Experts: We are winning the fight against cancer

Greek salad closeup. Common Purslane and more vegetables in a plate with Greek salad.[/caption]

Marsha Hunt----In the fight against cancer, medical science is making progress.  Lifestyle factors, for example, have been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of cancer over one's lifetime.  So while we don't have a cure for cancer, science is well on the way in the prevention of the disease, while at the same time finding better and better treatment options.

Mark Varvares, M.D., director of the Saint Louis University Cancer Center says that "there are things we can do that can significantly decrease our risk of getting cancer.

“I urge people to take advantage of these advances. This information and these screening opportunities weren’t always available to our parents and grandparents.

“Healthy choices and preventive screenings won’t totally erase cancer, but they can reduce our risk in a really meaningful way. They offer us the chance to change the course of the future, if we take advantage of them.”

Several websites offer information on how to reduce the risk of cancer.  The Mayo Clinic is one that provides specific tips that include exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating lots of fruits and vegetables and getting screening for certain types of cancers, such as colon and rectal cancers as well as breast cancer.  Regular physical activity is also important.

Medical News Today expands upon some of the recommendations made by the Mayo Clinic.  An article in one of the online publications maintains it's all about choice.  Cancer can strike almost anyone, but vigilance and choice are essential ingredients in prevention.  These choices include avoiding radiation as much as possible, alcohol and fatty foods, as well as red meat.

These are the essential parameters for each individual to set a path to maintaining good health.  In the fight against cancer, every person can don the armor for victory or passively take the chance of becoming a willing victim instead.