How targeted interventions can reduce risk

Understanding risk factors

It might seem like the risk of developing cancer is something outside any individual’s control. Risk factors like age, genetic predisposition, and ongoing health conditions or previous illnesses play a role in one’s cancer risk profile. But many of the most common risk factors–including several which impact risk across multiple different varieties of cancer–are controllable. Targeted changes to diet, lifestyle, and personal choices can have a major impact on your overall risk profile. 

In order to understand how these sorts of interventions can influence one’s cancer risk, it’s first important to understand some of the mechanisms that lead to cancer in the first place.
 

Carcinogens

One known pathway to cancer formation is via exposure to carcinogens. Carcinogens can range widely, from compounds and chemicals present in certain foods, to toxic naturally-occurring materials such as arsenic and lead, to the byproducts of cigarette smoke. Carcinogens encourage DNA mutation in cells, and these mutations can eventually become cancerous. 

Reducing exposure to carcinogens is a well-understood method of risk reduction. While quitting smoking is the most well-known strategy to reduce carcinogen exposure, there are several additional sources of carcinogens lurking in everyday life. Eating less processed meat, switching to a mouthwash without alcohol, and avoiding dangerous compounds such as those present in chemical hair straighteners, are all examples of simple lifestyle changes that reduce one’s exposure to carcinogens, which in turn lowers the likelihood of the dangerous mutations that can become cancer. During your Risk Assessment, we ask questions about multiple different avenues of carcinogen exposure to help pinpoint which carcinogens you may be exposed to now, and therefore which carcinogens you may be able to avoid in the future. 
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Inflammation

Another pathway to cancer formation that we’re just beginning to understand is via long-term inflammation in the body. Inflammation can be caused by a variety of conditions and lifestyle choices. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain dietary choices are all known to produce inflammatory responses in the body, which can be minimized in multiple different ways. Weight loss, regular physical exercise, and a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, coffee, and tea can all neutralize free radicals and reduce inflammation in the body, in turn reducing your cancer risk. These choices are not only controllable, they have widespread health benefits beyond cancer risk reduction. 
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Targeting interventions

Some risk and protective factors are relevant to several types of cancer. Regular physical activity reduces inflammation in the body and triggers hormonal and immunological changes, all of which reduce the risk of developing multiple different cancers. Processed meat consumption has been linked to increased rates of cancers in nearly every part of the body. Focusing on controllable factors that have widespread benefits will improve your risk profile for multiple individual varieties of cancer, as well as your overall lifetime cancer risk. 

What targeted risk reduction looks like for you will depend on where your greatest risk lies. There are countless risk factors and protective actions we haven’t mentioned here which can be controlled for: vaccinating against common infections, increasing your consumption of oily fish, or letting your beverages cool before drinking them, just to name a few. Our comprehensive Catch Risk Assessment will highlight your personal risk factors, and your targeted Action Plan will show you what actions you can take to reduce or eliminate those risks, one by one.