Author Archives: Glen

Friday Focus: Physical Activity and Colorectal Cancer Prevention

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Sneakers_dreamstime_14295723As we enter the second week of a month devoted to Colorectal Cancer Awareness, let’s focus on one crucial aspect of prevention about which far too many Americans remain unaware:

Namely, that moving more matters hugely. The evidence is clear: Being physically active is powerfully protective against colorectal cancer.

Unfortunately for the increasingly sedentary American populace, the inverse is also true: Being inactive — as most of us are — makes colorectal cancer more likely.

That urgent message is not being heard, according to the AICR 2013 Cancer Risk Awareness Survey [PDF]. In fact, awareness that the lack of physical activity is a cause of cancer plummeted from a high of 45 percent in 2009 to 36 percent in 2013, the steepest decline in the history of the survey. Continue reading →

Friday Focus: Fiber and Colorectal Cancer Prevention

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haricot beans, lentil and riceToday kicks off National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and you’ll be hearing a lot about the diseases’ symptoms, risk factors and screening guidelines in the news. This is only as it should be; these messages need to get out there and be heard if we hope to raise awareness of colorectal cancer, increase its early detection, and ultimately save lives.

But there’s a vital message that doesn’t make the headlines, a key component of colorectal cancer prevention that too often gets lost in the focus on screenings and symptoms.  And that’s this:

We can cut the number of colorectal cancers in half. Starting today. Simply by making healthier everyday choices.

Throughout March, the AICR Blog will set aside each Friday to focus on one of those healthy changes. Today, let’s take a closer look at the evidence on fiber and colorectal cancer risk.

What’s The Link? Continue reading →

New Report: Cancer Death Rates Continue to Drop

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bigstock-Business-Graph-15731144It’s not often national cancer statistics offer up good news, but a just-released annual report on US cancer incidence and mortality points to some encouraging trends.

According to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2009 (a joint product of The American Cancer Society (ACS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries (NAACCR)) the nation’s overall cancer death rates continue to decline.

Notably, the mortality rate for all four of the most common (non-skin) cancers in the US — lung, colorectal, breast and prostate — are decreasing. Continue reading →