A few days ago, another friend posted her photo on Facebook of herself lying in the hospital, undergoing chemotherapy.

Sad to say, she is a third friend I saw this year diagnosed with cancer.

Over the years, I have seen many of friends lose to the fight with cancer and the numbers are still increasing over the years.

Deep down inside, many of us are afraid that one day it might be our turn or someone close to us.

Does it ever cross your mind –

What are your odds of getting cancer?

Let’s take a close look at the numbers released by the American Cancer Society.

It’s hard to believe but a staggering 1 in 2 men in the U.S. will develop some sort of cancer in his lifetime.

Only marginally better, 1 in 3 women in the U.S. will develop some sort of cancer in her lifetime.

The lifetime risks for men and women to develop certain types of cancer are slightly different. In fact, they only differ in cancer type by their respective top cancers. Below is a list for the most common cancers that develop in men and women, separately.

Top three lifetime cancers for men

– Prostate cancer – about 1 out of 7 men develop this cancer at some point in their life.

– Lung & bronchus cancer – about 1 out of 14 men develop this cancer at some point in their life.

– Colon & rectum cancer – about 1 out of 21 chance men develop this cancer at some point in their life.

 

Top three lifetime cancers for women

– Breast cancer – about 1 out of 8 women develop this cancer at some point in their life.

– Lung & bronchus cancer – about 1 out of 17 women develop this cancer at some point in their life.

– Colon & rectum cancer – about 1 out of 23 women develop this cancer at some point in their life.

As you can see, the top cancers for both men and women have an approximately 15% chance (give or take a few percent) of developing over a lifetime. Surprisingly, the next two common cancers that develop in both men and women are of the same type (lung and colon respectively).

 

What does these statistics mean?

The risks listed above are NOT an individual’s risk for developing cancer. These are the odds for men and women on average to develop particular types of cancer, over the course of a lifetime. This is an important point to understand when reading about cancer statistics (and any other statistic).

Absolute risk

This type of risk measures the chance that a person will develop a certain disease over a certain period of time. For example, the statistic above that states “1 out of 7 men develop prostate cancer at some point in their life” is a statistic for all men in general, regardless of age or other risk factors.

The pitfall of this statistic is that it does not accurately represent risk for men of all ages. Example: a 25 year old man certainly has a lower risk of developing prostate cancer than a 75 year old man, since the risk of cancer increases with age.

 

When risk increases based on certain factors

As more and more research is done on cancer, it is revealed that certain factors seem to increase rates of cancer. Some of these factors are simply inevitable such as age or genetics, but that does not mean we need to accept defeat. Many of the factors that increase the risk for cancer are easily avoidable.

Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular factors that are known to increase the risk of cancer.

 

Three lifestyle factors that increase the risk of cancer

Obesity

Increasing rates of obesity spell new health challenges for people of all ages. Not only does obesity increase the chances of developing Type 2 Diabetes and heart problems, it has been shown to increase the chance of developing cancer.

Some cancers that have an increased rate of occurring with obesity are:

• Breast
• Liver
• Kidney
• Pancreatic
• Gallbladder
• Ovarian
• Thyroid

Here are several suspected reasons why obesity may cause increased rates of cancer.

1. Low levels of chronic inflammation causes DNA damage, which tends to increase cancer.
2. Fat tissue releases excessive amounts of estrogen which may promote specific cancers (e.g. breast cancer, ovarian cancer).
3. Increased levels of insulin is a preceding symptom of Type 2 Diabetes, but also may increase risk of colon, kidney, and prostate cancers.

Keeping weight off could be as simple as being more active and choosing healthier eating habits.

Alcohol

Despite alcohol’s known harmful health effects, it remains one of the most popular intoxicants for adults in the U.S. In general, the more alcohol one drinks over their life, the more their risk increases for the particular cancers associated with its consumption.

Cancers that show increased incidence from alcohol consumption are:

• Mouth
• Throat
• Esophogeal
• Liver
• Breast

Some of the reasons alcohol may increase risk of cancer are:

1. The breakdown of ethanol in the body creates acetaldehyde, which is toxic to the body and can damage DNA (which increases cancer risk).
2. Breaking down alcohol creates molecules that hold oxygen. When this happens, the molecules can react with DNA, causing damage with a process called oxidation.
3. Alcohol depletes the body of, and inhibits its ability to breakdown important vitamins such as: B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and vitamin D. The lack of absorption nutrients in the long term may increase the risks of some cancers.

Smoking

You’ve seen the campaigns rallying against it. You’ve seen the warnings on the sides of the packages. Smoking cigarettes is quite possibly the most notoriously infamous lifestyle choice that is associated with cancer. This is no coincidence, considering smoking is a cause of 4 out of 5 lung cancer cases. This is not good news, since lung cancer is one of the least treatable forms of cancer.

Some of the cancers that are linked to smoking cigarettes are:

• Lung
• Esophogeal
• Throat
• Mouth
• Stomach
• Bladder
• Pancreatic

Smoking has an especially negative affect on the body because the cancer-causing toxins enter the bloodstream through the lungs. Other reasons that smoking increases cancer risk are:

1. Harmful chemicals in cigarettes such as benzene and nitrosamines damage DNA, which causes cancer.
2. Unhealthy lungs and blood from smoking lowers the body’s immune system as well as inhibit the body’s natural detoxifying effects. This can increase the risk of developing all sorts of cancers.

Know the risks. Be healthy

The 3 risk factors above are things that you can control. By lowering these 3 factors, you can significantly lower your risk of getting cancer.

Nutrition also plays a huge role in the successful prevention of cancer. Boosting the immune system and preventing cancer cells from even starting to grow is the key to reducing your risk. Taking nutrients like Beta Glucan can help to boost your immune system tremendously.

=> Click here for more details about Beta Glucan

Go to the next page and & learn how you can protect your body from cancer –

About the Author:

Emma Deangela is the best selling author of The Alkaline Diet Program and 80/20 Fat Loss. She has helped over tens of thousands of men and women to lose weight and transform their health with sound nutrition advice. Learn how you can lose weight fast – How to lose weight by adding these alkaline foods.

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