Healthy Living

Cancer. If the word alone scares you, it may help to know that at least half of all deaths from the disease are preventable. "Although some people can do everything right and still get cancer," says the American Cancer Society's Colleen Doyle, R.D., "we've learned a lot about reducing risk." Doyle and other experts contributed to this list of 15 easy, concrete ways to tip the scales in your favor--use it!

By Ginny Graves

Consider the Pill
Taking oral contraceptives that contain both estrogen and progestin for even a short period of time can lower your risk of the most common form of ovarian cancer, a University of Hawaii study found this spring. (Being on the Pill for more than 10 years may reduce risk by as much as 80 percent.) Even after you stop using the Pill, benefits can last for years.

Get the HPV vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control recommends that girls and women ages 11 to 26 get the HPV vaccine called Gardasil, which helps protect against cervical cancer. But even older women should consider it, says Diane Harper, M.D., director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire. "This is not a virgin vaccine," she says. "It's effective regardless of age and sexual activity."

Breast-feed if you can

You always hear about the health benefits for babies, but it's good for moms, too. Research shows that if American women breast-fed each of their children for 15 months, up to 11 percent of breast cancer cases might be prevented annually. "Even breast-feeding for at least six months over your lifetime--say, three months for two children--will give some benefits," says Anne McTiernan, M.D., Ph.D., coauthor of Breast Fitness.

Go organic (at least sometimes)

"Some pesticides have carcinogenic potential," says Alyson Mitchell, Ph.D., associate professor of food science and technology at the University of California at Davis. Don't feel like paying $4 for a banana? Choose organic just for produce that is most heavily treated with pesticides, like peaches and strawberries.

Grill safely

Nothing says summer like barbecue. But researchers recently found that women who regularly ate grilled meat more than once a week had a 47 percent higher risk of breast cancer than women who ate it once a week or less. Why? Cooking meat at high temperatures, whether by grilling, frying or other methods, creates potentially cancer-causing chemicals. But grilling can pose an extra risk. When fat drips onto hot coals or burners, it produces carcinogenic smoke that binds to food. Meat is considered the worst offender, since its higher fat content makes it drip and smoke more. To play it safe, choose lean cuts and don't char the meat.

Find your inner optimist

More than a third of adults believe they have little control over whether they get cancer, says Doyle. That's bad news, since surveys show that people who believe they have more control are more likely to exercise regularly and eat fruits and vegetables. "There are things we can do every day to reduce our cancer risk," says Doyle. Now's the time to start.


For more important anticancer tips, head over to Glamour for their expert advice.

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