Two-thirds of cancer cases preventable, study finds

A new report came from the Centers for Disease Control that shows a lot progress against cancer. The cancer death rate has dropped more than 1.5 percent each year for four years, and it could fall even further.

"CBS Evening News" anchor Scott Pelley spoke with medical correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook about the CDC report that suggested two-thirds of all cancer cases are preventable.

"We know a third of cancers are caused by smoking," said LaPook. "And up to a third are caused by obesity and lack of exercise. So as many as two-thirds of cancers are potentially preventable. The ones linked to obesity are cancers of the esophagus, colon, kidney, pancreas, uterus, and -- in post-menopausal women -- breast."

Pelley then asked LaPook how could obesity causes cancer.

"All eyes these days are pointed towards the stomach," said LaPook. "Belly fat seems to increase the number of inflammatory compounds, increase the levels of hormones like estrogen and insulin. That can cause changes inside of cells that then lead to cancer."

[ElaineUO]

Would you mind linking to the original study?

[ratpatootie]

Treatment generates profit. Cures, not so much, and prevention, not at all. We will not see any real progress on prevention or cures as long as health care is a profitable business.

[cherrybrown]

I find this article to be a joke.

I have colon cancer-just finished up a year of surgery, radiation and chemo. When I go to the doctors office (I have been there AT LEAST 3 times a week for over a year) there are on average 25 people waiting for either checkups, radiation treatments or chemo. I don't think there are but one or two that I have ever seen that are obese-if this article was accurate the majority of patients would be obese-not so!

[JohnStockton77]

The REAL reason why there uis cancer they way it is is simple - toxic environment. There are SO many ways we get chemicals in our body--pollution, houshold cleaners, fire retardents, etc. And each person stores these chemical in their fat cells differently and each person reacts to the chemical in their fat cells differently. Why is breast cancer what it is? -- mainly because breat tissue is mostly fat cells.

The best way to help reduce risk of cancer if get rid of unneeded fat cells (where the toxins are stored), don't do stupid things like smoke.

But even if you do that your body still may react differently to the toxins in it than others, and so you can still get cancer.

[dj_chi]

Cancer and other ailments are preventable, and catching it early is key to treating it successfully. But if many Americans can't afford health care, like when they have to chose between that and paying the rent because the bread winner has been unemployed for over a year, they won't get screenings and preventative care to catch such big ticket illnesses before they get far along.

[markag55]

We were never intended to live an extremely long life. The Buddha said, (with regards to the Judeao/Christian belief system): "Not everyone is Methuselah."

If you believe in God, then that was His intent. If you don't believe in god, then it's more a Buddhist cause/effect which leads to another cause and effect. This leads to basically the same conclusion: if you were meant to live a long life, you will; if not, your life will be shorter.

Of course, there are many ways we can try to extend our lives, of which good nutrition is at the top. However, it's not the end all. Some people who have eaten well their entire lives, still may have a life-threatening disease.

Long life is, in and of itself, not really important. It's what you do with your life that is more important. I have so many people in my family who have lived a long life, longer what they would have wanted for themselves. There are also those young kids or young adults who die young, either because of genetics or because of a rare disease, or because of over-exertion in their exercise routine (read: too much football practice in hot weather, etc.).

Yes, there are certain habits that may shorten most lives. However, whether one lives a short life (for whatever reason), that life does not mean it is worse than a long life. And, if one lives a long life, that does not make that person better than anyone else. There have been a lot of evil people who live a long life!

It is what it is. Please, people, don't put a moral value on life. Lots of wonderful people have died young, while lots of people who were "evil", or at least put themselves first to make tons of money, died at a very old age.

We shouldn't play "god." Live and let live: that's the only philosophy that we should live by. Good people die young or old; "evil" or selfish people die young or old. So be it.

[vissionquest]

And 50% can't afford the cure because of the unregulated monopoly of the drug companies

[karek40]

If the cure is diet/lifestyle we can all afford that, if there is a cure other than lifestyle, then it isn't well known at this point.

[dman6015]

Actually, a lot of people CAN'T afford the "cure". That healthy eating/lifestyle isn't cheap, so many people are FORCED to eat crappy processed-to-death foods. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to pay the rent/mortgage.

[MIO42]

How about Selfishness as a cause of Cancer

[pbarber12]

Let me list the people I know that have had cancer:
a. 5 melanoma - 2 young skinny females in their twenties, 1 regular & 2 skinny over >75
b. 7 breast cancers - 3 skinny, 2 average & 2 obese
c. 4 prostrate cancer - 3 skinny & 1 average
d. 1 pancreas cancer - 1 average
e. 2 bowel cancers - 2 skinny
f. 2 lung cancers - 1 smoker & 1 non-smoker

Somehow, the story above doesn't seem correct. The people I know don't match the suggested CDC model.

Additionally, let's talk about insulin. Insulin regulation is done by a protein that is created by one of the K vitamins - K2. The pancreas produces insulin & the fat stores the insulin resistance, which are controlled by a protein produced from K2, which is produced in the intestines after eating our green vegetables. So, losing fat to prevent type II diabetes is a given, since less fat results in less insulin resistance, the main cause of type II diabetes. Of course, there are people who are obese who never develop diabetes. My obese cousin lived until 99 years. Outlived all of her 5 other siblings and 1 skinny son.

Another front that we are making progress on is that we now know the body contains many different types of estrogen. The breast, ovaries and uterus all produce different types, and we now know these estrogens don't necessarily cause issues with each other. Fat does contain estrogen. Whether it even affects the breast needs to be studied and verified by other scientific teams. We need to slow down, and make sure we understand what is really going on in the body. For example, we know that food cans have an acrylic lining that contains BPAs which is now leaked into the food in the can. We know that this BPA is recognized on the estrogen receptors on the breast. It mimics the natural breast estrogen. The FDA has been currently testing can food liners for this issue this past year. Are we eating our way into having high breast cancers 1 out 7, that previous generations did not have? I guess we will need to wait and see what the FDA decides to recommend at the end of their study. We may be going back to rusty cans. At least our women were dying from breast cancer before the acrylic liners, just getting a little iron in the food from the cans.

Whatever the case, this article or the CDC seems to be misleading its audience, and technically does not seem to be correct.

[KansasCity-2012]

One known cause of cancer in the esophagus is largely undiagnosed Halibactor Pyroli bacteria present in 80 percent of the human population. It is directly tied to ulcers. It is detectable and can be treated. I don't know why the USA is not pursuing the testing and treatment aggressively as other countries, but I suspect that the current insurance climate has no intentions of expending efforts to save more lives at this time without proof that it can do it in a highly profitable way.

[dj_chi]

When only 65% of your premiums goes to health care, profitability is key for insurance companies alright. And why would we want to hold onto a federal law that would push that up to 80% and hurt fat insurance exec salaries?!