How to prevent cancer in every decade of your life

Every single day, more than 500 Canadians hear the words that everyone dreads: “You have cancer.”

With the population growing and aging, new cancer cases are expected to increase by about 40 per cent by 2030, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Regardless of what age or life stage you’re at, however, there are steps you can take to diminish your chances of being diagnosed with the disease.

“We do now that about half of all cancers can be prevented by not smoking, eating well, being active, and maintaining a healthy body weight,” says Stacey Berisavac, manager of health promotion with the Canadian Cancer Society’s BC and Yukon division.

Those behaviours she mentioned are all healthy habits to last a lifetime. People can take even more preventive action during every decade of their life to help keep cancer at bay.

Your 20s

“I call this the invincible decade,” Berisavac says, but it’s also a decade when people can lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle and do a lot to reduce their cancer risk later in life.

- Avoid tanning. “The 20s are about protecting your skin and being safe in the sun and avoiding tanning beds,” Berisavac says. “Tanning is out. Own your own skin tone.

“The effects of UV exposure are cumulative,” she notes. “Even though the tan fades, the damage stays.”  

- Don’t smoke. “Don’t start,” says Robert Nuttall, the Canadian Cancer Society’s assistant director of cancer control policy. “For those who are smoking, find the resources to help you quit. The Canadian Cancer Society has resources to help, or you could talk to your own doctor.”

- Get regular Pap tests. Women are advised to do this screening for cervical cancer and precancerous conditions of the cervix  beginning at age 21.

- Consider the HPV vaccine. Although the vaccine for the human papilloma virus, which causes cervical cancer, is most effective in women before they’re sexually active, getting immunized between the ages of 15 to 26, even among those who have had sex, can still help reduce the risk of this form of cancer.

Women with cervical cancer tend not to have symptoms until the cancer becomes invasive. At that point, signs include irregular vaginal bleeding, vaginal discharge with an unpleasant odour, watery vaginal discharge, vaginal discharge tinged with blood, and pelvic or back pain

- Dudes: Check your nuts. “Men should be checking their testicles,” Nuttall says. “Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer among males aged 15 to 29.”

The Canadian Cancer Society released a video called “Nutiquette: a dude’s guide to checking his nuts” to help men learn how to tell when there’s something wrong down there. Symptoms of testicular cancer include pain, lumps, and bumps in the testicles and a sense of heaviness in the scrotum.

Your 30s

These are the early-career years and a decade when a lot of people become homeowners and start a family. It’s an exciting time, and also a time when many other ways to prevent cancer come into play.

- Limit your alcohol intake. Going for drinks after work, schmoozing at cocktail parties, thinking that a drink or two will help relieve work-day stress: most 30-somethings can relate to at least one of those.

“Sometimes we assume that [excessive] alcohol consumption is just the university years, but it’s also the early career years,” Berisavac says. “We know about the risks of alcohol. The less you drink, the more you reduce your risk.”

- Get moving. Office workers are prone to sitting at their desks all day; others picking up speed in their careers tend to put work ahead of all else. 

“People may be less focused on their own activity levels, but it’s important to continue to be physically active,” Nuttall says. “Sitting too long at your desk isn’t good; make sure you get up often.”

- Test for radon. The Canadian Cancer Society urges new homeowners to test their home for this colourless, odourless, tasteless, naturally occurring radioactive gas, which can cause lung cancer. Produced in the ground by the decay of uranium found in soil and rocks, it can accumulate to dangerous levels when it’s confined in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces. It’s the second-leading cause of lung cancer, after smoking, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Your 40s

If you thought your 30s were getting busy, just wait: during this decade, people may be juggling work and kids; many may be in the sandwich generation, caring for aging, ailing parents too.

- Focus on those healthy habits. “When you’re so busy with multiple kids and trying to emphasize growth in your career, you may forget about yourself,” Berisavac says. “Healthy eating habits may have subsided. You may not have time for physical activity.

“Make small changes to make a difference; don’t try to go from zero to hero,” she adds. “Focus on one thing in your life and improve that. Then move on to the next one. Physical activity doesn’t have to be an hour at one time; you can break it up, especially if you have young kids. Get in a 10-minute walk, then later in the day do another 10 minutes.”  

- Talk to your doctor about mammography. “We want all women to be going for mammograms at 50, but women in their 40s have to talk to their doctor about their own individual risk and history and whether they should start at an earlier age,” Nuttall says.

- Mind the BBQ. “Men in particular love barbecuing, but cooking meats at very high temperatures can increase cancer risk, especially if it’s well-done or charred,” Nuttall says, noting that the process can create cancer-causing chemicals. “We recommend doing it in moderation, and select lean meats and chicken as opposed to red meats, which also increase cancer risk.”

Your 50s

This is the decade when cancer screening really kicks in, and when people need to be more aware of their own bodies than ever

- Report anything unusual to your doctor. “It’s so important to know your body and to be aware of any changes,” Berisavac says.

More unusual types of cancer to watch for include bone cancer, symptoms of which include pain a bone or joint that may increase with activity or at night; swelling or a lump that can be felt over a bone or bony part of the body; changes in mobility of the affected area; or a bone that breaks for no known reason. Bone pain can also be a sign of multiple myeloma, a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell.

- Check for moles. Have a skin exam every year to check for atypical moles that could be a sign of skin cancer. Abnormal moles tend to have an irregular shape with undefined borders, different colours in them, they also tend to be larger than six millimetres in diameter.

- Sign up for mammography. Mammography is the most reliable method of finding breast cancer early. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends women aged 50 to 69 have a mammogram every two years.

Signs of breast cancer include a lump in the breast or armpit, changes in the size or shape of a breast, nipple changes, and dimpling or puckering of the skin on the breast.

- Get tested for colorectal cancer. Men and women age 50 should have a stool test, which checks for hidden (occult) blood in the stool, at least every two years. Colorectal cancer starts in cells of the colon or rectum. There is convincing evidence that the screening, along with appropriate follow-up, can significantly reduce colorectal-cancer deaths.

Among the many signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer are narrowing of stools; red, bloody bowel movements or black, tarry bowel movements; mucus in the stool; persistent diarrhea or constipation; rectal bleeding between bowel movements; abdominal pain or discomfort; and frequent urinary tract infection.

- Consider at prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. This screening helps detect prostate cancer. PSA is mostly found in semen, but it’s also normal to find small amounts in the blood of healthy men. A PSA test measures the amount of PSA in the blood. An increased PSA level does not necessarily mean that a man has prostate cancer, though, so be sure to talk to your doctor about the test’s benefits and risks.

Symptoms of prostate cancer include changes in bladder habits, inability to urinate, burning or pain during urination, painful ejaculation, and blood in the urine or semen.

Your 60s and up

“This is when we see the largest numbers of cancer,” Berisavac says. “Regular doctor’s appointments are key. Continue to report any changes. Look for new moles. Continue to be active and eat well. Keep up on those screenings.”

- Keep active. Our metabolism naturally slows down as we age, making it harder to keep our weight in check. Plus, we have a tendency to replace lean body mass (muscle) with fat. Get at least 3 to 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.

“Healthy body weight is so important,” Berisavac says. “In retirement, people have more time to make healthy living a priority.”