How to avoid Lung Cancer by Frank Vanderlugt
Like other forms of cancer, it can be nearly impossible to explain why one person may get lung cancer and another person not. A person who smokes cigarettes and works in a coal mine may never develop lung cancer even though he is exposing his body to a high amount of risk factors. On the other hand, someone who avoids cigarette smoke and lives a healthy life may still get lung cancer.
With that said it does not mean that we should just toss up our hands and resign ourselves to whatever disease may come our way. There are many things we can do to protect our bodies against lung cancer and other types of cancer. We can't do anything about the set of genes we inherited from our parents, but we can certainly quit smoking and avoid areas where environmental pollutants are present in high volume.
As mentioned, smoking isn't a guarantee of lung cancer and quitting smoking or never smoking isn't a guarantee of avoiding lung cancer. But smoking is the most common risk factor associated with lung cancer and it is often the focus of campaigns to reduce the risk of lung cancer. Cigarettes are considered an avoidable risk factor. Unlike other risk factors, like genetics, smoking cigarettes is a choice. People decide to smoke. But for many people who do start smoking, quitting isn't easy - even with the reality of lung cancer.
In addition to being a risk factor for lung cancer, tobacco use is also considered a risk factor for cancers in the throat, mouth, pancreas, kidney, bladder, cervix and other areas. Smokers can face a risk of cancer that is up to 10 times greater than someone who doesn't smoke. The risk factor increases with the volume smoked and the amount of time spent as a smoker.
Smokers also create a risk factor for non-smokers around them. Second-hand smoke is a risk factor for everyone exposed to a smoker. In addition to the risk for lung cancer, second-hand smoke is a risk factor for ear infections and asthma, especially in small children.
When a person decides to quit smoking there are several methods available to help. Counseling increases a person's success rate. When you know that someone else is aware of your decision to quit and expects you to succeed, you are more likely to meet those goals. Counseling may come from a health professional, but may also come from a peer group of former smokers and cancer survivors who can offer more real-life advice.
Today many forms of drug treatments are available to help you quit smoking. Nicotine replacement drugs allow you to keep ingesting the nicotine while you break the physical aspects of smoking. Nicotine replacements can be found in nicotine gum, nasal sprays, inhalers and lozenges. Other drugs, including antidepressants, can help in the battle to give up cigarettes.
Another way to battle the risk of lung cancer is through diet. Recent studies have found that a particular class of nutrients known as isothiocyanates is a protective agent against lung cancer. These nutrients are found in a limited group of vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, watercress and bok choy.
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