Healthy dietary habits, regular physical activity, and staying away from tobacco and drinking alcohol can help reduce the risk of cancer to a large extent, Dr. Jagadesh Chandra Bose, senior consultant, surgical oncology, Dr. Rela Institute and Medical Centre (RIMC), said on Sunday.
Addressing a webinar organised by The Hindu and the RIMC as part of the The Hindu Wellness Series on cancer prevention and treatment, he said the prevalence of cancer would continue to increase in the future.
Highlighting that regular consumption of tobacco or smoking posed a high risk of cancer, particularly oral cancer, he said if a person consumed alcohol along with this, it would have a synergistic effect in increasing the risk.
Dr. Bose said cutting down on carbohydrates and fried food and increasing the intake of boiled food, fruits and vegetables could reduce the risk of cancer.
Since stress was a risk factor for cancer, it was important to strive for a stress-free balanced lifestyle with regular physical activities such as exercise and yoga. Pointing out that cancer was detected at an early stage only in 30 to 40 % of the patients as it could remain silent without any symptoms, Dr. Bose said it was important to undergo periodic health checks. “The earlier the diagnosis is done, the easier it is to treat and the risks of recurrence will be significantly low,” he said.
Echoing his thoughts, Santhosh Sampath, consultant, nuclear medicine, RIMC, said some people got unnecessarily worried and voluntarily opted for a PET or CT scan. “However, such types of tests must be done only on doctor’s advice after certain primary investigations,” he said.
Komalavalli Subbiah, consultant, radiology, RIMC, said all women aged above 40 should undergo periodic mammography to check for breast cancer, which according to her, was becoming increasingly prevalent.
