Cancer Prevention

and Dr. med. Nina Buschek

Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

There are no measures that offer 100 percent protection against cancer. However, with a healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise and avoiding nicotine and alcohol, you can significantly reduce your personal cancer risk. You can find out more about these and other measures to prevent cancer here!

There are a number of tips that can reduce your risk of developing cancer. The most important are:

»Don't use nicotine! Quit smoking or don't even start. If you don't want to do without smoking, at least don't do it in the presence of non-smokers, otherwise their risk of cancer increases.

»Avoid Obesity! Excess pounds are bad for health in many ways. Being very overweight, i.e. obese (adiposity), is particularly dangerous. It increases the risk of colon, breast, uterine, kidney and esophageal cancer, among other things.

“Get plenty of exercise! People who are physically active on a regular basis are less likely to develop colon cancer than those who do not exercise. Exercise and exercise can also lower the risk of some other cancers, such as breast and uterine body cancer. In addition, experts suspect that physical activity can also have a positive effect on the risk of other types of cancer - if only because active people are less likely to be overweight and thus indirectly reduce their cancer risk with regular exercise.

" Eat healthy! Certain foods lower the risk of cancer, including high-fiber cereals (whole grains) and fruits and vegetables. The German Nutrition Society generally recommends consuming at least five servings of fruit and vegetables every day, and make sure you have variety - the different types of fruit and vegetables provide different ingredients that are good for your health. On the other hand, you shouldn't eat red meat and meat products such as sausage or ham too often because they may increase the risk of cancer. By avoiding too many fries, cakes, biscuits, etc., you also avoid carcinogenic substances that arise during their preparation (such as acrylamide).

“Don't drink too much alcohol! The consumption of beer, wine, etc. has been shown to increase the risk of malignant tumors in the mouth and throat, larynx, esophagus, intestine, liver and female breast, and probably also the risk of stomach cancer. It would be best to completely avoid drinks containing alcohol. If you don't want that, you should at least keep your alcohol consumption as low as possible (e.g. a maximum of about half a liter of beer or a quarter of a liter of wine for men and no more than about a quarter of a liter of beer or an eighth of a liter of wine for women).

»Avoid intensive UV radiation! Both the natural UV light from the sun and the artificial UV light in solariums (tanning salons) promote the development of skin cancer. Children and adolescents in particular should be protected from too much radiation.

»Beware of cancer risks in the workplace! The development of cancer is promoted, for example, by handling carcinogenic substances (such as formaldehyde). You should therefore comply with the relevant safety regulations.

»Take advantage of vaccination offers that help prevent cancer! One example is vaccination against hepatitis B - the inflammation of the liver can lead to liver cancer in chronic cases. In addition, the HPV vaccination is recommended for girls and boys between the ages of 9 and 14 in Germany. HPV (human papillomavirus) can trigger the formation of tumors and their precursors in both sexes (especially cervical cancer in girls).

Have regular examinations

If you follow the tips above, you will reduce factors that promote the development of cancer. But there is more you can do: Have regular cancer screening exams such as mammography (early detection of breast cancer), PAP test (early detection of cervical cancer), and colonoscopy (early detection of colon cancer). They increase the chance of discovering any cancerous tumor that may be present at an early stage. And the earlier a malignant tumor is recognized and treated, the better the chances of recovery!

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