World Cancer Day 2020 is celebrated on February 4 to raise awareness about the deadly disease, the global burden of which has been estimated to have risen to 18.1 million new cases and 9.6 million deaths by 2018. The idea behind this day is to encourage prevention, detection, and treatment awareness of this disease. Led by the Union for International Cancer Control, the day is annually celebrated to address the various issues related to cancer. Since early diagnosis is the key, it is important for more and more people to know about the disease, its prevention methods and about the treatment.

To understand better prevention from cancer, you must know how cancer occurs in the body. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body and it happens when the body's normal control mechanism stops working. Normally old cells in your body die and new cells grow in their place. However, when this mechanism is compromised, and cells grow out of control, forming new, abnormal cells. Tumours may be formed that may later turn cancerous. Ovarain Cancer Can be Detected Two Years Before Diagnosis Thanks to New Blood Test.

Talking about the prevention, while many may think that it is almost impossible to prevent cancer, it is actually possible to make some changes in the lifestyle to lower your risks of getting certain types of cancers. Right from the most common type of cancer, breast cancer to the one, partially based on lifestyle such as lung cancer, there are things you can do to slash your risk of contracting the disease. Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2019: Do Parabens Cause Breast Cancer? Here’s the TRUTH!

Shun tobacco

Tobacco is one of the most common causes of cancer. While so much is being done in terms of spreading awareness about the harmful effects of tobaccos, a huge chunk of the population is still dependent on it. Tobacco puts you on a collision course with cancer and smoking is known to cause cancers including that of the lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney. Even secondhand smoke might increase your risk of lung cancer. Breast Cancer Awareness Month: How to Treat Breast Cancer Naturally; Herbs to Reduce the Risk of the Disease.

Diet

A healthy diet is anyway extremely important for your immune system. People with compromised immunity are more at risk of developing cancer. While a healthy diet may not work as vaccination but it does help. Just recently a study analysed how women who eat a Mediterranean diet including extra-virgin olive oil and mixed nuts might have a reduced risk of breast cancer. Woman’s Breast Cancer Detected by Heat Camera During a ‘Life-Changing Visit’ to Scotland

Physical Activity

Just like a good diet, it is also important to maintain a healthy weight. You may be at a lesser risk of various types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, colon and kidney if your body weight is under control. Opt for a good amount of physical activity in a day. From Love Bites To Implants, Things That May NOT Cause Breast Cancer!

Protection From the Sun

Skin cancer is one of the most common kinds of cancer and affects one of the largest organs of our body. Fortunately, the prevention from the harmful UV rays is easy. Always step out of the house wearing sunscreen and protect your skin from direct sun exposure by hats, scarves or umbrellas.

Vaccination

Cancer prevention includes protection from certain viral infections. Talk to your doctor about vaccination against Hepatitis B. Hepatitis B can increase the risk of developing liver cancer. The hepatitis B vaccine is recommended for certain adults at high-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical and other genital cancers as well as squamous cell cancers of the head and neck. Breast Cancer Early Detection & Diagnosis: Easy Methods to Identify the Disease.

Safe Sex

Sexually transmitted infection such as HIV or HPV can make you more susceptible to cancers. Limit your number of sexual partners and also have safe sex.  Protect yourself from any kind of sexually transmitted infection.

However, nothing can beat regular examinations, whether self-exams or screenings different types of cancers. Doctors have stressed enough on how much early diagnosis is important especially in terms of combatting diseases such as cancer of the skin, colon, cervix and breast or any type of cancer for that matter.  Self-diagnosis and regular screenings can increase your chances of discovering cancer early and of treatment being successful.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 03, 2020 11:47 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).