Cancer

A Breath Of Fresh Air

All over the world, there is a concerted effort from different sectors of the government to enact stiffer anti-smoking laws due to the overwhelming evidence that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer and other serious diseases. These laws are also being made to deter the proliferation of second hand smoke that causes serious diseases and premature deaths in both adults and children.

There is no more question regarding the veracity of the ill-effects of cigarettes to people who smoke as well as to those who do not smoke. Second hand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer and heart disease in non-smoking adults. It is also blamed for the so-called sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weight, acute respiratory infections, ear infections and asthma attacks in infants and children. It is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States of America each year.

There is no risk-free level of exposure to second hand smoke. Every exposure has substantial and immediate adverse effects on cardiovascular and respiratory health. Each cigarette actually contains more than 50 carcinogens.

It is about time that a comprehensive smoke-free law is enacted that will be applied to all workplaces and public places. Comprehensive smoke-free workplace policies are the only effective way to protect non-smokers from second hand smoke. Other approaches, such as the installation of air ventilation systems and the setting-up of smoking and non-smoking sections of rooms are not effective and do not not eliminate chances of exposure.  Read more...

Can Diet and Exercise Help Prevent Cancer?

While everyone is well aware that proper diet and exercise are paramount to good health, still many people find it too much of an inconvenience to watch what they eat and to exercise. These people may feel that the benefits that they may get from all that effort is not worth the hassles of watching calories, cutting fat, running about, and moving weights around. But what if there was a benefit, and I mean a real good benefit, associated with proper diet and exercise? Maybe that would at least make those who don’t worry about diet and exercise give a little more thought to it.

Well, as if the already known benefits of proper diet and exercise aren’t enough to make some people want to incorporate them into their lives, perhaps the following information from Purdue University and Science Daily will be enough incentive to get them off their duff’s and give it a try.

According to Dennis Savaiano, dean of Purdue’s school of consumer and family sciences and professor of foods and nutrition, poor diet and lack of exercise are responsible for just as many cases of cancer as cigarette smoking.
He says, “approximately one third of cancer cases are related to smoking, one third are related to poor diet and lack of exercise, and one third are related to genetic or other factors”.  Read more...