We can beat cancer Awareness and Prevention Guide

Quick Facts Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. 8.2 million people die from cancer every year. More than one-third of those deaths are preventable. If detected early, many cancers are treatable. You can reduce your risk of getting cancer!

Factors that increase the risk of different types of cancer Smoking – lung cancer, possibly other types of cancer also Drinking alcohol – increased risk of many cancers of many cancer types Increased body weight and not exercising Ultraviolet light – skin cancer Human papilloma virus – cervical cancer Asbestos – mesothelioma (cancer in the membrane lining of the lungs)

What can you do? Being overweight or obese increases the risk of 10 cancers: Bowel Oesophagus Uterine Ovarian Pancreatic Breast Kidney Liver Prostate Gallbladder You can reduce the risk by: Maintaining a healthy weight Making physical activity part of your day

Smoking Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of cancer globally. Quitting smoking will have a major positive impact on an individual’s health and that of their families and friends. The good news is that quitting at any age is beneficial, increasing life expectancy and improving quality of life.

Alcohol Reducing alcohol consumption decreases the risk! Alcohol is also strongly linked with an increased risk of multiple types of cancer, including: Cancers of the mouth Pharynx Larynx Oeasophagus Bowel Liver Breast Reducing alcohol consumption decreases the risk!

Can you be ‘screened’ for cancer? In the UK we have two ‘screening’ programmes to try to detect cancer early that are available to you: Breast cancer – women aged between 50 and 70 are invited to have a breast X-ray every three years. Bowel cancer – men and women aged 50-74 are invited to take a simple test done at home every two years.

What else can you do? Total Fitness – Tuesdays 17.45 – 18.45 To help encourage and support staff to exercise, the following classes are free at Aberdeen Sports Village: Total Fitness – Tuesdays 17.45 – 18.45 Sports Conditioning – Thursdays 17.20 – 18.20 Find our more on the University of Aberdeen’s Sports and Exercise Team’s website: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/sportandexercise/

Some other things you could do Vaccination against human papilloma virus available to reduce risk of cervical cancer – available to all girls aged 12-13 Protect your skin against ultraviolet light – by wearing T-shirt, hat, sunglasses and sun cream (the higher the factor, the better the protection)

We can beat cancer We can. I can.