• 2/15/2005
  • Youngstown, OH
  • Len Rome
  • WYTV News (www.wytv.com)

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along?

Have you forgotten them yet? Some of the most popular can help cut your risk of cancer. Let’s list the five best ways to do that.

If you vow to quit smoking, for example, you’ll be doing your body a huge favor. It’s the number one way to cut your risk for cancer, and much more than just lung cancer. “Bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer…they’re all associated with cigarette smoking,” says Dr. Electra Paskett of Ohio State University.

Number two, if you exercise, not only might you lose weight, you can cut your risk of colorectal cancer in half and breast cancer by a third.

Number three, yes, you are what you eat. So eat more fruits and vegetables.

Number four, you’ll want to keep in mind when the summer sun returns to watch your exposure to avoid the most common kind of cancer, skin cancer.

And finally, remember your annual screenings.

Studies show that if we all got the screenings we need, the five-year survival rate for most major cancers would jump to 95 percent.

Okay, one more is to control your stress. High levels of stress can actually affect how quickly a cancer progresses.