Children, the environment and cancer

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Reducing your risk of cancer

Risk reduction is taking action to reduce or “cut down” your individual risk of developing cancer. Risk can be increased or decreased by the lifestyle choices you make or the kind of environment you live and work in. But even a person at low risk may get cancer, just as a person at high risk may not.

Low risk does not mean that you won’t get cancer, it means that the chances of getting it are small. High risk means that your chances may be higher, but it does not mean that you will develop cancer.

There is no single cause of cancer but some factors appear to increase the risk of developing it. These are known as risk factors. There are some risk factors that you cannot change. For example:

* age

* family history of cancer (heredity)

There are some risk factors related to everyday choices that you can change. You can choose to:

* Be a non-smoker and avoid tobacco smoke.

* Eat a healthy diet.

* Be physically active every day.

* Stay at a healthy weight.

* Limit alcohol use.

* Reduce your exposure to UV (ultraviolet) rays from the sun or indoor tanning equipment, like tanning beds.

* Know your body and report any changes to your doctor or dentist.

* Follow health and safety instructions when using hazardous materials at home and at work.


As stated by the precautionary principle:
“When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.”

Arabic Forum