Every year, over 12 million people are diagnosed with cancer without knowing the cause. In recent studies, researchers have discovered a newfound, positive correlation between cancer and unhealthy lifestyles. By simply changing a couple of everyday choices, the risks of cancer are shown to decrease significantly. Research has shown that factors such as the types of food someone eats, lack of exercise, and maintaining bad habits, such as smoking, contribute to increased rates of cancer. This is important because on the other hand, in some cases, cancer is shown to be genetic. Accordingly, those genetically predisposed to cancer can potentially lessen their chances of developing cancer by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The lower risk profile for these individuals can help them to live a long, healthy life. All in all, one can lessen the risks of cancer by maintaining a healthy lifestyle, exercising regularly, and eating nutritiously.  

The scientific definition of cancer is when abnormal cells divide in an uncontrolled way. In the article “What is Cancer?”, cancer is said to start when there are gene changes that cause a development of one cell and begin to multiply and grow. (“What is Cancer”, para 4). This action of cells growing results in a tumor. Cancer starts due to gene changes over the span of the patient’s life, and those gene changes are based on environmental factors including the way they live. Cancer is highly affected due to genes that are passed down from their family members, also. (“What is Cancer”, para 5). The hereditary nature of cancer reinforces the importance of lifestyle choices and behaviors. If someone has cancer that runs in their family, it is important to live a healthy lifestyle so that their genes have a less likely chance of getting altered. For instance, the article, “Can a Healthy Lifestyle Prevent Cancer”, written by Song, explains that a large population of cancer cases and deaths that are caused from cancer in the United States could possibly be avoided if people decided to live healthier. This includes prohibiting excessive drinking, smoking, maintaining a proper weight, and exercising moderately. Throughout this article, Song suggests about 20 to 40 percent of cancer cases and about half of cancer deaths could potentially be prevented by simply living a healthier life and making better choices for their bodies. There is a high correlation between cancer and healthy lifestyles established throughout this study and many more. (Song, para 8). Another study that correlates cancer and healthy living includes the study that argues that the specific foods someone eats can influence the likelihood to contracting cancer. For example, in the article, “What About Diet?”, dietary fat intake has shown to increase the levels of estrogen in the blood, which has the ability to stimulate the development of breast cancer in women. (Beeken, para 1). In this study, Beeken states, “Studies with breast cancer survivors have found that some are aware that diet may play a role in reducing cancer recurrence but survivors are often unsure what constitutes a healthy diet.” (Beeken, para 4). This quote demonstrates that one of the reasons that cancer risks are so high is because many people aren’t aware of what it means to maintain a healthy lifestyle or diet. The fact that many cancer survivors were aware of diet contributing to cancer, but that they did not know what a healthy diet consists of, reveals that people need to be better educated on the effects of diet on the body and how proper nutrition can help your body fight off diseases and sicknesses. Many people are not aware of the simple fact that the food they put into their bodies can have a profound impact on the diseases that they develop later in life. 

If someone said that there’s a way that you could eat to starve cancer, would you do it? There are many foods that are beneficial to one’s health and can help to prevent sicknesses. There are also many foods that increase someone’s risks of getting cancer. The articles, “How Healthy Eating Prevents Cancer” and “European Code Against Cancer 4th Edition: 12 Ways to Reduce Your Cancer Risk”, describe most of the foods that have a beneficial and detrimental effect on someone’s body. Schuz states, “Keeping a healthy weight is important, because obesity is the second biggest preventable cause of cancer after smoking.” (Schuz, para 1). This article emphasizes that weight and diet is the second largest cause of cancer, besides smoking. Both diet and smoking involve the lifestyle someone lives, rather than genetics. However, these lifestyle-based factors can play an important part in preventing cancer when combined with genetic factors. The foods listed in this article that are beneficial to the body and decrease the risks of cancer if eaten include: fruits, vegetables, and foods that are high in fiber. Fruits and vegetables are especially important because they have a variety of vitamins and minerals that help the body maintain a healthy weight. Eating lots of fruits and vegetables has also “been linked to a lower risk of mouth, throat and lung cancer”. (Schuz, para 4). Many studies also show that foods that are high in fiber can reduce the risks of certain cancers, such as bowel cancer, because the fiber protects the body and gives the body the nutrients it needs. On the other hand, there is strong evidence that supports that eating foods that are higher in salt, such as salt-preserved foods, and eating lots of processed and, specifically, red meats can highly increase risks of cancer. The processed and red meats contain chemicals that are created due to either preservation or when the meat is cooked at high temperatures. Salt increased risks of cancer because salt tends to damage the stomach lining when eaten, which causes inflammation. (Schuz, para 6). Secondly, in the Ted Talk, Dr. Li discusses the way that you can in fact starve cancer. Dr. Li is the president of the Angiogenesis Foundation. This organization studies angiogenesis, which is the process that our bodies use to grow blood vessels. This process is so important to our bodies because in some cases, our blood vessels can be affected by cancer. Dr. Li has found in his research that 30-35% of environmentally caused cancer is due to diet. This study is important because if people started to eat foods that weren’t fatty enough to block our blood vessels, then many people would be able to avoid the development of cancer. (Li, “Can We Eat to Starve Cancer?”). The types of food that one puts into their body can have a great impact on the rest of their lives, sometimes without them even knowing. 

In addition to the importance of diet, one other important factor that affects cancer is exercise. Exercise is an essential way to keep healthy and in shape in general, but exercise can also help keep obesity and cancer away, as well. In the article, “Diet, Exercise, and Complementary Therapies after Primary Treatment for Cancer”, healthy lifestyle behaviors, which includes exercising on a regular basis, are recognized to have the potential to increase the lifespans of people who have battled cancer and have reduced the number of deaths in cancer survivors. A 2006 study tested the effects of exercise on cancer survivors who were put into training programs at least 3 days a week for 10–60 min per exercise session. The major outcome of this study was that exercise effected cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, quality of life, pain, immune variables, and depression. This is stated in paragraph 12 where it explains that there are positive effects from exercise on “vigor and vitality, cardiorespiratory fitness, quality of life, depression, anxiety, and fatigue.” (Jones, para 12). This quote illustrates that exercise can have a positive effect the body that goes beyond the treatment of cancer. Exercise affects your mental and physical state. The fact that exercise can affect the quality of life of these cancer survivors demonstrates that exercise can have a positive impact on cancer treatment. This article also states that people who are diagnosed with cancer are known to be prone to other diseases or that cancer that has been treated may eventually come back in the future. Oncologists, accordingly, encourage these cancer patients to maintain a healthy lifestyle because living a healthy lifestyle highly decreases the risks of becoming diagnosed with cancer again. (Jones, para 13). Another quote that explains the importance of exercise from the article, “Population Attributable Risk for Breast Cancer: Diet, Nutrition, and Physical Exercise”, says, “Although only scattered evidence is available on physical exercise, most studies are consistent with a 20%–30% elevated risk among less active women. (Mezzetti, para 5). Furthermore, it is clear that being overweight is a correlate of breast cancer in postmenopausal women.” This quote clearly shows that engaging in physical activity can impact the likelihood of one getting cancer greatly. The correlation between being obese and getting cancer is very strong and if someone is more overweight, there is a higher chance that they might get cancer because their obesity is likely due to poor lifestyle choices including bad eating habits and lack of exercise. Throughout this study, the researchers decided to focus on the body mass index of women. Women who had a low body mass index and a high level of physical activity were less likely to develop cancer than the women who had a higher body mass index. In all, exercise is an essential part of living a healthy lifestyle and can affect the human body in so many positive ways - including preventing cancer or other diseases. 

Thirdly, the lifestyle and environment that someone lives in highly affects their chances of developing cancer, as well. Throughout research, studies have found that those who regularly consume alcohol heavily and smoke tobacco have a much higher likelihood of getting cancer compared to those who do not participate in these dangerous habits. First, while it is not commonly known, alcohol is in fact the reason for 3 to 4 percent of cancer deaths each year. (Cao, para 2). Alcohol affects the human body because it damages the body tissues and causes the cells to have to try to repair themselves, which potentially leads to the change in DNA in those cells, and is a very common cause of cancer. Studies have proved that alcohol damages the liver greatly, which could lead to cancer in the liver because of the inflammation and scarring caused. (Cao, para 10). The abuse of alcohol also ties to the fact that alcohol also has detrimental effects on diet and exercise and effects the body greatly in general. In heavy drinkers, alcohol starts to lower the body’s ability to absorb the nutrients in food that the body needs. It also affects the breast tissue and could cause breast cancer because it raises the level of estrogen, which is the hormone responsible for development of the breast. Lastly, alcohol contains a lot of calories, which will cause someone to gain weight if they drink excessively. Gaining weight and not taking care of one’s body is known to increase the risks to developing various types of cancer. (Cao, para 12). Moreover, using tobacco products, such as smoking cigarettes, highly increases the risks of cancer, as well. In the article, “You Can Blame Cigarettes for Nearly 3 in 10 Cancer Deaths in the U.S., Study Says”, Karen Kaplan states that smoking causes cancers of, “the lung, trachea and bronchus; the oropharynx; the esophagus; the larynx; the stomach; the bladder; the kidney and ureter; the pancreas; the cervix; the colon and rectum; and the liver.” (Kaplan, para 5). As you can see, smoking contributes to so many types of cancer and affects not just your lungs, but also various parts of the body. In this article it is said that cigarette smoking can be to blame for at least 167, 133 cancer deaths every single year. (Kaplan, para 3). The main way that smoking causes cancer is by it damaging the cells and DNA in the body. The damaged cells eventually, after a long period of time, become cancerous. The immune system in the human body also becomes less effective due to smoking. Cancer is highly influenced by the substance that someone puts into their bodies.

On contrast, cancer can sometimes be inevitable. The lifestyle someone chooses to live can have a high effect on the chances of developing cancer; however, sometimes people get cancer whether they are healthy or not. Five to ten percent of all cancers are due to genetic mutations that are inherited. (Winslow, para 2). Cancer can be caused by the changes in genes that control the way that our cells function. The genetic mutations that lead to cancer are commonly inherited from our parents. Cancer first begins when one or more cells start to become mutated. (Winslow, para 6). In the situation where there is a history of cancer in the family, it is of paramount importance to maintain the healthiest lifestyle because not maintaining this lifestyle can increase the chances of developing these genetic mutations even more throughout the years. There has to be a development of more than one gene mutation to start the development of cancer. Cancer is created by multiple gene mutations building up together throughout a long period of time in someone’s life. These gene mutations are affected by the environment that surrounds the person. (Winslow, para 4). That being said, one can reduce the chances of developing gene mutations by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This includes eating a nutritious diet that helps the health of the body, staying away from substances that can potentially harm the body, and exercising regularly to keep the human body healthy and gain a better immune system to fight off gene mutations. 

In conclusion, cancer is a very common disease that effects a significant portion of the population. There are many people that are diagnosed daily with cancer and more often than not, they do not precise what caused the cancer. People need to become more aware of the causes of cancer that can be avoided by simply making a few lifestyle changes. Tremendous amount of research has found that cancer is something that can theoretically be avoided, even if it is genetic. There are serious risks to cancer due to the lifestyle someone chooses to live. Understanding that certain foods are potentially harmful and can increase risks of developing cancer, as well as the beneficial effects of eating well and exercising for people with and without cancer is the first step in helping to make the right decisions in preventing cancer. Study after study has proven that there are positive effects on cancer patients and cancer survivors by living a healthy lifestyle, but it is just as important to engage in healthy lifestyle behavior before cancer to reduce the risk. All in all, there is a strong correlation between cancer and living a healthy lifestyle. By not engaging in bad habits, such as excessive alcohol consumption and smoking cigarettes, eating food that is nutritious, and exercising to keep the human body at a healthy weight, someone can live a long, healthy life, avoiding most chances of developing cancer in the future. 
