Cancer prevention
is action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer. By
preventing cancer, the number of new cases of cancer in a
group or population is lowered. Hopefully, this will lower
the number of deaths caused by cancer.
To prevent new cancers from starting,
scientists look at risk factors and protective factors. Anything
that increases your chance of developing cancer is called
a cancer risk factor; anything that decreases your chance
of developing cancer is called a cancer protective factor.
Some risk factors for cancer can be
avoided, but many cannot. For example, both smoking and inheriting
certain genes are risk factors for some types of cancer, but
only smoking can be avoided. Regular exercise and a healthy
diet may be protective factors for some types of cancer. Avoiding
risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower your
risk but it does not mean that you will not get cancer.
Different ways to prevent cancer
are being studied, including:
- Changing lifestyle or eating habits.
- Avoiding things known to cause cancer.
- Taking medicines to treat a precancerous
condition or to keep cancer from starting.
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