We all know of the famous saying by Benjamin Franklin “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” I admit that I have learned to live by these words! And not just in terms of health but also, in other areas of my life. When it comes to health, which is the underlying basis of our existence, prevention is perhaps the wisest choice. Preventing disease or calamity as much as possible is a key principle of lifestyle enrichment.
Take for example, immunizations. There is enough medical evidence that unimmunized infants can have complications or even die of illnesses such as measles and whooping cough, which is why we vaccinate against such diseases because we need that ounce or prevention. October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and with that in mind, and no vaccines available as yet for cancer, I would like to stress the importance of prevention and early detection. There is much evidence that certain preventive lifestyle choices can help us mitigate the onset. Additionally, awareness helps in early detection which increases the survival rate overwhelmingly.
The National Cancer Institute considers cancer prevention as “action taken to lower the chance of getting cancer.” By preventing cancer, we hope it will lower the number of deaths caused by cancer. By educating people about “risk factors” and “protective factors” there is an increased awareness of changes we can make in our own lives and others. Cancer risk factors are factors that increase your chance of developing cancer; and protective factors are factors that decrease your chance of developing cancer. Many risk factors like genetics cannot be prevented but some factors can be adopted to prevent breast cancer such as:
Avoid smoking Make regular exercise a habit Adopt a healthy diet (there are some diets that are known to help reduce risk of cancer) Avoid contact with susbtances that are considered carcinogenic Take treatment to treat pre-cancerous condition so as to avoid cancer formation
Keep in mind that avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may lower risk but does not mean that you will not get cancer. However, early detection is linked to a 98% 5 year survival rate per the National Cancer Institute. Life is precious and we do have choices – and its the choices we make that change our life. So make the choice to practice prevention!
By Ritu Mehta