With Covid-19 being front and center on everyone’s mind for almost a year, World Cancer Day on February 4th is reminding us that there are also other risks out there to watch out for – even in our homes!
According to WHO, cancer is the second leading cause of death globally (2018). The good news however, is that the survival rate is improving and that there are preventive measure we can take. There are some things we can do for our society as a whole and some we can do for ourselves and our immediate family.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed but here are a five easy actions you can take and doing something is better than nothing!
1. Advocacy and Policy
Clean air and clean water as a human right should not be controversial. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) and the Sierra Club are two organizations which do some heavy lifting when it comes to advocacy for the environment and holding polluters and others accountable. The Sierra Club also actively supports political candidates that meet their tough requirements for endorsement. Through our “Water is Life” safety reflectors we have supported the NRDC and the Sierra Club for the last 4 years and we have no plans of stopping. Supporting environmental organizations and advocacy groups with donations and/or your time is a great way to help your whole community stay healthier.
2. Take a Walk
Walking outside has so many benefits – fresh air, exercise and “the sky is the limit” feeling. Provided you have a safe space to walk, a 30 minute walk 5 days a week actually significantly reduces the risk for cancer. Walking also lowers the reoccurrence rate for cancer survivors. You’ll be surprised about the mind-blowing statistics mentioned in the video “The Gift of Walking”. Check our our blog post about it! Additionally, walking boosts both mental and general physical health and we could all need a little of that after almost a year in Covid-isolation.
3. Eat Well
With a European background, we tend to cook more from scratch than our American neighbors, but of course, on busy days we also resort to just-throw-in-the-oven food out of a box. This is also not our area of expertise, so we just want to share some rule-of-thumb we’ve have come up with to make it reasonable simple to grocery shop.
- Eat a variety of foods and don’t overdo any one kind.
- Switch out some processed food for less processed food or basic ingredients. A little here and there is better than nothing. For example, when choosing between two loaves of bread in the grocery store, we take the one with the shorter list of ingredients. We don’t have time to read every ingredient and can’t keep up with the ever-changing names of additives. So eye-balling which loaf has the shortest list makes it quick. Not perfect, but good enough!
- Avoid sugar-free and fat-free processed food. They have other additives to taste good and those additives are often is worse for the body than sugar and fat. For example, we use full-fat yoghurt for breakfast since it keeps us going until lunch with a steady level of blood sugar. Here is more on that.
- Reduce sugar (and sweetener) rich drinks and snacks.
4. The Real Smell of Clean
Did you know that in many homes, indoor air can be more polluted than the outdoors? This is often due to chemicals in cleaners, air “fresheners” and scented candles. Especially, a year like this, when we all spend so much time at home, we need to pay extra attention to indoor air quality and the chemicals we and our families breathe every day. Luckily, it’s very easy to do something about! The low hanging fruit is switching from scented to unscented laundry detergent and removing fabric softener and dryer sheets. Next step is reducing the use of scented candles and air fresheners. The third step is to replace cleaning chemicals with quality microfiber cloths and just water (!). This is one of our pet peeves and the reason I have a little side hustle as an Independent Norwex Consultant. Learn more here if you are interested in turning your home into a safe haven, clean faster and deeper without harmful chemicals. The real clean is absence of dirt and it does not smell!
5. Get Your Cancer Screenings Done!
We know, saved for last because it’s not all that fun. But it will give you peace of mind knowing that everything looks fine. Or, if they would find something, it can be caught and treated early, which is so, so important. The five most common cancer screenings are:
- Mamogram for breast cancer (women)
- Pap smear for cervical cancer (women)
- Colonoscopy for colorectal cancer (women and men)
- PSA or DRE for Prostate Cancer (men)
- CT scan for lung cancer (women and men smokers)
Read more about the different screenings here. Of course, you and your doctor also need to take the level of local Covid-19 community spread into consideration when scheduling a screening.
Let’s go!
Taking any, some or all of these actions won’t guarantee you will stay cancer free, but it will lower your risk. And if you get it, you are (statistically) more likely to recover faster. Every actions counts so let’s go!
Stay healthy, stay safe!
Elisabeth