Beat the Big

The World Health Organization (WHO) data on the number of Filipinos who died last year from cancer is mind-numbing – 28,700 males and 27,99 females.

  

The Philippine Cancer Society, on the other hand, pegged at about 98,200 the new cases of cancer diagnosed each year among Filipinos, of whom 59,000 individuals are expected to die.

Among men, lung cancer, accounting for 24.3 percent of the fatalities, has remained the No. 1 killer, followed by liver cancer with 14.7 percent and colorectal cancer with 12.8 percent. 

Breast cancer is most lethal among Filipino women with 27.7 percent, with colorectal cancer at 10.4 percent and lung cancer at 9.9 rounding up the top three.

While cancer has been linked to genes, people should not feel helpless against it, especially in lessening the cancer risk factors already identified by doctors and scientists. These cancer risk factors include the use of tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity.

Cigarette smoking, for one, accounts for 20 percent of all cancer deaths not just in the Philippines but worldwide.

Thus, just quitting the nicotine habit, along with excessive alcohol intake blamed for most liver ailments, would definitely lessen the chances of people getting cancer.

 

Then, there’s also eating right, getting plenty of rest and stopping being a couch potato by exercising. Vigilance is also critical because early detection is key in surviving cancer. –End-

Image by: The Fruit Doctor