Oncologist, in op-ed for The Washington Post, suggests five tips on reducing your cancer risk

Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres, in today's guest op-ed for The Washington Post, after outlining his family's bent toward getting cancer and his own risks, offers five tips on how to reduce chances of contracting the disease.

The oncologist emphasizes, however, that "it's important to understand that not all cancers are associated with modifiable risk factors" so you may not be able to lower your chances of getting a malignancy even if you change your behavior.

Still, the most recent statistics, which were published by the American Cancer Society last month stemming from figures dating to 2019, indicate that the positive chances are substantial.

Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres

Sekeres, chief of hematology and professor of medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, and author of two books, writes in the op-ed that the ACS study estimates "40 percent of new cancer diagnosis in adults aged 30 years and older in the United States were due to modifiable risk."

The doctors's tips on lowering your risks include taking sun protection seriously, keeping alcohol intake at a minimum, not smoking, exercising half an hour daily, and avoiding sugary drinks, fast food, and processed meats.

Sekeres—who says he became a cancer specialist in part because of all of that disease in his family— cites his mother's lung cancer, his maternal grandmother and uncle's leukemia, his paternal grandmother's ovarian cancer, and his paternal grandfather's prostate cancer.

To help prevent skin cancer, he pushes the application of sunscreen each day and following guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear hats, sunglasses, and long-sleeve shirts.

Regarding booze, he writes that "while we commonly associate alcohol with cancers of the oral cavity or esophagus, by far the greatest  number of  cancer diagnoses attributed to alcohol consumption was actually breast cancer."

Cigarette smoking, he notes, "was attributed to about 86 percent of lung cancer diagnoses, about 54 percent of cancers of the esophagus, and about 51 percent of bladder cancers."

As for exercise, Sekeres' piece maintains that "in a recent study of over 60,000 adults, those who exercised for two or more hours per week have a 26 percent lower risk of head and neck cancer, a 20 percent lower risk of lung cancer, and an 11 percent lower risk of breast cancer."

Finally, the doctor,  while promoting balanced meals, contends that "research has found an association between colorectal cancer and consumption of red meat and processed meat" and that "low fruit and vegetable consumption has been associated with oral cavity, pharyngeal, esophageal and laryngeal cancers." 

More statistics about risks of the disease can be found in Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner's breast cancer, a VitalityPress book I, Woody Weingarten, aimed at male caregivers.