How to reduce your risk of cancer

How to reduce your risk of cancer

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Story Published: Aug 17, 2007 at 5:41 PM PDT

Story Updated: Aug 21, 2007 at 11:17 AM PDT

By Herb Weisbaum

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Cancer is still a major killer in this country, but it's still claiming fewer lives.

That's the conclusion of a new report from the president's cancer panel.

In fact, this year the cancer death rate dropped faster than ever. That's good news, but even more can be done.

There are things you can do to cut your risk of getting cancer.

It's clear from the report that doctors across the country are doing a better job of spotting cancer early and doing a better job of treating cancer once it's detected.

Despite this good news, more than a half million Americans will die from cancer this year and nearly two-thirds of those deaths could have been avoided through changes in lifestyle.

Dr. Anne McTiernan, a cancer researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Center, helped brief the president's panel on the state of cancer prevention in America.

Dr. McTiernan says cancer is more than just genetics and fate.

"People don't realize there are things they can do to reduce their risk of cancer, either stopping smoking or avoiding obesity or increasing physical activity," she said.

The panel concluded that government polices are in conflict with the fight against cancer. One area the panel focused on was schools and children's lack of exercise.

Dr. McTiernan says it's time for change.

"Increasing opportunities for physical activity, increasing opportunities for a healthy diet and teaching our kids what they need to do throughout their lives," she said.

The panel also wants to see healthier foods in school.

"Two-thirds of the country is obese or overweight. It is not stopping; it is increasing. Obesity increases the risk of many cancers, like colon cancer and breast cancer," Dr. McTiernan said.

And most adults have the same problem. We don't exercise enough and don't eat healthy food, so we're getting fat.

"It is never too late to start. Anybody can be more active and reduce their risk," Dr. McTiernan said.

The panel really let the tobacco industry have it. It wants strict federal regulation of tobacco products to keep them away from kids to cut their risk of lung cancer.

"It is a big killer, and it is almost totally preventable," Dr. McTiernan said of lung cancer.

The message is a lot of whether we get cancer or not, we cannot totally prevent it, but we can certainly reduce our risk.

Nutrition & Exercise for Women - Volunteers wanted

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is recruiting more than 500 local women for a study to test the effectiveness of a diet and exercise program on breast cancer risk factors in healthy, overweight, sedentary, postmenopausal women.

For more information, visit the Web site or call 206-667-6444.

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