Reduce Your Risk

Staff members in our Cancer Information Service have collected these simple steps you may wish to consider to help reduce your risk of cancer.

Tobacco

• Do not smoke or use tobacco, smokeless tobacco, or electronic tobacco products.
• Do not go into enclosed areas where there is or has been second-hand smoke or within 23 feet of someone smoking.
• Learn more about how to quit.

Nutrition

• Control your calorie intake to reach or stay at your ideal body weight.
• Follow a low fat (30% of total calories), high fiber (20-30 gm/day) diet.
• Eat 5-9 fruits and vegetables a day.
• Eat charcoal grilled meats only occasionally, if at all. Marinating lean meats in citrus or olive oil lowers the formation of cancer causing substances thus making grilling healthier.
• If you drink alcohol, do so in moderation (1 drink/day for females; 2 drinks/day for males).
• Learn more about diet and disease.

Physical Activity

• Exercise 30 minutes a day five times a week. Ten minutes at a time is fine!
• Learn more about exercise and immunity.

Sun Exposure

• Do not go in the sun without protective clothing and sunscreen.
• Use sunless tanning products, not tanning beds!

Check Your Home

• Check your home for cancer-causing agents, such as asbestos and radon.
• Use protective clothing if using possibly harmful materials, such as lawn pest products or fertilizers.
• Avoid exposure at home or work to cancer-causing chemicals, such as benzene.

Get Screened

• Talk to your doctor and get screened!