LETS TALK ABOUT THIS ‘GIANT’:CANCER

Well let’s ask ourselves some questions:

1.Have you ever asked yourself why cancer is on the rise today as compared to the olden days?

2.What could be the reasons as to why cases have increased? Why cancer of some organs are most occurring compared to others?

Lets try to answer these few questions.what is cancer then?

Cancer is a condition that develops when normal cells in a particular part of the body begin to proliferate(grow) abnormally or out of control such that they cannot be regulated by their check points.In most cases when the DNA is damaged,the body is able to repair it but in cancer cases,the damaged DNA is not repaired and therefore most cancers develop from normal cells due to damaged DNA.These DNAs are then inherited by children born to those with the damages hence inherited cancers.

Therefore a questionquestion to ask again is,what are these things or factors inducing DNA damages?

To answer this..let’s look at 1.Biological or internal factors e.g age,gender,inherited genetic defects and skin type) 2.Environmental exposures e.g to radon,UV radiation and fine particulate matter, air pollution), 3.Lifestyles(tobacco,uv radiation in sunlight,some food-related factors) 4.Occupational risk factors;carcinogens e.gmany chemicals, radioactive materials and asbestos.

How do above play role in DNA damage hence cancer?

-Radon is a radioactive gas that can build up indoors.If indoor radon build up to high levels,it can increase the risk of lung cancer.The exposure to this gas is linked to 4% of lung cancer cases.The majority of rafon-related lung cancer are caused by a combination of both indoor radon and smoking. Therefore the most important thing people can do us to stop smoking both active and passive smoking.

-Alcohol; when body metabolizes alcohol, it produceproduces acetadehydeacetadehydeacetadehyde,a chemical compound that may damage the DNA which may lead to cancer.The research found that the more alcohol intake the higher the risk of developing certain cancers e.g head and neck,esophageal, liver,breast and colorectal cancer. Therefore the intake should be avoided or if need to take..then in moderated quantities (only upto 1 servings per day for women,upto only 2 servings per day for men..serving is defined as 12 oz of beer,5 oz of wine,1.5 oz of liquor.

-Processed meat;e.g the baconbacon,sausagesausage,hot dogs,pepperoni, prosciutto, beef jerky and salami meats often preserved by curing, salting or smoking or with chemical preservatives. It is evident that eating 50g of processed meat; that is equivalent of 4 strips of bacon or one hot dog every day increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.If you do eat processed meats,look for nitrate and nitrite free versions which don’t have added preservatives. All is..moderate the intake to reduce the risk.

-Occupational risk such as chemicals and some radiatioradiations.Ensure you have personal protective equipment for radiations.Avoid overworking which exposes you to much radiations.Take offs more often or work in shifts to reduce the risk

-Air pollutionpollution; a lot of gases which compromises our respiratory systems are emitted into the atmosphere. As we inhale these gases,they damages the cells of respiratory tract more so the cells of the lungs,damages DNA hence lung cancer.Therefore avoid to much exposures next to industriesindustries,planting of trees to balance the gases would also help.

N/B All we say is to moderate exposures to the risk factors.Some would say that I have been exposed to all these but I have no cancer,but remember cancer doesn’t occur due to single risk or disese…it is aggregate or accumulation of factors and therefore avoid as much as possible factors that are within your control. LET’S FIGHT CANCER,TOGETHER WE CAN,CHANGES START WITH YOU AND ME.

LET’S US MEET NEXT TIME AND TALK ABOUT WHY SOME ORGAN EXPERIENCES CANCERS MOST COMPARED TO OTHERS AND WHAT CAN BE DONE.Keep tuned for more.