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Cancer Prevention

Lifestyle as the Definitive Means of Cancer Control

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Cancer, Culture, and Communication

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Conclusion

Biomedical research in the last 40 years has been an excellent investment. Regrettably, the knowledge achieved regarding the relevance of nutrition, as the definitive means of cancer prevention has not been effectively transmitted to the public. Thus, the important task remains to communicate to the public at large that their own lifestyle choices could be associated with important disease risk, or on the contrary, with good health to an old age. We need to convey to people that they are in danger of being affected by major chronic diseases and premature aging unless they alter their lifestyle, including nutritional and exercise habits. The methods of geographic pathology have revealed areas in the world with high or low mortalities due to specific cancers, providing the background to investigate the relevant underlying mechanisms through marker studies in humans, or through laboratory investigations (Table 8). Research on the rationale for areas with low mortality can also provide additional information on locally prevailing lifestyles and nutritional habits that are protective. For example, a most recent study of the World Health Organization has explored many of the environmental factors associated with disease risk, rather than lifestyle and nutrition related factors, as we emphasize in this discussion.

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Authors
  1. John H. Weisburger
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

    Rhonda J. Moore

  2. Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

    David Spiegel

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© 2004 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

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Weisburger, J.H. (2004). Cancer Prevention. In: Moore, R.J., Spiegel, D. (eds) Cancer, Culture, and Communication. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48007-7_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48007-7_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-306-47885-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48007-2

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