Finding a universal cure for cancer has been humanity's pipe dream for decades, and so far, it seems, even the full power of artificial intelligence can't help humans overcome this disease. For now, a cancer diagnosis, unfortunately, remains akin to a terminal sentence for many.
And yet, there is hope. For example, recent research by doctors and biologists shows that almost half of all cancer cases on the planet are actually preventable. And scientists claim that in these cases, it's entirely possible to overcome them simply by giving up just a few bad habits.
We're so used to these banal words from doctors about how quitting bad habits could help our health, but what about preventing cancer?
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A recent study by the World Health Organization proves that nearly 4 out of 10 preventable cancer cases in the world were caused by just 2 major bad habits
You might say that scientists are playing Captain Obvious, since the main factors here are alcohol and tobacco. But the devil, as they say, is always in the details. According to a recent study conducted by scientists from the World Health Organization, approximately a third of cancer cases on the planet are actually preventable.
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Among these cases, lung, stomach, and cervical cancers, for example, can be prevented. Simply changing your lifestyle, giving up bad habits, or reducing occupational and environmental risks is sometimes enough. Analysis shows that 19 million new cancer cases were reported in 2022. Of these, 38% were actually related to changeable factors.
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The major trouble here is definitely smoking tobacco, which is responsible for around 15% of new cancer cases
So, smoking is undoubtedly the number one factor, accounting for roughly 15% of new cases, scientists say. This is especially true for men – for them, smoking is responsible for 23% of new cases. Lung cancer is also strongly linked to air pollution: 15% of lung cancer cases in women in East Asia are caused by air quality issues.
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Alcohol is the runner-up here, with 3.2% of cases, which, nevertheless, means 700K people
Alcohol, quite naturally, ranks second on this list. According to researchers, it accounted for 3.2% of all new cancer cases. And considering the total number of cases, that's 700,000 people! Thus, researchers are confident that these two habits alone, which are possible (though incredibly difficult) for a person to break, are collectively responsible for 48% of all preventable cancer cases.
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Finally, infections were also associated with approximately 10% of new cancer cases. This is primarily due to the high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer. While HPV vaccines have been available for some time, various factors have recently led to low vaccination rates.
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The wave of distrust in vaccination itself, which arose amid the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly impacted people's attitudes toward vaccines against other diseases. For example, a UNICEF study published in 2022 found that 25 million infants worldwide are missing out on lifesaving vaccines. And the HPV vaccine, unfortunately, is among them, too.
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Overall, the study leaves you with mixed feelings. On the one hand, scientists seem to be saying banal things: quit drinking and smoking, take better care of your health, and you'll be fine. On the other hand, perhaps for the first time in the history of medicine, researchers have linked such trivial stuff to the development of one of the most terrifying diseases known to humanity.
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Despite saying such obvious things, the scientists are actually trying to show us that by switching to a healthy lifestyle, we can even prevent such a nightmare illness as cancer
"This is the first global analysis to show how much cancer risk comes from causes we can prevent," the World Health Organization website quotes André Ilbawi, WHO Team Lead for Cancer Control and co-author of the analysis. "By examining patterns across countries and population groups, we can provide governments and individuals with more specific information to help prevent many cancer cases before they start."
Well, many netizens are indeed pointing out that the researchers are right, and this attempt to influence people's lifestyles by showing how giving up bad habits can help prevent cancer truly makes sense. At the very least, cancer has always been one of our greatest fears, and if fear of it doesn't motivate us to change our lifestyle for the better, then what else actually will?
Some people in the comments reacted with irony, but they had to agree with the researchers anyway
