Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center

Prevention

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Explore Prevention:

When it comes to preventing cancer, you have more control than you might think. Research shows that your genes and environment play a role, but so does your lifestyle.

Maintaining a healthy weight is an important way to reduce your cancer risk, and exercise and a nutritious diet work together to achieve this. Your first line of defense against cancer is integrating healthy habits such as these into your daily life.

It’s not always easy to make lifestyle changes, but we can help. Following recommended tips and resources for healthy habits will not only reduce your risk of cancer (and other diseases), but you’ll likely also have more energy, sleep better, and feel and look your best.  

Nutrition

The research is clear – diet and nutrition have a major impact on our risk of developing diseases such as cancer. Luckily, eating healthily doesn’t mean restricting your diet or eating foods you don’t like. It’s about making gradual changes, trying new recipes, and striving for a healthy balance.

Exercise

Exercise can change your life. It reduces your risk of cancer and other diseases. It increases your metabolism, helping you burn more calories throughout the day. It leads to a better sense of well-being. And a little goes a long way: Just 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily can give you impressive results.

Does Exercise Really Help Prevent Cancer?

Kim Barker, M.D., Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and Lisa Ross, an ACSM-certified cancer exercise trainer at Moncrief Cancer Institute, Simmons' Fort Worth satellite, provide answers and encouragement in this webinar.

Nicotine Cessation

Smoking is a hard habit to break, but the benefits of tobacco cessation are numerous: Ten years after you stop smoking, your risk of dying from lung cancer drops by half. Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer death. Smoking also increases the risk of other cancers, such as breast, head and neck, esophageal, gastric, and bladder cancers. You deserve those extra years and improved general health. 

Sun Protection

Skin cancer is the most common cancer. Reduce your risks by protecting yourself from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and skipping the tanning bed.