Lifestyle Changes for Lowering Cancer Risk: One Step at a Time
This time of year, it’s common to make diet and fitness resolutions, but we often choose unrealistic goals that are impossible to adhere to long-term. We get discouraged and give up, berating ourselves as failures, ending up in worse shape, mentally and physically, than when we started. Instead of tackling a “whole body makeover” or demanding a “new year, new me,” why don’t we gently love ourselves through small, sustainable healthy improvements this year? The scale and tape measure can be triggering, so let’s keep a broader perspective and focus on how we feel, celebrating the ways we are caring for ourselves in long-term, reliable ways. Let’s make manageable commitments to ourselves like walking thirty minutes every day. If we look at fitness not as a sprint to fix imperfections but rather a lifelong effort to nurture our bodies and gift ourselves wellness and longevity, we can expect to be healthier and more peaceful.
Also, by taking measures to get fit, we are actively preventing cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, “At least 18% of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. are related to excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and/or poor nutrition, and thus could be prevented.” Let’s not view this as an indictment on choices we’ve made in the past, but an opportunity to have some control over our future. As Dr. Denise Johnson-Miller, medical director of the breast program at El Camino Hospital says, “It’s possible to actively work to prevent cancer by not smoking, being more physically active, and eating deliberately and mindfully.” These efforts can also lower our risk of developing heart disease and diabetes, lower our weight, lower stress, and strengthen the immune system.
What does this look like in real terms? How much exercise is enough to reduce our cancer risk?
It is recommended that adults get “150-300 minutes of moderate intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity each week (or a combination of these).” If we break that down, this is approximately twenty to forty-five minutes of this much activity each day. Even for the busiest among us, that is achievable. For children and teens, it’s slightly higher at one hour of moderate/vigorous activity every day.
What ‘moderate and vigorous’ level activities are vary by the individual. MD Anderson Cancer Center gives us various ways to quantify our activities, but says that the simplest method is The Talk Test. “It doesn’t require any additional equipment. To perform the talk test, see if you can talk or sing while performing the activity. If you’re doing a moderate exercise, you should be able to talk, but not sing. If you’re doing a vigorous exercise, you shouldn’t be able to say more than a few words.”
The studies that demonstrate a reduction in cancer rates with an increase in activity are compelling, and for all of us, no matter our size or level of fitness. “You don’t have to be a marathon runner to consider yourself physically active. Walking at about 3 mph (or 20 minutes per mile) is considered moderate intensity. You can get in the recommended activity levels by just walking on your lunch break for 30 minutes, 5 days a week.” Also, “exercise is linked with lower cancer risk, regardless of body size! One of the ways in which physical activity may lower risk of cancer is through weight maintenance. However, many other biologic processes are affected by physical activity that are independent of body weight. For example, physical activity is associated with lower estrogen and insulin levels, both of which may lower the risk of some types of cancer.”
So now we’re working to reduce our cancer risk by getting activity daily, how else can we increase our odds of living long, healthy lives? Nutritious food, of course! As dietician, Lana Scales, MS, RD, CNSC, ACSM, EP-C, tells us, “In the end food is either going to heal you or kill you.” We want foods that are high in nutrients; a variety of dark green, red, and orange vegetables, fiber-rich legumes (beans, peas), a variety of fruits, especially berries, whole grains, avoiding or significantly limiting alcohol, red meat, and sugar-sweetened beverages and highly processed foods.
Specifically for breast cancer, studies show that “dietary patterns rich in plant foods and low in animal products and refined carbohydrates lower risk (US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee 20157) and the Mediterranean diet pattern lowers risk (Toledo 20158).” Dr. Johnson-Miller has both personally and professionally witnessed the profound health benefits of a plant-based diet. She recommends finding recipes that work for the whole family and also encourages finding exercise activities in which the whole family can participate because “the earlier kids start making healthy daily choices, the better.”
In general, Lana advises us to choose a “livable” diet, as in, one that we can reasonably sustain over time. The key is moderation and discernment. The more deliberate we are with what we eat and how we move, the more we can affect our long-term health.
Let’s make 2023 our year to start taking care of our bodies in impactful ways. No matter where we’re starting, we can reduce our likelihood of developing cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses by being more active. In dedicating a small amount of time every day to exercising and by eating more intentionally, we can save our own lives. Now, that’s a resolution we can get behind!
Wishing you wellness and peace this New Year!
Sarah Zimmerman is a freelance writer in Northern California and is working on her first novel. In past lives,, she has been a Physician Assistant in Women's Health and the owner of a vegan ice cream business. Sarah writes about marriage, sex, parenting, infertility, pregnancy loss, social justice, and women's mental and physical health, always with honesty and humor. She has written for Ravishly, Cafe Mom, Pregnant Chicken, and more and can be found at sarahzwriter.com and on Medium, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok at @sarahzwriter.