Part of a series on cancer phobia.
As much as we fear cancer, we are strangely selective about how to reduce its risk. We overreact to the potential causes of cancer and take various actions that make it even more likely. Understanding this obvious absurdity is the first step to mitigating its hidden harm.
A recent report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) confirms what we've known for years. Reducing or eliminating alcohol intake reduces the risk of developing several types of cancer to a greater extent than many of the things we do to reduce it. danger.
The benefits are huge. The relative risk of oral cancer was reduced by 34% after stopping alcohol use for 5 to 9 years, and by 55% after quitting smoking for 10 to 19 years. For esophageal cancer, abstinence for 5 to 15 years reduced the relative risk by 15%, and abstinence for 15 years or more reduced the relative risk by 65%. This is on the same scale as the risk reduction that smokers enjoy when they quit.
It's not just oral cancer or esophageal cancer. The study, a meta-analysis of dozens of individual studies, found limited evidence that the same was true for laryngeal, colorectal, and breast cancer.
Even advice from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) may not be acceptable to some people. The same organization assesses all types of cancer risk.when they are even tips There perhaps The risks from industrial chemicals like glyphosate, PFAS, and artificial sweeteners can cause us to overreact.
This gap between our fears and reality is not at all surprising. Many people like alcohol, beer, and wine. Additionally, many people prefer foods that make them fat and lead a sedentary lifestyle. However, reducing obesity can reduce the risk of developing cancer far more than avoiding chemicals, pesticides, and radiation. These fear-inducing words are automatically associated by many people with cancer risk.
IARC has announced that red meat and processed meat are carcinogenic. Naturally occurring chemicals in the preparation of coffee (any beverage above 149 degrees Fahrenheit), bread, cookies, and french fries, and perhaps radiation from cell phone towers. (Concerns about cell phone radiation have been disproved by plenty of evidence.) But many of us like bacon, coffee, cookies, potato chips, and french fries, and our obsession with cell phones can be overwhelming. there is.
Why does this selective fear arise? Research by Paul Slovic et al. shows that we generally worry less about risks that also have benefits, and that we are more willing to take voluntary risks than those that we feel are imposed on us. It turns out that the risks you take on are less worrying. It may not be the most objective way to maximize our health and safety, but the psychology of risk perception works that way.
This helps explain the results of a 2015 poll by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which asked people to rank the causes of cancer. 10 of the top 16 are on us.
3. Radiation—89 percent (does not include natural radiation from the sun)
4. Industrial pollution – 88%
6. Asbestos — 83%
7. Pesticides on agricultural products—74 percent
8. Nuclear power—68%
9. Food additives — 62%
10. Radon – 59 percent
11. Genetically modified foods – 56%
16. Artificial sweeteners—51 percent
Voluntary lifestyle and dietary choices that further increase cancer risk were far down the list.
15. Overweight or obese – 52%
19. Alcohol use – 43%
20. Lack of exercise — 42%
21. Diet low in fruits and vegetables — 42%
24. Diet high in red meat — 35%
In a 2017 ASCO survey, 53% of people said pollutants were a cancer risk factor, only 38% said food choices, and 31% said obesity. %, 30% answered “alcohol,'' and 25% answered “lack.'' About exercise. ”
These beliefs are the product of both our instinctive perception of risk and amplification by the media.. We spend money on more expensive organic fruit and vegetables (Cancer UK) and vitamins and supplements (World Cancer Research Fund International) that promise to protect us from cancer but don't. I'm wasting it. We avoid artificial sweeteners and worry about cell phone radiation. We resist water fluoridation and the use of greenhouse gas-free nuclear power to fight climate change.
But rather than walking around the neighborhood, many people would rather eat bacon and chips, drink beer, and slouch on the couch bingeing on the latest hit show. This is interesting considering that cancer has been our most feared disease since the early 1900s. Extended lifespans have finally allowed us to live long enough. naturally occurring Mutations in DNA cause uncontrolled cell growth to build up within cells. Most cancer biologists say this is the main cause of the disease. Our diet and exercise contribute far more to these mutations than environmental carcinogens.
Just as we cannot completely cure the disease itself, we cannot completely cure the fear of this disease. But we need to fight both because they are both harmful. It helps to know where your fear of cancer comes from.
References
This is part of a series of posts based on: Treating cancer phobia: How risk, fear, and worry mislead us.
