If you do one thing this week . . . know the cancer risk factors

Scientists like to call them “modifiable risk factors” – those aspects of our lifestyles that we can alter to reduce the likelihood of developing a disease.

For cancer, the usual suspects top the charts, but it’s worth repeating the advice to eat healthy food, keep physically active, avoid becoming overweight and obese, quit the smokes and limit the alcohol intake.

A recent review looked at the evidence available to back up claims of modifiable lifestyle risks from human studies of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.

“The major risk factors that can be modified to decrease risk for these cancers include improving diet, reducing tobacco use, controlling weight, limiting alcohol consumption and cessation of smoking,” write the authors in Cancer Letters last year.

The review didn’t look at skin cancer – but the advice there is to avoid overexposure to UV light, including strong sunlight, which can damage DNA.