Can we prevent cancer through diet, exercise and life-style modification...
The data is mind numbing... there are so many cases of cancer, particularly in the developed world, that treating it has become overwhelming. Last year when Give To Live decided to support Dr. Ryan Rhodes and the research being done in the Behavioral Medicine Labs at the University of Victoria... I got it! We have to do more to reduce the incidence of Cancer!
While Dr. Rhodes is not the only researcher doing this work, he has already been making headway, and the BMED team has been publishing. There are practical ways to avoid cancer, and also ways to be better prepared to battle it if avoidance isn't successful... exercise, diet, life-style and so on are all ways to help ourselves... while the rest of the world goes on expecting cures. No matter what, even being cured like I was, has its downsides. Far better to avoid it... and if we can't avoid it we should think about two things... 1) being in better shape in order to withstand the treatments, and 2) help our off-spring totally avoid it by starting them out with education levels that allow them to understand how to avoid cancer... among other things.
Below are two helpful information spots... the first map demonstrates how the developed world has more cancer than others... life-style, diet and exercise may be a part of this. The second is a series of data points from 2010 that gives a reader a sense of the impact of cancer in a small population-base country like Canada... American? Well, just multiply these numbers by ten to get the approximate equivalents...
As I prepare to start my fund-raising for the Cabot Trail Ride raising money for the prevention of cancer research, I hope you will consider these points... yes, there are data that are even more damning... and graphic... but these ideas here, are meant to open our minds to doing something about cancer from a prevention, rather than cure point-of-view.
While Dr. Rhodes is not the only researcher doing this work, he has already been making headway, and the BMED team has been publishing. There are practical ways to avoid cancer, and also ways to be better prepared to battle it if avoidance isn't successful... exercise, diet, life-style and so on are all ways to help ourselves... while the rest of the world goes on expecting cures. No matter what, even being cured like I was, has its downsides. Far better to avoid it... and if we can't avoid it we should think about two things... 1) being in better shape in order to withstand the treatments, and 2) help our off-spring totally avoid it by starting them out with education levels that allow them to understand how to avoid cancer... among other things.
Below are two helpful information spots... the first map demonstrates how the developed world has more cancer than others... life-style, diet and exercise may be a part of this. The second is a series of data points from 2010 that gives a reader a sense of the impact of cancer in a small population-base country like Canada... American? Well, just multiply these numbers by ten to get the approximate equivalents...
As I prepare to start my fund-raising for the Cabot Trail Ride raising money for the prevention of cancer research, I hope you will consider these points... yes, there are data that are even more damning... and graphic... but these ideas here, are meant to open our minds to doing something about cancer from a prevention, rather than cure point-of-view.
An estimated 173,800 new cases of cancer (excluding about 75,500 non-melanoma skin cancers) and 76,200 deaths will occur in Canada in 2010.
· Approximately 83,900 Canadian women will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 36,200 women will die of cancer.
· Approximately 90,000 Canadian men will be diagnosed with cancer and an estimated 40,000 men will die of cancer.
· On average, 3,340 Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer every week.
· On average, 1,470 Canadians will die of cancer every week.
The risk of cancer increases with age: 43% of new cancer cases and 61% of cancer deaths will occur among those who are at least 70 years old. However, cancer can occur at all ages.
· Lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancer account for 50% of all new cancer cases every year.
· Lung cancer accounts for over a quarter (27%) of all cancer deaths each year.
· Breast cancer accounts for over a quarter (28%) of new cancer cases in women.
· Prostate cancer accounts for over a quarter (27%) of new cancer cases in men.
Probability of developing or dying from cancer
Based on 2009 incidence rates, 40% of Canadian women and 45% of men will develop cancer during their lifetimes.
An estimated 1 out of every 4 Canadians are expected to die from cancer.
Cancer is the leading cause of premature death in Canada: 1,026,600 years of life were lost in 2004 as a result of cancer. This represents 32% of the potential years of life lost resulting from all causes of death.
Prevalence
At the beginning of the year 2005, there were approximately 723,000 cases of cancer that had been diagnosed in the previous 10 years.
Survival
Based on 2002-2004 estimates, 62% of people are expected to survive for 5 years after their cancer diagnosis compared to the general population of the same age and sex. Survival rates differ according to the type of cancer.
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