HHS HealthBeat (April 26, 2007)

Cutting the odds of cancer

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Can you give yourself cancer? Well, things you do can sure raise the odds, especially for leading killers like lung cancer.

But that means that living right can keep the odds down. And at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Eddie Reed works on ways to encourage people to do that.

Reed says the news tells about drugs and operations to treat cancer. But he says people might prevent cancer by not smoking, being physically active, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables. They also can make sure they’re checked for early signs of forms that can be spotted in a doctor’s exam – notably, breast, colon, cervical and skin cancer:

``Stopping tobacco – healthy lifestyle – talk with your doctor. These are the three things that every American should embrace.’’ (8 seconds)

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: April, 26 2007