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Three steps to reduce your cancer risk
31st January 2017
World Cancer Day 4th Feb
Health chiefs in Stockport are urging the town’s residents to take three steps to reduce their risk of getting cancer.
Although Stockport is one of the top seven places in the country for cancer care, it is still the most common cause of premature death in the borough.
Step one – look at your lifestyle and see what changes you can make to improve your own health.
Amazingly more than four in ten cancer cases could have been prevented by lifestyle changes like stopping smoking, reducing alcohol intake, losing weight or exercising more.
It may seem like a big sacrifice to you now but if it stops you from getting cancer surely it’s a sacrifice worth making?
An added bonus is that any of these lifestyle changes will also have a positive impact on your overall health and reduce your chances of other getting serious illnesses.
Step two – take up all the offers you have from the NHS for cancer screening. Screening plays a vital role in the fight against cancer because it can be picked up before there are any symptoms.
Getting cancer diagnosed at an early stage, when treatment is more likely to be successful, can make a real difference.
Did you know that in Stockport one in five cancers are diagnosed as a result of emergency treatment – often by this time they have spread?
Step three – know your body and trust your own instincts. You know when something has changed or is not quite right, so don’t delay – see your GP.
It may be that your bowel habits have changed or that you spot blood in your pee? It might be that you’d got a persistent cough that hasn’t gone away in weeks? Or perhaps you’ve noticed some puckering on the skin of your breast? Or maybe you’ve lost weight and you haven’t even been trying?
Most of the time these symptoms will have another less worrying explanation, but if it is cancer the quicker you get it treated, the sooner you can get on with your life.
World Cancer Day in on 4th February so let’s all do our bit to help in the fight against cancer.