Jakarta (ANTARA) – An unhealthy lifestyle that includes not exercising enough, not maintaining a healthy weight and eating unhealthy foods contributes to 35 percent of your risk of developing cancer.
Chairman of the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI), Prof. DR. dr. Aru Wisaksono Sudoyo said, if you are a smoker and are still perpetuating the habit of smoking tobacco rolls, your chances of contracting one of these deadly diseases will increase by 30 percent.
The body usually sheds cells that grow abnormally. However, when conditions outside the body due to an unhealthy lifestyle including smoking, lack of movement and consumption of foods containing cancer-forming substances are too strong, the abnormal cells continue to grow and become lumps or called tumors.
“These (abnormal) cells have the ability to grow indiscriminately, quickly, disrupting the surrounding cells. Then they appear on the surface and are called tumors or groups of cells that grow irregularly. There are benign and malignant tumors,” he said in a virtual briefing with officials, written Sunday.
Aru reiterated that 90 percent of cancer risk factors come from the environment, while the rest comes from damaged genes with a percentage of 5-10 percent. This means, most cells damage to cells after a person is born, aka due to the environment or lifestyle.
In the case of nasopharyngeal cancer, for example, one of the triggers is the consumption of food containing carcinogens such as salted fish which is improperly processed to contain nitrosamines. These substances are the same as those found in sausages, these are classified as carcinogens or substances that give rise to cancer.
Not only food selection, how to dress, especially bras, is also a concern.
Surgical oncology consultant surgeon at the Dharmais Cancer Hospital, Alban Dien cites the results of the study not recommending the use of a brassiere at all times.
“I read there are some studies that say it is not good to use (bra) wire when we have daily mobility,” he said.
Alban, who also practices at Eka Hospital Cibubur, said that a bra with a wire can put pressure on the body and form a continuous (chronic) inflammation. One of the causes, cancer, he said, is continuous inflammation.
As a solution, she advised women to replace wire bras with normal bras at night or can just take them off.
Indeed, wearing a bra is not associated with the risk of developing breast cancer, as revealed by a study in the Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention in 2014.
The study involved 454 women with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) and 590 sufferers invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) or the two most common subtypes of breast cancer. Researchers found that there were no aspects associated between wearing a bra and an increased risk of IDC or ILC.
Then, related to exercise which is not only useful for reducing several types of cancer, but also can help maintain weight, improve blood pressure and mental health. Several studies have shown that physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of breast and colon cancer.
“It’s never too late to start a fitness program, no matter when you start, because you’ll see the benefits of exercise at any age,” said Georgetown University Medical Center’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center oncology professor of oncology, Dr. Priscilla Furth.
In Indonesia, breast cancer is among the highest ranking experienced by women. According to Aru, in women this type of cancer even ranks first, followed by cervix, large intestine, liver and nasopharynx.
Data in 2020 shows, the number of breast cancer cases reaches 65,858 cases per year. While in the world in the same year, there were reported 2,261,419 cases with the death rate reaching 600,000 patients per year.
Not only lifestyle factors, someone who has a family history of breast cancer could be at risk of developing a similar cancer later in life.
Doctors recommend that they do early detection starting from breast self-examination (BSE) after the menstrual period, ultrasound every 6 months, and mammography 1-1.5 years.
If prevention has been taken, but cancer is inevitable, Alban advises patients to make medical therapy their main and subordinate treatment to herbal or alternative medicine.
“Herbs are not prohibited, the first therapy is mandatory for medical therapy. If you enter with herbs or alternatives, if you enter stage one and cancer has been detected, the herbs will be secondary because if you enter with herbs first, the stage will increase and will not return,” he said.
“We cannot do other therapies except those that are palliative to improve quality of life,” continued Alban.
Then, regarding vaccination in cancer patients, Aru said, “Now, the new chemotherapy is finished with the COVID-19 vaccination. We can also take the timing between chemo and chemo, vaccination can be done in the hope of forming antibodies. If it’s dangerous, it’s just whether it’s effective or not. “.
So, even though cancer is often labeled as a genetic disease, the biggest trigger risk factor is an unhealthy lifestyle, including lack of exercise and not adopting unhealthy diets that can contribute to excess body weight.
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