In 2006, Harvard Men’s Health Watch stated that “About 1.4 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and some 560,000 will die from the disease” (Exercise and Malignancy 5). Many individuals and families have fought the battle of cancer for a number of years. There is not yet a perfect cure for this number one deadliest disease, and it is unknown how long it will take to find one. While many risk factors of developing cancer cannot be changed such as genetics, environmental carcinogens (substances that cause cancer), or a certain number of hormones, fortunately, there are several studies that show there are ways to somewhat reduce the risk of cancer. It is not possible to be immune, but by following a nutritional diet and developing a physically active lifestyle, it is possible to reduce the risk of cancer immensely.
Many substances or factors cause cancer, but any type of cancer develops the same way. Normally, the cells that make up the body grow and then divide. Eventually these cells die and new cells are produced. Cancer results from a mutation that has altered the DNA that make up a cell. These mutations affect certain cancer genes that are in the body, tumor suppressors and oncogenes. Tumor suppressors tell the cell to slow down cell division which prevents the cells from over-dividing. Cancer mutations destroy these genes, causing cells to divide uncontrollably. Mutations also affect an oncogene, which tells the cell when to grow. These mutations keep oncogenes in an “active state”, causing an overproduction of cells (Gibbs 60). The body does not need these extra cells and may become a mass, or a tumor. Fortunately, not all tumors become cancer. A tumor that is not cancerous is called a be...
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Zieve, David. "Breast Cancer." National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health. Web. 06 May 2010. http://nlm.nih.gov
According to Breast Cancer Statistics, Breast cancer usually occurs in women between the ages of 35 and 65, even though fifty percent of all breast cancer is of women sixty-five and older (Breast Cancer Statistics, 2008). Although the cause of cancer is unknown, there are factors that increase the chances of getting it. These facto...
Healthy cells grow and divide in a way to keep your body functioning properly. But when a cell is damaged and becomes cancerous, cells continue to divide, even when new cells aren't...
Research has shown that obesity increases the chances of getting cancer. Cancer linked to obesity includes uterus, cervix, ovary, breast, and gallbladder. A report by the American Cancer Society says that when a person has a BMI that is 40% or more above the normal, the risk of conducting cancer increases by 53% for women and 33% by men. A study published in the journal of the American Medical Association found that a women who gained at least 45 pounds since the age 18, were twice as likely to obtain breast cancer than a person who gained less than 5 pounds. The American Institute for Cancer Research released a report saying that 40% of all cancer cases could be avoided if they maintained a healthy diet and exercise regimen to maintain a normal body weight.
Epidemiologists had identified many important causes of cancer by the early of 1980s. Many types of cancer vary in incidence by more than an order of magnitude between different populations and every type is rare in some part of the world. Many specific causes cancer are now known, the most common are by smoking, obesity and a few oncogenic viruses, but a large proportion of global variation for common cancers such as breast, prostate, colon and rectum remains unexplained (Peto J. , 2001). According to Richard Doll and Richard Peto, pollution accounts for 2% of all cancer cases and geophysical factors account for another 3% while 80% to 90% of cancers are caused by “environmental factors”. Environmental factors are the non-genetic factors which are smoking, diet, occupational exposure to chemicals and geophysical factors (naturally occurring radiation, man-made radiation, medical drugs and radiation and pollution.
Evidence of the beneficial effects of physical activity in the primary prevention and management of cancer is growing and there is an association between higher levels of physical activity and lower cancer death rates. Research has found that walking or cycling for at least a half-an-hour a day is associated with a reduction in cancer, when exercising is increased to an hour, cancer diagnosis fall by 16 percent. Although, evidence is mixed when it comes to specific cancers. Research has shown a strong relationship between increased physical activity and reduced colon cancer in both sexes. Men who are more active at work (not just sitting at a desk), have lower rates of prostate cancer. Other cancer studies show that physical activity after diagnosis can aid recovery and improve outcomes. Studies have also shown that men who are physically active are less likely to experience erectile
Ford, D, et al. “Estimates of the Gene Frequency of BRCA1 and Its Contribution to Breast and
The risks of getting cancer in this day and age has been increasing at a rate that could be detrimental to the human race if we do not act now. It is scary to think that you or someone you love and care about will get some type of cancer in their life time. Although there are many different types of cancer that is in existence today, the main focus is breast cancer. We are going to explore the causes breast cancer, the stages, how we can treat it and what precautions that can be taken to help lower ones risk of getting breast cancer. In America a baby girl born today has a 1 in 8 chance of getting breast cancer sometime in her life. These statistics do not seem so scary until they are put into perspective. Every three minute a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and one will die every 13 minutes in a given day. If these rates of breast cancer continue to rise there will soon be a one in one baby girl born that will et diagnosed with breast cancer. This is the future of our world that we are talking about here and no one seems to be changing the main factors that contribute to breast cancer. There are many different suspicious causes but one thing that is clear is that an unhealthy environment has an enormous impact on women and their development from babies to women.
“Cancer affects all of us, whether you’re a daughter, mother, sister, friend, coworker, doctor, or patient” (Aniston). Cancer treatment is a very sore subject, but many people are diagnosed with this disease. However, doctors have ways of finding cancer and treating it. Cancer is a very serious issue that needs to be dealt with in each person who is diagnosed with it. To understand the solution, one has to know the causes, effects, and problems of cancer.
Cancer is a general term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body; it is caused by mutations to the original genetic code. Cancer, in its simplest explanation, is the uncontrolled growth of cells within the body resulting in the accumulation of large masses of cells, commonly known as tumours.
According to researchers it is estimated that one third of all cancer deaths that are thought to be related to body weight, poor nutrition and inactivity. (Page 407)
Over the past few decades we have learned about the benefits of exercise and why it is important.
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