Get up and get going to keep cancer at bay

For 54-year-old Mary, life was going fine until she found a lump in her left armpit in 2007. She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. “I don’t smoke, so why me?” was her first reaction.

According to a recent study, more than 13,000 cancer deaths occur each year are due to smoking, sun exposure, poor diet, alcohol, inadequate exercise or being overweight.

“Today’s lifestyle is all about a beautiful exterior and a very bad interior,” says Dr Shishir Shetty, oncologist at Fortis Hiranandani Hospital.

Lifestyle plays an important role in the aetiogenesis of cancer, according to Dr Vimal Jain, a consultant onco surgeon at Kohinoor hospital. He says, “A large percentage of cancers are caused by consumption of tobacco and alcohol, and the incidence of certain cancers, such as breast cancer, is more of an urban phenomenon.”

“Apart from smoking, there are other reasons for cancer among women. Obesity, late marriages (after 30 years of age), use of oral contraceptives are few of the reasons behind the rise,” says Dr Maheboob Basade, an oncologist at Jaslok Hospital.

With globalisation, many international food chains have opened in the country. Doctors feel that choice is good until it becomes a bane. “Today even young children prefer burger to chapattis and it is this poor food choice that will lead to obesity, which can also be linked to cancer in the long run,” adds Basade.

They agree that though general awareness is on the rise, site specific awareness is variable. “There is awareness about lung and breast cancer, but the same cannot be said about head and neck cancer or cervical or uterine cancer,” says Jain. “Due to lack of education, irrational beliefs, surprisingly even among the educated, adds to ignorance among people,” adds Shetty.