not inherited, Runowicz said.
"It's one of those myths we can't seem to shake," she said. As a doctor, Runowicz hears that excuse on a daily basis.
For instance, breast cancer is only 10-percent inherited -- 90 percent of people do not have breast cancer in their lineage.
Overall, physicians and citizens need to become educated about cancer prevention.
"I grew up with the adage that 'an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,'" Runowicz said. "That's absolutely never more true than in cancer."
For more information:
www.cancer.org
www.cancer.gov
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/prevention-genetics-causes/prevention
Take the Great American Health Check at www.cancer.org/healthcheck
