Many cancers are preventable, although not all of them. The biggest factor is that prevention mostly works by avoiding things that damage cells over time. One important truth is that prevention lowers your overall risk of getting stricken with cancer, a disease which many people are often very likely to feel helpless about.
However, it has become increasingly clear that the risk of getting cancer is promoted by certain things we do in the course of many years. But getting cancer does not mean someone did something wrong.
In the past several weeks, we have dedicated the discussion on this page to the reasons why treating cancer is so challenging in Nigeria, as well as focusing our attention on certain cancers that do not develop in the traditional sense of presenting with obvious growths around the body that are easily identifiable.
On the whole, recent studies from around the world identify several ways by which we can act to reduce the odds of developing cancer. These studies indicate that more than one-third of all such cancers can be prevented.
Cancers of the lungs, stomach, and cervix make up nearly half of all these cases. This means that measures taken through medical interventions and lifestyle changes, reducing occupational risks, or tackling environmental pollutants, can help in preventing these cancers.
Preventable cancers, like lung cancer, can be avoided by stopping smoking if you already do so or not start at all, because the main cause is tobacco smoking. Also, you must avoid second-hand smoke by excusing yourself from enclosed spaces where smoking is taking place.
Skin cancers, including melanoma, represent another group that is preventable. By avoiding too much ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds, this group of cancers can largely be prevented. Therefore, the use of sunscreen, staying in the shade, wearing appropriate clothing, and avoiding tanning beds all help to avoid this skin disease.
Cervical cancer is now known to be caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV, and the kind of cancer it causes is avoided by regular Pap smears and HPV screening. To definitely prevent it, the HPV vaccine should be taken starting at about age nine, especially in girls. In an analysis of the scale of the problem in 2022, nearly 19 million new cases of cancer were identified from around the world.
Nearly 40 per cent of that number was related to about 30 changeable risk factors such as inadequate or suboptimal breastfeeding, ultraviolet irradiation, air pollution, and inadequate physical activity, high body mass index which is related to obesity, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. The latter two causes were the first and second most common factors responsible for preventing cancers.
Among these factors, the most ubiquitous risk factor was tobacco smoking, which was linked to 15 per cent of all cancers that year. Among men, the risk associated with smoking was almost one-quarter. Another common preventable cancer is stomach cancer.
Here also, the main causes are cigarette smoking, infection with Helicobacter pylori, and a generally poor diet. Therefore, the prevention ought to be straightforward. Treat H. pylori when it is diagnosed, do not smoke, and eat more fruits and vegetables. Another deadly cancer is liver cancer, caused mainly by infection with Hepatitis B and C, heavy alcohol intake, and obesity.
Prevention involves taking the Hepatitis B vaccine, treating Hepatitis C, limiting alcohol intake, and maintaining a healthy weight. Colorectal cancer is yet another type of cancer whose main causes are age, genetics, diet, obesity, alcohol, and smoking. Prevention follows a healthy diet, regular exercise, routine screening by colonoscopy and limiting alcohol intake.
Unfortunately, not all cancers are preventable. Among the ones that are not fully preventable are those that are driven mainly by age, genetics, or random cell mistakes. These include pancreatic cancer, brain cancer, some leukaemias and lymphomas, and many childhood cancers.
Mouth and throat cancers, mainly caused by smoking, chewing tobacco, heavy alcohol intake and HPV infection, are preventable by avoiding tobacco smoking or chewing and heavy alcohol intake. In women, breast cancer is partly preventable but certain risk factors that have to do with the genes, the level of circulating hormones, alcohol intake, and obesity may serve to promote the disease.
Therefore, it seems reasonable to believe that prevention should be achievable by limiting alcohol drinking, diligently engaging in regular exercise, and maintaining a healthy weight. Some high-risk women can take medicines to reduce their hormone levels or have surgery such as a double mastectomy to remove the risk entirely.
Ovarian and endometrial (uterine) cancer are also partly preventable, being that they are linked to obesity, hormone levels, and genetic makeup.
Prevention is achievable by keeping to a healthy weight, the use of birth control pills for ovarian cancer, and sometimes surgery in high-risk women involving hysterectomy that could also involve the removal of the ovaries. In summary, you can lower the risk, but you cannot always stop it. The big prevention list is a remarkably simple one.
The biggest preventable cause is cigarette smoking. Therefore, avoid smoking. Then get vaccinated for both HPV and Hepatitis B. Exercise regularly, as it has been proven that moderate, regular exercise helps to keep fit and obtain weight control. Therefore, staying within a healthy weight range is both achievable and desirable as a preventive measure for a number of cancers.
Eat more food derived from plants, and especially so with less processing. The same is true for meat; the more natural meat is at the time of purchase, the healthier it is likely to be. Since this column debuted in 2013, there has been a constant thread urging readers to limit the amount of alcohol they consume. It is not without foundation that alcohol plays a role in causing conditions from cancer to high blood pressure, blood vessel diseases and challenges with libido. In addition, the sobriety necessary for social interactions is removed by alcohol.
Therefore, as a rule, less is better. Protect your skin from the sun to avoid skin cancer. To protect yourself from the surprise of being diagnosed with colon, cervical, breast, and lung cancer, it is important to undergo the relevant screening periodically. Lastly, avoid contact with known carcinogens such as radon and asbestos, especially as used in roofing materials, ceiling boards and some chemicals used in insecticides and pesticides.
Questions and answers
Sunday Doctor, good morning sir. I want to find out if there is any adverse effect any person can suffer if he did not have sex for some years. I am a widower, and I have decided not to marry again. Thank you, sir. 0805*******
Good morning, sir. There are no adverse effects if you abstain from sex. If there were, there would have been plenty of evidence among Roman Catholic priests.
Sunday Doctor, good evening. God bless you, sir. I am a 70-year-old male. For about two weeks now, I have not been able to eat well. I don’t have a cold, headache or fever, but just a lack of appetite. I have used several blood tonics like Orheptal and other multivitamin tablets, but there has been no improvement. I added malaria drugs too, in case it is malaria, but no luck. Help me on what to do, please. 0705*******
Good evening, sir. Thank you very much for your prayers. Orheptal is a blood tonic, not an appetite stimulant. In order to adequately stimulate your appetite, if that is the only problem you have, just limit your medication to Vitamin B-complex, which you can take as many as 2 tablets three times a day. The variety of medications you used over such a short period is not likely to have given you the desired effect.
Sunday Doctor, good evening. I have a six-year-old daughter who I suspect is allergic to a particular type of cereal. It is something I just introduced her to as a meal to take to school, but each time she takes it, she develops rashes around her left elbow. I am stopping it, but what do I do about the rashes? I will share the picture with you on WhatsApp, please. 0806*******
Good evening. These rashes are too limited to be due to an allergy. If she reacts to something she ate, the rashes will be quite widespread. But these are few, local and even appear to be infected. She will require a local antibiotic cream or ointment to treat this problem.
Sunday Doctor, good morning. I need your professional advice about a funny sensation I have been suffering in my right hand. It is like an electric shock; it is very strange, as if I have touched a naked wire. It shocks me. What is this? How do I treat it? 0803*******
With a sensation such as that, the likely origin is from a trapped nerve root. While it is not so common for this to happen to one side, it is entirely possible. You need to have a proper physical examination by a doctor to determine the extent of this sensation and its severity. After that, certain investigations will be recommended, mostly around the neck. Once a diagnosis is made, treatment is possible with a combination of medications and physiotherapy.
Sunday Doctor, good day. There is a terrible pain I feel at my left buttock that I feel anytime I sit for some time and I get up. When I do get up, I am not able to walk for some moments; then it relieves me, and I can start walking. This has been happening for the past four months. I don’t know where all this is coming from; it is quite critical now. My blood pressure is fine, and I sleep well, so what can the problem be? Kindly advise me on the kind of tests I can run to know what the problem is. Thank you. 0812*******
It is important to have a proper examination by a doctor to help determine what the cause of this pain could be. A problem that has gone on for 4 months is no longer acute or critical, as you put it; it has become chronic. Unfortunately, you did not disclose your gender or age, and that limit some of the recommendations you might have had in addition. But the place to start on your road to getting rid of this problem is the hospital. Good luck.
Sunday Doctor, good morning. I am not sure if this is the right forum to be asking a question like this, but I am almost getting into depression because of this problem, so I need both your help and counselling. For the past 1 year or so, anytime my husband and I have sex, I no longer feel him. He did not have a particularly big penis before, but now, it seems to be even smaller. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to tell him so that I don’t hurt his feelings or his ego. So, I want to ask: does the penis shrink? 0703*******
Well, your question is appropriate. Although you did not provide any context about your age or your husband’s age, you should know that the penis can shrink with age, just like the breasts. Each person’s level of physical activity helps to determine the rate at which the shrinking progresses.
Sunday Doctor, good day. I have a problem with one of my teeth, and each time I feel the pain, I use Ampiclox or Amoxyl with Paracetamol and the pain disappears. I am 82 years old, but how can I prevent this from happening all the time? 0805*******
The fact that your pain responds to the use of the medications above indicates that the problem does not come from the teeth but rather from the gums. You should get a proper examination from a dentist who will guide you on what to do about this problem.
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