ONE in three cases of cancer are preventable by leading a healthy lifestyle.
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This adds up to about 37,000 preventable cases in Australia each year.
Poor diet, being overweight, not doing enough physical activity and drinking too much alcohol collectively contribute to nearly as many cancer cases as smoking.
And less than half of Australians are aware of these factors.
While there is growing awareness in NSW that smoking, getting sunburnt and spending time outdoors during periods of UV levels at three or higher, there is still little awareness about other factors.
Cancer Council NSW community programs coordinator Sally Hudson said there were many myths around what caused cancer and a lack of awareness around a number of known lifestyle factors increased cancer risk.
“While skin cancer prevention and anti-smoking campaigns are now commonplace in Australian society, with strong awareness of UV and smoking as cancer risk factors, [the 1 in 3 Cancers] mass media campaign [is the first] in which we have addressed comprehensive cancer prevention messaging around the other lifestyle factors,” she said.
“There is no guarantee that people who lead a healthy lifestyle will not get cancer, as there are other factors that cause cancer that are not modifiable.
“But by changing the habits that we know are directly linked to increased cancer risk, people can stack the odds of preventing the disease significantly in their favour.”
The facts:
Despite the myth that ‘everything gives you cancer’, the vast majority of preventable cancers are caused by seven common and avoidable risk factors.
- Smoking: the biggest risk factor for preventable cancer, causing 15,500 cancer cases each year, and is responsible for one in five of all Australian cancer deaths
- UV radiation: 95 per cent of all skin cancers are caused by UV radiation
- Being overweight or obese: significantly increases a person’s risk of 11 different types of cancer, with about 4000 cancer cases cause by obesity in Australia each year
- Alcohol consumption: responsible for more than 3200 cancer cases each year
- Eating too much red and processed meat: One in six cases of bowel cancer has been attributed to eating too much red or processed meats
- Not eating enough fruit, vegetables and fibre: A high fibre diet can help prevent one in six bowel cancer cases, and eating enough fruit and vegetables reduced people’s risk of oesophageal, lung, and some mouth and throat cancers
- Not being physically active: More than 1800 cases of bowel, breast (post-menopause) and endometrial cancer cases could be prevented each year by being more physically active
