Ditching tobacco, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly and eating a balanced diet are vital to your health and reducing your cancer risk.

In addition, these lifestyle changes can lower your cancer risk:

LIMIT ALCOHOL

While a low to moderate intake of alcohol has been shown to reduce risk of heart disease, drinking too much can increase risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, sudden death, stroke and several cancers.

Medical experts do not recommend alcohol consumption, but for people who do consume it, experts suggest that women have no more than one drink per day and men no more than two, based on body size and metabolic rates.

Remember: This guideline is the average number of drinks per day and does not justify drinking more drinks on fewer days.

PROTECT YOUR SKIN

While ultraviolet (UV) rays can damage your skin and can increase your risk of skin cancer, you don’t have to avoid the sun completely. Spending time outdoors to get exercise or socialize with friends and family is important to your well-being, but there are steps you can take to stay safe and protect your skin:

• Stay in the shade.
• Slip on a shirt.
• Apply sunscreen frequently.
• Wear a hat.
• Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and the skin around them.

Remember: Protecting your skin from the sun is important every day – not only when you spend a day at the lake, beach or pool. Exposure to the sun and UV rays adds up day after day.

KNOW YOUR RISK

One of the simplest ways to reduce your risk of cancer is to know your family history and how your genetic makeup impacts your risk. Talk with your family members about any history of cancer and share that history with your physician. Together, you can decide what screening and preventive measures are appropriate for your circumstances.

To get the conversation started, keep track of cancer and coronary heart disease among your family members and use the Family HealthLink Assessment Tool.

GET SCREENED

Many cancers that are found early can be treated and often cured. Based on cancer research, experts in the field have developed a series of screening guidelines for a number of cancers.

To learn more about how you can reduce your cancer risk, subscribe to the OSUCCC – James Blog or call The James Line at 800-293-5066.