A recent research has identified cancer as an environmental disease that is caused mainly by avoidable lifestyle factors.
The new evidence from the recent World Cancer Congress suggests that cancer is more often caused by the environment a person lives in than innate biology, News.com.au reported.
Cancer Council Queensland spokeswoman Katie Clift said that the key to reducing cancer incidence lies in prevention, for example, about 47,000 breast cancer deaths worldwide could be avoided every year if physical inactivity was eliminated as a risk factor.
Clift added that it was also important that all eligible women had breast screens and took part in vaccination programs to reduce cancer rates, since an early detection is also vital.
She suggested people to visit GP regularly to discuss any symptoms or body changes and look for lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your cancer risk.
Clift urged smokers to give up the habit and said tobacco use was the cause of most preventable cancers, adding by 2030, tobacco is projected to kill eight million people annually, unless people continue to introduce initiatives that help existing smokers quit and prevent others from taking up the lethal habit.
Other risk factors included diet, occupational carcinogens and infectious agents.
Clift said that the rates of overweight and obesity are increasing at all income levels and being overweight or obese increases the risk of some cancers.
