Can cancer be prevented?
With our current knowledge, we believe that around half of all cancer cases can be prevented. Smoking, sun exposure, poor diet, alcohol consumption and inadequate physical activity are significant risk factors, which can be modified. Not smoking, or giving up, is the single most effective strategy to prevent cancer. One in nine cancer cases, and more than one in five cancer deaths (over 7700 every year) are caused by cigarette smoking. Protecting your skin from exposure to the sun’s UV radiation is a simple and very effective strategy for preventing skin cancer. Over 383,000 Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer each year (roughly 9500 of these are melanoma, the deadliest form) – causing more that 1600 deaths. Relative five-year survival rates for melanoma are 90% for men and 95% for women. It is estimated more than 4000 cancer deaths annually are due to poor diet, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and being overweight. Again these are deaths that can be prevented.
