Simple Lifestyle Choices You Can Make to Stay Cancer-Free

From recent trends, we have come to find that cancer diagnosis means many things. The good news is that we have survivors. The bad news is that it is almost being declared a national disaster. When people lose the fight, it makes diagnosis/screening a scary activity for many especially the poor who can’t afford what comes next. Here, we offer tips on how to prevent cancer through simple everyday activities.

Simply put, cancer takes many lives in East Africa due to late diagnosis and sometimes even after early diagnosis. The methods of treatment are either too expensive and as the treatment starts the process is so harsh on the patient that he or she can’t work. This has financially crippled most African households with cancer victims.

Cancer is big business as we speak. Screening is free but treatment goes into the millions. Free diagnosis is usually followed by an expensive treatment just like in the cases of HIV/AIDS, diabetes, and eye disorder. Even the rich who put millions into treatment abroad are not assured of recovery, so with all these statistics and the state of our economy, which is abused and broken, what are the options on how to prevent cancer.

We all agree that the rise of cancer came with the rise of capitalism; the need for profit and the change of lifestyles introduced by international corporations to milk profits out of a society that lives to match a trend. What every professional agrees on is a simple change of lifestyle can make a difference.

Here are a few workable tips that can help you reduce your chances of getting cancer.

1. Don’t use processed tobacco: Tobacco is linked to seven different types of cancer, lung, mouth, throat, larynx, pancreas, bladder, cervix and kidney. The saddest part is even if you don’t use, secondary intake will increase your risk of lung cancer. So stay away from smokers as well.

2. Eating a healthy diet:  This isn’t a cancer-free card but can boost your chances of staying cancer-free. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables. Also, avoid refined sugars and fats.

3. Avoid processed meat: A report WHO has concluded shows that intakes of processed meat can slightly increase your chances of getting certain types of cancer.

4. Maintain a healthy weight and be physically active to avoid breast, prostate, lung, colon, and Kidney cancer. Physical activity alone lowers the risk of breast and colon cancer. We should make sure we exercise at least four days a week. Not only to avoid cancer but also many other lifestyle diseases.

5. Avoid body changing cosmetics and body procedures. The market now is full of products to make your skin lighter, make your butt bigger, your hips wider, your breasts firmer or bigger…but why go through all that just to have them later chopped off because of cancer. These companies are in it for the money. Stay authentic, the media has sold an image of how beauty should look like but we are meant to be unique.

6. Limit your alcohol intake: Alcohol is probably older than fruit juice but let’s be real with these companies pushing for profits and the demand going higher every day. The process of making alcohol has been taken from heat distillation to chemical formulas. Even beer doesn’t ferment like it used to. So limit your intake because I know stopping is hard. Excess alcohol is linked to breast, colon, lung, kidney and liver cancer.

7. Practice safe sex: Limit your number of sex partners or use a condom, to avoid HIV and HPV. Victims of HIV have a higher chance of getting cancer due to the state of their immunity. HIV is linked to anus, liver and lung cancer. HPV, on the other hand, is linked to cervical cancer which men can spread if exposed to. HPV is also linked to anus, penis, throat vulva and viginal cancer.

8. Avoid excess Radiation. To prevent cancer, avoid too much time on phones, TV sets, music systems, microwaves etc. Find time to be in the wild around trees and fresh air. Many of us spend time around electronics the whole day and later on go into clubs with music systems, TV. We all have phones in our pockets. There’s life in the wild, even snake bites can be sucked out.

9. Avoid stress and pressure: We are living in a life where everyone is competing and the finish line we all know is six-feet under or cremation. Stay away from pushing life, you don’t have to live in Runda, own five cars, have expensive phones, buy expensive alcohol or clothes. Stay alive, for the rich also cry. Stay stress-free! Bora Uhai.

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10. Avoid excessive medication: Sometimes for a cold use homemade remedies, and strengthen your immune system. Notice that Africa was healthy before medication advanced. Go back to natural living.

Please note this is not a guaranteed cancer-free guideline but points to note on how to prevent the disease. The cost of medication is higher than a few lifestyle choices and we all know what the treatment process does to the body.