April is National Cancer Control Month
On March 28, 1938, the United States Congress, under the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, declared April as the first Cancer Control Month. Since then, every April, the President issues a proclamation calling upon healthcare professionals, government agencies, research institutions, the media, and the public to dedicate April to increasing awareness of cancer prevention and early detection through recommended screenings and the yearly announcement from the President is a reminder to all Americans that awareness surrounding the factors that may cause or prevent cancer should be paid attention to.
During National Cancer Control Month, we strive to support Americans fighting this disease and recommit to aid in the progression toward controlling cancer. The month also focuses on raising awareness of the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and the importance of having cancer screenings to prevent cancer.
According to this year’s Proclamation by the White House, cancer in its many forms is still the second leading cause of death in the US over the last 50 years, with more than 600,000 deaths and nearly 1.9 million new cancer diagnoses each year.
Basic Cancer Facts
Cancer continues to be the second most common cause of death in the US, after heart disease. A total of 1.9 million new cancer cases and 609,360 deaths from cancer are expected to occur in the US in 2022, which is about 1,670 deaths a day.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by the uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells that can result in death if not treated. Although the causes of cancer development are not entirely understood, numerous factors are known to increase risk, including many that are potentially modifiable (e.g., tobacco use and excess body weight) and others that are not (e.g., inherited genetic mutations). These risk factors may act simultaneously or in sequence to initiate and/or promote cancer growth.
Can Cancer Be Prevented?
Many cancers could be prevented, including all cancers caused by tobacco use and other unhealthy behaviors.
Excluding non-melanoma skin cancer, at least 42% of newly diagnosed cancers in the US – about 805,600 cases in 2022 – are potentially avoidable, including the 19% of cancers caused by smoking and at least 18% caused by a combination of excess body weight, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity. Certain cancers caused by infectious agents, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), could be prevented through behavioral changes or vaccination to prevent infection, or by treating the infection. Many of the more than 5 million skin cancers diagnosed annually could be prevented by protecting skin from excessive sun exposure and not using indoor tanning devices.
Screening can help prevent colorectal and cervical cancers by detecting and removing precancers in the colon, rectum, and uterine cervix. Screening can also detect these and other cancers early when treatment is often less intensive and more successful.
Screening reduces mortality for cancers of the breast, colon, rectum, cervix, lung (among people with a history of heavy smoking), and prostate. In addition, being aware of changes in the body – such as a new mole or lump under the skin – and bringing these to the attention of a healthcare professional can also result in the earlier detection of cancer.
Who Is At Risk of Developing Cancer?
Everyone is at risk of developing cancer, although the likelihood increases greatly with age. 80% of the people diagnosed with cancer in the US are 55 years of age or older, and 57% are 65 or older.
Certain behaviors and other modifiable factors also increase risk, such as smoking, having excess body weight, drinking alcohol, and eating an unhealthy diet. In the US, an estimated 40 out of 100 men and 39 out of 100 women will develop cancer during their lifetime. However, these probabilities are based on cancer occurrence in the general population and may differ in individuals because of variations in exposure (e.g. smoking), family history, and/or genetic susceptibility.
A family history of cancer is thought to primarily reflect inheritance of genetic variations that confer slight-to-moderate increased risk in conjunction with shared exposures to lifestyle/environmental factors among family members. Inheritance of genetic alterations that confer a very high risk occurs much less frequently.
How Many People Alive Today Have Ever Had Cancer?
More than 16.9 million Americans with a history of invasive cancer were alive on January 1, 2019, most diagnosed many years ago and had no current evidence of the disease.
What Percentage of People Survive Cancer?
Cancer survival is typically described in terms of relative survival, which is a measure of life expectancy among cancer patients compared to that among the general population of the same age, race, and sex. The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined has increased substantially since the early 1960s, from 39% to 68% among White people and from 27% to 63% among Black people.
Improvements in the survival reflect advances in treatment, as well as an earlier diagnosis for some cancers. Survival varies greatly by cancer type and stage, as well as age at diagnosis.
How Much Progress Has Been Made Against Cancer?
Substantial progress has been made against cancer in recent decades. The best measure of this progress is cancer death rates (also referred to as mortality rates) because they are less affected by changes in detection practices than incidence (new diagnoses) and survival rates.
The overall age-adjusted cancer death rate rose during most of the 20th century, peaking in 1991 at 215 cancer deaths per 100,000 people, mainly because of the smoking epidemic. As of 2019, the rate had dropped to 146 per 100,000 – a decline of 32% – mostly because of reductions in smoking and advances in early detection and treatment for some cancers. The decline in the death rate translates into nearly 3.5 million fewer cancer deaths from 1991 to 2019, largely driven by progress against the four most common cancer types – lung, colorectal, breast, and prostate.
The 10 Commandments of Cancer Prevention
Despite the above-mentioned grim statistics, doctors have made great progress in understanding the biology of cancer cells, and they have already been able to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
But instead of just waiting for new breakthroughs, you can do a lot to protect yourself right now. Screening tests can help detect malignancies in their earliest stages, but you should always be alert for symptoms of the disease.
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health estimate that up to 75% of American cancer deaths can be prevented. The 10 commandments of cancer prevention are:
- Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke.You don't have to be an international scientist to understand how you can try to protect yourself and your family.
- Eat properly. Reduce your consumption of saturated fat and red meat, which may increase the risk of colon cancer and a more aggressive form of prostate cancer. Increase your consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
- Exercise regularly. Physical activity has been linked to a reduced risk of colon cancer. Exercise also appears to reduce a woman's risk of breast and possibly reproductive cancers. Exercise will help protect you even if you don't lose weight.
- Stay lean. Obesity increases the risk of many forms of cancer. Calories count; if you need to slim down, take in fewer calories and burn more with exercise.
- If you choose to drink, limit yourself to an average of one drink a day. Excess alcohol increases the risk of cancers of the mouth, larynx (voice box), esophagus (food pipe), liver, and colon; it also increases a woman's risk of breast cancer. Smoking further increases the risk of many alcohol-induced malignancies.
- Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation. Get medical imaging studies only when you need them. Check your home for residential radon, which increases the risk of lung cancer. Protect yourself from ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, which increases the risk of melanomas and other skin cancers. But don't worry about electromagnetic radiation from high-voltage power lines or radiofrequency radiation from microwaves and cell phones. They do not cause cancer.
- Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins such as asbestos fibers, benzene, aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
- Avoid infections that contribute to cancer, including hepatitis viruses, HIV, and the human papillomavirus. Many are transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles.
- Make quality sleep a priority. Admittedly, the evidence linking sleep to cancer is not strong. But poor and insufficient sleep increases is associated with weight gain, which is a cancer risk factor.
- Get enough vitamin D. Many experts now recommend 800 to 1,000 IU a day, a goal that's nearly impossible to attain without taking a supplement. Although protection is far from proven, evidence suggests that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and other malignancies. But don't count on other supplements.
Sources:
https://www.cancersmoc.com/april-is-national-cancer-control-month/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/the-10-commandments-of-cancer-prevention