Chapter 11. Measuring Your Risk of Cancer
Intro
Although health experts have not yet been able to write an equation that accurately predicts who is most likely to develop specific cancers, they have identified a number of lifestyle and background factors that are correlated with increased risk. To get a rough estimate of the magnitude of these factors in your risk profile, answer "yes" or "no" to the following American Cancer Society questions.
Test Yourself
Check Yourself.
Question 11.1
1. Has a member of your immediate family has cancer, excluding basal and squamous skin cancers? |
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2. Do you or does any member of your immediate family have a history of pre-cancerous growths? |
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3. Are you 45 years of age or older? |
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4. Do you currently smoke of use other tobacco products, such as smokeless tobucco or snuff? Or are you a former smoker, having smoked regularly for at least a year or more? |
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5. Are you overweight? |
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6. Do you drink two or more alcoholic drinks daily? |
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7. Have you had a history of severe sunburns, even back in childhood? Do you enjoy sunbathing and often sunbathe without sunscreen lotion? |
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8. Do you watch your fat intake, making sure not to consume more than 30 percent of your total caloric intake in the form of dietary fat? |
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9. Do you follow a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber? |
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10. Do you generally avoid foods that are smoke-, nitrite-, or salt-cured? |
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11. Do you limit your alcohol intake to fewer than two drinks per day? |
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12. Do you use sunscreen protection (SPF value of 15 or higher) when you go out in the direct sun for longer than a few minutes? |
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13. Do you protect your skin from overexposure to the sun by wearing protective clothing? |
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14. Do you avoid use of all tobacco products? |
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15. Do you exercise regularly and take generally good care of your health? |
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16. Do you get regular health checkups and follow recommended cancer screening guidelines, given your age and family history, such as Pap smears, prostate cancer screening tests, clinical breast exams and mammography, and digital rectal exams? |
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17. If you a woman, do you regularly examine you breasts for lumps? If you are a man, do you regularly examine your testicles for lumps? |
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18. Do you limit your exposure to environmental hazards such as asbestos, radiation, and toxic chemicals? |
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19. Do you avoid tanning salons and home sunlamps? |
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20. Is your diet rich in sources of essential vitamins and minerals? |
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Sources:
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Your Score
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Total: Questions 1-7 |
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Yes |
{model.falsescore17} |
No |
Total: Questions 8-20 |
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Yes |
{model.falsescore820} |
No |
Scoring: "Yes" answers to questions 1-7 are associated with an increased cancer risk. "Yes" answers to questions 8-20 are associated with a lower cancer risk. Although no particular score translates into a precise risk estimate, the more "yes" answers to questions 1-7 and fewer "yes" answers to questions 8-20, the greater your overall cancer risk. Examine your responses carefully and ask yourself which risk factors you can change to help improve your chances of remaining cancer-free.
IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH
The National Cancer Institute offers software, called the "breast cancer risk tool", to estimate a woman's personal risk of developing breast cancer, first within the next 5 years, and then over the course of a lifetime. The program bases its estimates on seven factors: a woman's age, the age at which she began menstruating, the age at which she gave birth to her first child, the number of breast cancers in her mother and sisters, the number of breast bioplies she has had, the biopsy results, and the woman's race. The software can be obtained by calling (800) 4-CANCER or from the institute's Web site at http://cissecure.nci.nih.gov/ncipub/subjects.asp (then click on "breast").
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