Friday 4th February is World Cancer Day. This is traditionally a time of year when many people make resolutions to improve aspects of their health and well-being. There is so much that we can all do as individuals to reduce our risks of developing cancer. More than one third of cancer cases can be prevented. Another third can be cured if detected early and treated properly. By implementing resource-appropriate strategies on prevention, early detection and treatment, we can save millions of lives every year.
Health & Lifestyle Choices
By making healthy changes to your lifestyle now you can make a difference to your cancer risk in the future.
If, 10 years ago, everyone in the UK:
- was a non-smoker
- was a healthy weight
- ate and drank healthily
- drank no alcohol
- was more active
- was safe in the sun
Then your GP may see 40% less new cancer cases this year.
Progress
Today, we know more about cancer than ever before. Through investing in research and innovation, we have witnessed extraordinary breakthroughs in medicine, diagnostics, and scientific knowledge. The more we know, the more progress we can make in reducing risk factors, increasing prevention and improving cancer diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and care.
Change
Through raising the public and political literacy and understanding around cancer, we reduce fear, increase understanding, dispel myths and misconceptions, and change behaviours and attitudes. During the pandemic some our patients may have been nervous about visiting the practice but it is very important to get any new symptoms checked. Most of these can be caused by other conditions but early cancer detection is key to effective treatment.
Please see the chart below for some of the early signs and symptoms of cancer. These can be caused by things other than cancer but if you experience any of these listed below, or any other unusual symptoms, you should see your GP as soon as possible. You are not wasting your GP’s time by getting your symptoms checked.
