Hi Steemians! I am @neurosurgeon and today I’ll be expounding on some of our day-to-day living habits that could predispose us to cancer. Come along as I delve into the subject proper.
You’ll agree with me that cancer is a very scary disease, a dreaded one that no one ever wish to have. At the mention of cancer, even the bold quiver and this is just as expected. The reason for the fear is not far fetched.
The general presumption is that cancer is incurable and as such, no one prays to have such ailment.
What Exactly is Cancer?
To start with, cancer results when the cells in our body replicate in an unregulated manner and metastasize into other tissues.
Cancer usually begin with a genetic modifications that causes a cell or more to divide several times and become a tumor with time.
The problem with cancer is that you never can tell what causes it. What we only have are series of factors that could predispose one to developing cancererous growth in his living cells.
You will be surprised at some of those things that could put you at the risk of having cancer.
Let me state here that some of the substances we make use of daily are carcinogenic. They have tendency of initiating cancerous growth. The affected person might never be aware of the presence of such substance in the body.
That's why more often than not, cancer patients are usually dejected as they tend to ask themselves ‘why me'?
What we will look at today are those factors that can predispose an individual to developing cancerous cells and I promise to be succinct with that.
Excessive Alcohol Intake
One of the top factors that tend to initiate cancerous growth is drinking alcohol excessively.
Do you know that by simply drinking too much of spirits, scientific researches has it that you are more susceptible to cancer?
The esophagus, liver and the neck regions are at risk of witnessing cancerous growth if you keep drinking above limits.
I'm not saying drinking beer literally translates to having cancer, but then, if you've had a family member that has ever been diagnonsed of cancer before, does it not just make sense that you watch how much you drink?
If you are considering a cancer-free life, then, alcohol consumption is not advisable.
If you must drink, then try to drink within limits. Chances are high that when you drink alcohol, you’ll develop cancer of the mouth, gut and the liver or so empirical investigations has made us to understand.
The point is, the cells of these parts of the body are very sensitive and they can ‘misbehave’ when exposed to excessive alcohol.
Modesty seems to be the key here. It is always safe at lower levels, or so I am convinced.
If you can’t withdraw completely from alcohol intake then you need to watch your consumption. That way, you’re not likely to develop cancerous cells.
Unhealthy Eating Habits
Yet another important predisposing factor to cancer is the type of the food we eat. If you ask me, eating habits has a great telling effect on the proneness to cancer.
You know why? Right. Obesity stands as the second most predisposing factor to cancer and you'll agree with me that the calorific value of your food daily will determine the level of fat in you.
As such, carelessness about what we eat can put us at the risk of having cancer. You can see this is rather subtle, isn't it?
Scientific findings have proved beyond reasonable doubts that there exist a positive correlation between the types of food a person eats and likelihood of having cancer.
Foods with much fibre, little fat, several fruits and vegetables seems to be suitable for the body and prevent the body cells from becoming cancerous. You may want to consider forming your meal timetable around these food types.
If you want your diet to shield you from chances of cancerous growth, you need to stay away from salty foods, high cholesterol foods and processed foods at all times.
The preservatives in most processed foods contain carcinogenic substances and those can trigger cancer in living cells.
Canned foods especially can be dangerous. The coating on their surfaces could corrode and it dissolves straight into the food and this is clearly disastrous.
Besides, canned foods contain fats that can make you gain weight rapidly and this can snowball into obesity upon continous intake.
Harmful Chemicals
Most assuredly, there are host of chemicals we come in contact with daily that are carcinogenic. We inhale them for long hours unconsiously because we aren't aware of the potential hazards they could cause.
Do you know that some paints on the wall of our homes, offices and schools contains harmful carcinogenic substances?
Organic solvents such as benzene, turpentine and metal coatings used in paints can trigger leukaemia, a form of blood cancer.
A way-out from this is to opt for non-toxic paints. If you are developing your property by yourself, you can ask your contractor to stick to eco-friendly paint that does not 'offend' your health.
If at any point in time, you percieve some offensive smells from the walls of the building you stay, you can simply walk away. Do everything to stay healthy. It's worth it, trust me!
Again, if you teach in a school, you probably will be using a whiteboard marker. Well, the ink contained in the marker has poisonous substances that can affect the respiratory tract and initiate cancerous growth.
This is the same whiteboard marker we use and inhale for long sessions while we face the board teaching. Nothing kills like ignorance!
You can attenuate the effect of harmful odours from the whiteboard markers by filling it with inks that contains non-toxic chemicals.
These days, there are hosts of refill inks you can go for which has no harmful content and does not put you at a risk of having cell metastasis.
Dust Particles and Radiations
Exposure to hazardous environmental radiations and fine dust particles is another leading cause of cancers.
Many people reside close to industrial areas where dust particles from construction works usually fill the air. These dusts contains aerosols and other gaseous contaminants that could trigger lung cancer.
If you work in a cement factory or any other manufacturing company where heavy smoke is constantly being emitted, then you are at higher risk of having cancer.
The problem here is that you must have inhaled this carcinogenic substances for long hours.
There are mineral pollutants, metallic dusts, silicates and especially asbestos which are clearly carcinogenic and can cause cancerous growth of cells.
A way out from this is to mind the ambient air around us at all times. We all have the responsibility of taking care of ourselves so it is pertinent that we see that at any particular instance, only ‘clean air' is inhaled.
Where necessary, industries should be compelled to install air filters to prevent hazardous smoke particles from filling the air close to residences and offices.
Another dimension to it is the ionizing radiations from the earth and other cosmic bodies. The sources of these radiations is diverse. It ranges from industrial processes to simple agricultural practices such as pesticides application.
Naturally too, certain rare gases whose radiation ionize in the atmosphere have been proved to be carcinogenic. Radon is an important one among all these gases. It has the potential of causing skin cancer.
Long exposure to radioactive fallouts from atomic bomb and even improvised explosive devices can equally cause atoms in living cells to metastasize and that’s cancer eventually.
However, it is good to note that majority of the environmental cancer risks are influenced by lifestyle options such as work nature and the type of community one resides in. So it is entirely possible to avoid these carcinogens and steer clear of cancer.
Furthermore, the nature of the cancer risk posed by exposures to the fallouts and radiations depends to a large extent on the levels of carcinogens present. The body has a way of destroying the growth imitated by these cells, naturally.
However, it is still wisdom to blot out environmental risks that could predispose one to sources of carcinogens such as toxic chemicals, common insecticides, asbestos and cigarette smokes.
Family History
Heredity is one of the leading predisposing factors to cancer.
Cancer itself is an hereditary disorder, as such, cancerous genes passed down along a family line is a cause of cancer and this merits some consideration.
It is truth incontrovertible that we all have risks of developing cancerous cells but people whose family members carry mutable genes stand a higher risk. However, this does not necessarily mean that they’ll come up with cancer. It only means that they are at a higher risk.
To put it straight, if one of your family members or a relative has or has had cancer in time past, chances are that you’ll have cancer too. This is due to hereditary mutation of genes called germline mutation of their gametes.
This is because there is a gene flow in members of same lineage and if a gene has coded for a cancerous cell in time past, it is very likely that such a cell will witness metastasis in future times too.
Take for instance, if a mother has witnessed breast cancer before, it is very likely that her daughter will have too sometimes later.
Science has provided a great solution to hereditary mutation that can cause cancer. These days, people with high risk of cancerous growth due to germline mutation can go for genetic counselling.
There is also genetic test for confirmation of presence of genes that can cause cancer.
The foregoing notwithstanding, it still stands that there are no known causes of cancer.
It is very advisable that we stay out of these factors that could predispose us to the ailment.
Stay healthy by keeping out carcinogenic substances and watching your lifestyle in totality. I’m truly yours, @neurosurgery
I am leo😂
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Welcome Leo. Good morning
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