Cancer Prevention Is Not Easy for the Apathetic (Or the Busy, Broke, or Beleaguered)

We Know What to Do – But We Don’t Always Do It

We know what we’re supposed to do to prevent cancer (eat well, move more, and stress less) but life isn’t a wellness retreat – it’s an endless rollercoaster of responsibilities, deadlines, convenience, and frozen pizza eaten over the kitchen sink.

Our Lives Aren’t Designed for Prevention

Our lives are not designed for prevention. They’re designed for survival. Between work, parenting (solo or shared), side hustles, traffic, and trying to have a personality outside of social media, we reach for the quickest, easiest, and fastest choices – often knowing full well they’re not the healthiest.

The Science Keeps Changing – Or Just Contradicts Itself

Don’t even get me started on the “science” of cancer.

One week red wine is full of antioxidants but the next week alcohol is a direct route to cancer. Red grape juice has the same antioxidant benefits but you can’t drink it because sugar feeds cancer.

Drink water, but not tap water, because it may be contaminated, but don’t drink bottled water either because it may contain microplastics and endocrine disruptors. Drink your urine. Don’t drink your urine!

The truth is, it’s complicated.

When the Problem Is Bigger Than Personal Choices

Many of our choices are made for us by the things we buy, eat, spray, apply, breathe, and bathe in that often include ingredients we can’t pronounce and dangers we’ll only hear about when someone develops a tumour the size of a tennis ball and a lawsuit follows. Some companies can add cancer-linked ingredients in such minuscule quantities that they don’t even have to list them on labels. Whose clever idea was that?

And we let it happen. Why? Because outrage fatigue is real. Because we have lives to live. And because cancer is something that happens to “other people”… until it happens to us.

From air pollution to industrial waste, radiation, endocrine disruptors, artificial additives, pesticides, plastics, stress, and noise pollution, we’re constantly navigating a minefield of potential risks just by waking up in the mornings.

So where does that leave us? Disillusioned? Yes. Powerless? Not quite.

Even in a world that sometimes feels stacked against us, there are still things we can do that significantly lowers our risk. It’s not a guarantee but it’s a start. And maybe that’s enough.

Top 10 Recommended Ways to Lower Your Cancer Risk

• Don’t smoke – anything. Ever. Smoking remains the number one preventable cause of cancer. BTW vaping isn’t an option.
• A mostly plant-based diet is recommended to reduce cancer risk.
• (Ironically, supporters of the carnivore diet claim the same thing.)
• Move your body. 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week reduces your risk of several cancers. Walking counts. So does dancing in your kitchen.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Body positivity aside, obesity is linked to numerous cancer. It’s not about thinness – it’s about inflammation and hormone balance.
• Limit alcohol. Unfortunately, even moderate drinking increases cancer risk… however, when I had cancer – even my doctors recommended that I have a glass of wine. Of course I did!
• Protect your skin. Sunscreen, hats, shade. Skin cancer is one of the most common and most preventable types. (BTW: Check the ingredients in your favourite sunscreen!)
• Get vaccinated. HPV and Hepatitis B vaccines help prevent virus-related cancers.
• Screen regularly. Mammograms, pap smears, PSA tests because early detection saves lives.
• Reduce exposure to toxins by choosing safer cosmetics, cleaning products, and water filters where possible.
• Manage stress and prioritise sleep because chronic stress and poor sleep compromise immunity and mess with our hormones – two key factors in cancer development.

No One Can Do Everything – But Everyone Can Do Something

Cancer prevention is a community effort because we all have to work towards making safer choices for ourselves and future generations. We can’t control everything but we can control some things – and that might be enough to tip the scale in our favour.

Pick one thing from the list and commit to it. Even if you only make it a habit for a week!

Join the Conversation – Because Silence Can Also Cause Cancer

Share this post with someone who needs a wake-up call.

And if you’ve got a cancer prevention tip or product you swear by – drop it in the comments – because silence can also cause cancer!

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and therefore not qualified to give anyone medical advice – in fact, my advice is so good that I even caught cancer myself, but if this message helps one person avoid cancer or beat cancer – then I’ve done my job!