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Tag: Cancer

  • Global Cancer Awareness Drive

    This week saw a global cancer awareness drive which aimed to educate people about the causes of cancer linked to lifestyle, one of the most prevalent being alcohol abuse, others included sugar consumption and obesity.

    The World Health Organisation has predicted that the number of new cases of cancer would rise 70 per cent to nearly 25 million a year over the next 2 decades unless people make some lifestyle changes.

    According to the UN’s public health arm, half of these cases of cancer are preventable because they are directly attributed to bad lifestyle choices. In its World Cancer Report, the UN detailed the need to prevent further cases of cancer rather than trying to cure it which is “implausible”.

    According to the UN even the richest countries will battle financially to cope with the costs of treatment and care for cancer patients when the number rises this high and low income countries are already not equipped to handle the burden – sadly these poorer countries are expected to be the worst hit.

    And according to the evidence, cancer is rising every year. Globally the instances of cancer have increased from 12.7 million cases in 2008 to 14.1 million in 2012. In 2012 there were 8.2 million deaths and by 2032 it is expected to increase by 70 per cent and hit 25 million a year.

    According to the UN the cancers most prevalent in the poorer countries are related to infections such as cervical cancers and a lack of proper screening. But in the wealthier countries we are seeing more lifestyle triggered cancers such as those linked to smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and highly processed food consumption, as well as the lack of physical activity – this is the bracket that Australians fall into.

    Dr Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and joint author of the World Cancer Report, said most people were only concerned about whether a cure had been found for cancer rather than thinking about how to prevent the disease.

    An article on TheGuardian.com quotes Dr Wild as saying:

    “Despite exciting advances, the report shows that we cannot treat our way out of the cancer problem. More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed in order to complement improved treatments and address the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally.”

    Source: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/03/alcohol-sugar-smoking-fuel-cancer-surge

    Limiting the amount of alcohol we drink and cigarettes we smoke should be the first step in preventing cancer. Although alcohol in moderate quantities can be good for your heart, brain and bones as research has proven, there still needs to be some self-control – nothing should be consumed in excess, particularly alcohol. And cancer isn’t the only incurable disease that has been linked to alcohol. In addition to the long term effects of excessive drinking, binge drinking and alcohol abuse can have immediate and life-long effects on the drinker, those around him/her as well as the community.

  • Research Shows Alcohol Contributes to Cancer

    The Cancer Council of Australia has pointed out that a large number of cancer deaths in Oz can be prevented by limiting the amount of alcohol we consume. In studies conducted in 2004-2005 the cost of alcohol to Australians was estimated at $15.3 billion. That combined with smoking and an overall unhealthy lifestyle is what is causing so many cancer deaths in Oz. The Cancer Council advocates a lifestyle change, which includes cutting out smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation, eating healthier foods and exercise to reduce high cancer statistics.
     

    In terms of alcohol consumption, people should be limiting themselves to a maximum of a few standard drinks a day. Studies also show that young adults especially are putting themselves at risk by excessively consuming alcohol.
     

    This post on the Canberratimes.com website is informative on the issue:
     

    AUSTRALIANS would rejoice if medical science could prevent 30 per cent of cancer deaths in this country, yet a solution is already available.
     

    Cancer Council of Australia chief executive Ian Olver says a dramatic reduction of cancer deaths is possible, simply with lifestyle changes. Those choices include not smoking, moderate alcohol consumption, eating healthy food and reasonable exercise.
     

    The recent ruling by Australia’s High Court which in effect supported the government’s decision to require cigarettes to be sold in olive-brown packets seems likely to limit the uptake of smoking by young people, but this is only one component of what should be a far broader approach to improving Australia’s overall health.
     

    Estimating the economic cost to Australia of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs is reasonably inexact. It seems the most credible work on this is by Collins and Lapsley, and that data is based on 2004-05 figures. However, it certainly gives an indication of the need to address the use of these drugs.
     

    In summary, in 2004-05, tobacco smoking was estimated to cost Australian society $31.5 billion; the consumption of alcohol, $15.3 billion; and the social cost of illicit drug use was estimated at $8.2 billion. We now need a study of the social cost of junk food.
     

    Whether the plain packaging of tobacco will achieve the aim of making the product less attractive will take some years to determine. Meanwhile, it is fair to ask why purveyors of alcohol and junk food are free to advertise with only limited restrictions. It is not reasonable to argue, as tobacco producers do, that consumption of potentially dangerous products is a matter only of personal choice. As indicated by the Collins and Lapsley figures, poor individual choices are paid for by everyone.
     

    With the known risks of alcohol consumption, Professor Olver says the council supports the National Health and Medical Research Council recommendation that people should limit themselves to a couple of standard drinks a day.
     

    Yet a 2010 study found 28 per cent of males and 11 per cent of females in Australia drank alcohol at levels that put them at risk of alcohol-related harm over their lifetime. It also found 23 per cent of males and nine per cent of females consumed alcohol in quantities that put them at risk of alcohol-related injury from a single drinking occasion at least weekly.
     

    Read more: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/opinion/the-hidden-costs-of-alcohol-and-junk-food-20120825-24sr4.html#ixzz24ajQHKXF

    According to research done in The U.K, the excessive consumption of alcohol can certainly contribute to 7 kinds of cancer. Obviously not all people who drink alcohol are going to develop cancer but alcohol can contribute to:
     
    1. Mouth cancer
    2. Pharyngeal cancer (upper throat)
    3. Oesophageal cancer (food pipe)
    4. Laryngeal cancer (voice box)
    5. Breast cancer
    6. Bowel cancer
    7. Liver cancer
      

    In addition to that, people who smoke and drink alcohol excessively increase their chances of cancer even more because tobacco and alcohol combined work together to damage cells of your body. Doctors even warn that alcohol makes it easier for the mouth and throat to absorb the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco.
     

    Studies have found that, on average, people who smoke and drink are up to 50 times more likely to get some types of cancer than people that don’t.
     

    But how exactly does alcohol damage your body? Well when we drink alcohol, it is converted in the body into a toxic chemical called Acetaldehyde. This chemical is responsible for the hangovers we feel after drinking.  But perhaps even worse than the hangover it causes, this toxic chemical actually damages DNA and stops cells from repairing damage done by the Acetaldehyde. It also makes liver cells grow faster than normal which are more likely to pick up changes in their DNA leading to cancer.
     

    So before you go on that next drinking spree, don’t just think of the headache the next day but also remember the long term damage you are doing to your body.  This is just another reason to drink and serve alcohol responsibly.