“It is possible to prevent cancer”

Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Emphasizing that it is possible to prevent cancer, Özlem Gürkut advised, „To avoid cancer, do not use cigarettes and tobacco products, do regular exercise, maintain your normal body weight, eat healthy, be protected from sunlight, do not use alcohol, have hepatitis B and HPV vaccine“.

Gürkut said, „In order to reduce our individual cancer risk, it is also important to know the signs and symptoms of cancer, to know our cancer risk, and to participate in cancer early diagnosis and screening programs.“

Gürkut said, “In our country, preventive health services should be developed and expanded as much as curative services should be increased. In addition, it should be aimed to expand cancer screening and early diagnosis programs to cover all risk groups in the society.

– 1 out of every 6 deaths in the world is due to cancer… This number is expected to increase by 70 percent in the next 20 years.

Internal Medicine Specialist Dr. Özlem Gürkut, in a written statement on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot Medical Association (KTTB), stated that according to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, a total of 19.3 million new cancer cases were detected in the world in 2020 and there were more than 10 million cancer-related deaths. pointed out that 1 out of every 6 deaths is due to cancer. Gürkut also noted that this number is expected to increase by 70 percent in the next 20 years.

Why do we get cancer?

Gürkut stated that, contrary to popular belief, only 15 percent of cancers develop due to genes inherited from parents, that is, they depend on familial predisposition, while 35 percent are caused by random mutations, while half of all cancers are caused by environmental factors.

-What is the risk factor?

“The conditions/factors that make us predisposed to a disease and increase our chance of getting the disease are called risk factors for that disease. There are various risk factors that increase our cancer risk,” said Gürkut, adding, “For example, our cancer risk increases as we get older. On the other hand, gender is a risk factor as some cancers are more common in women and some in men. Our hereditary cancer predisposition is also a risk factor. Since it is not possible for us to change such risk factors, they are classified as non-modifiable risk factors.

-What are the modifiable risk factors?

Gürkut also pointed out that there are „modifiable risk factors“ that increase the risk of cancer, and these; environmental factors, harmful habits, dietary habits, infectious agents, chemical carcinogens and lifestyle.

Gürkut said, “By changing these factors, which constitute half of all cancer causes, we can reduce our risk of developing cancer up to 80 percent. For this reason, we call these factors modifiable risk factors. Gürkut added that ionizing radiation and ultraviolet rays are among the environmental carcinogens.

– Tobacco/cigarette use is responsible for 22 percent of all cancer-related deaths in the world.

Gürkut said, “Using tobacco and tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, etc.) or just being exposed to smoke is one of the harmful habits most clearly shown to increase the risk of cancer,” and continued as follows:

“Tobacco/cigarette use is responsible for 22 percent of all cancer-related deaths worldwide. 90 percent of lung cancers, which are among the leading causes of cancer-related death, develop due to tobacco and tobacco products. If we could create a tobacco-free world, we could prevent 90 percent of lung cancers. Smoking and tobacco use increase the risk not only of lung cancer but also of many other types of cancer, as well as their relationship with cardiovascular diseases. It is reported that every year, 8 million people die due to cigarette/tobacco all over the world, and 7 million of them use tobacco, but 1 million people die due to exposure to tobacco smoke (passive smoking) even though they do not use it themselves.

Pointing out that alcohol use is also associated with many diseases, Gürkut said, “The best known one in terms of cancers is the relationship between alcohol and liver cancer. However, there is increasing data that alcohol consumption increases the risk of breast cancer. It is also known that the simultaneous use of alcohol by smokers causes an increase in head and neck cancers with a synergistic effect. „We should not drink alcohol or limit its use to reduce the risk of cancer,“ he said.

Saying, “A healthy diet is very important for living a healthy life,” Gürkut said, “What we eat is as important as what we don’t eat in terms of cancers. It is important to have a low-fat diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes and grains, and reduce red meat consumption and increase white meat (fish-chicken). Mediterranean type diet of our country is recommended not only for cancers but also for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension. On the other hand, how we store and cook or prepare our food is also important. It is recommended to focus on boiling and grilling instead of frying.

Stating that maintaining a healthy body weight is as important as many diseases in terms of cancer as well as eating healthy, Gürkut pointed out that obesity, that is, being overweight, is associated with many cancers such as breast, uterus, large intestine, esophagus cancer.

Stating that an active life is as effective and beneficial as nutrition in order to maintain an ideal body weight, Gürkut said, “Regular exercises protect us from cancers such as breast, prostate, uterus and bowel cancers as well as many diseases, and even increased physical activity of cancer patients increases their survival. It has also been shown by scientific studies”.

Gürkut, pointing out that there are certain infectious agents that are known to cause cancer, said that while Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C viruses cause liver cancer, Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the main factor in cervical cancer, head and neck cancers and genital area cancers. He also noted that it is known that the bacterium called stomach cancer causes stomach cancer.

Gürkut continued:

“Today, with the widespread use of the hepatitis B vaccine, the frequency of liver cancer due to this virus is changing. Although there is no vaccine against hepatitis C yet, it is also important to be protected from this virus, which is transmitted through blood and sexually. HPV is transmitted by direct contact and sexually and is common. Effective vaccines against HPV are available today and are recommended for both girls and boys aged 9-26 years. With the widespread application of the HPV vaccine, it is aimed to reduce nearly 70 percent especially in cervical cancers.