• 1/6/2005
  • Lexington, KY
  • staff
  • Lexington NBC Affiliate (lex18.com)

If you made a New Year’s resolution to stop smoking or lose weight this year, you’re not alone. Those are two of the most popular resolutions, and may have benefits that never occurred to you. Both of them can help cut your risk of cancer, but they’re not the only ones. Here are the top five cancer-curbing resolutions for 2005.

If you vow to quit smoking this year, you’ll be doing your body a huge favor. It’s the number one way to cut your risk for cancer, and we’re not just talking about lung cancer.

“Bladder cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, throat cancer, mouth cancer — they’re all associated with cigarette smoking,” said Electra Paskett, Ph.D., of Ohio State University’s James Cancer Hospital.

Exercise is another way to cut your cancer risk. Vigorous exercise can reduce your risk of colorectal cancer by up to 50 percent, and breast cancer by as much as 30 percent.

It’s a resolution with profound personal meaning for Jessica Bayles.

“After my mother passed away of cancer, from then on I knew. From this point on I have to get serious about it. I have to make sure I exercise, have to make sure I eat right,” said Bayles.

Which brings us to number three in our top five — eating right, including four to six helping of fruits and vegetables a day.

“If we all did that, we could expect there to be a 20 to 50 percent reduction of cancer rates,” said Gary Stoner, James Cancer Hospital.

The number four resolution may be better suited for summer, but it’s important. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, and if you vow to avoid over-exposure to the sun, you could cut your risk dramatically.

And finally, remember your annual screenings. Studies show that if all Americans got regular screening, the five-year survival rate for most major cancers would jump to nearly 95 percent.