ORLANDO, Fla. (IVANHOE NEWSWIRE) – More than two million people will be diagnosed with cancer in 2024 for the first time, but experts say there are simple ways to reduce your risk.

For example, smoking accounts for nearly 20% of lung cancer cases. This represents more than 100,000 preventable lung cancers in men and more than 90,000 in women. According to the National Cancer Institute, quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer by 30 to 50 percent within 10 years and cuts the risk of oral cancer in half after five years.

What about the third most preventable type of cancer, colorectal cancer?

“It’s extremely important to get the word out that colorectal cancer is something we can actually prevent,” said Dr. Brooke Glessing, an advanced gastroenterologist.

Dr. Glessing says a precancerous polyp in the colon can take 10 years to turn into cancer, but the risk can be eliminated with frequent screenings.

“In anything that we deal with in life, this is one thing that we can actually do something about, and I think that’s really exciting,” Dr. Glessing said.

Getting vaccinated against hepatitis B and HPV may lower your risk of anal cancer. The American Cancer Society developed this acronym to indicate when to get screened: “ATTENTION.” This means a change in the intestines, a sore that won’t heal, unusual bleeding, a thickening or lump, indigestion, an obvious change in a wart or mole, and a nagging cough.

“I think the more we talk about it, the more we educate people about it, the more likely it is that people will come forward and get tested,” Dr. Glessing said.

Researchers said other factors that increase cancer risk include excess body weight, alcohol consumption and ultraviolet rays.

Click here to report a typo. Please include the title.

Click here to subscribe to our daily WAFB 9 News digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.

Copyright 2024 WAFB. All rights reserved.