Contents
In many countries of the world, a significant increase in cancer incidence should be expected, which is why it is so important to understand the causes of their formation, because thanks to this knowledge we will be able to effectively fight cancer.
In Poland, 160 thousand people get sick every year due to cancer. and 94 thousand die people. Despite a marked improvement in the treatment results observed over the last 10-15 years, about 70-80% of Polish patients still report to the oncologist too late, when the disease is already significantly advanced and the possibilities of effective therapy are limited. In highly developed countries, men most often develop prostate, lung and colon cancer, while in developing countries – cancer of the lung, stomach and liver. Other cancers are dominant in women: breast, colon and lung cancer is the most common in developed countries, and in developing countries breast, cervical and stomach cancer are the most common.
Carcinogenic substances
Smoking cigarettes and inhaling the carcinogenic substances contained in tobacco smoke are responsible for the development of 1/3 of all cancers (in Poland, 31% of men and 18% of women smoke cigarettes). Smoking cigarettes (often in combination with drinking alcohol) is the cause of not only lung cancer, esophagus, throat and mouth cancer (45 – 60% of cases), but also many others, including stomach, pancreas, liver, kidney, bladder, cervix, lymphomas and leukemias.
Lifestyle
Our lifestyle and eating habits are responsible for the formation of 1/3 of the next cancers. Colorectal cancer, the second most common in women and men, shows the highest dynamics of the increase in morbidity and deaths. Lack of exercise and constant physical recreation as well as a diet far from the Mediterranean diet, rich in meat, fats, sugar, salt, additives, preservatives and low in fish, fresh vegetables and fruits, cereal products, nuts, cheese and yoghurts – contributes to the rapid increase in cancer incidence primarily the large intestine. Eating red meat daily increases this risk even more. Incorrect nutrition based on the frequent use of the so-called In many countries, junk food has led to a dramatic increase in the percentage of the population of both adults and children with abdominal excessive obesity – which leads to an increase in many chronic diseases known as syndrome X, or metabolic syndrome: diseases of the blood vessels and heart, hypertension, diabetes , hypercholesterolaemia and tumors that are emerging in the first place.
In Poland, overweight and obesity are diagnosed in 61% of men, 44% of women and over 20% of children and adolescents.
Resistance
Some chronic viral or bacterial infections are responsible for the formation of the last 1/3 of neoplasms. Until recently, it was believed that infections could induce a neoplastic process only in a few percent. Currently, we know the well-defined dependencies of the formation of specific neoplasms depending on the type of virus or bacteria. Chronic Helicobacter pyroli infections lead to the formation of gastric cancer or lymphoma. A very aggressive lymphoma may result from HIV infection. Chlamydia bacteria promote the formation of cervical and lung cancer and lymphomas. The underlying cause of bladder cancer is gonorrhea infection, and the herpes virus HHV-8 may promote prostate cancer and Kaposi’s sarcoma.
Tumors in children
Despite the fact that childhood cancers in Poland account for only 1% of all cancers, and the treatment results are comparable to those in Western Europe, the epidemiological data from UK registries is alarming. This is because the number of new cases of leukemia, lymphoma and CNS cancer among children and adolescents aged 13-19 is increasing. In young adults (20-24 years old) there is a two-fold increase in the incidence of lymphomas, melanomas and testicular germ cell tumors in the last 20 years.
Increase in morbidity
In many countries of the world, due to the constant increase in the life expectancy of women and men, increasing contamination of the natural environment, living at a high pace under permanent stress and participation in the “rat race” from an early age, a significant increase in cancer incidence should be expected and other civilization diseases. The air we breathe, everything we drink and eat is saturated with an increasing number of carcinogenic compounds. If you add a consumptive and hurried way of life, it should be taken into account that more and more often irreparable mutations occurring in the DNA of normal cells of our body will occur, leading to the initiation of the neoplastic process.
It’s worth a stop
A few years ago, an interesting analysis was made of three different human populations living in distant parts of the world: the inhabitants of Sardinia, the Japanese island of Okinawa, and the strong Adventist religious community in the USA. In these three populations, most people live to an old age, they are free from civilization diseases and are in a fairly good psycho-physical condition. It is worth paying attention to their lifestyle and adherence to principled life values, so different from ours in today’s busy world. Therefore, for many years, the European Code against Cancer has been promoted in the educational process of the inhabitants of Europe.
Dr. n. med. Janusz Meder
President of the Polish Oncology Union, Head of the Conservation Department of the Lymphatic System Cancer Clinic of the Oncology Center – Institute of Maria Skłodowskiej-Curie, Warsaw
The text is part of the “To overcome the cancer” campaign by Medical Media Solutions, which was published in the form of a supplement on February 24 with the daily “Rzeczpospolita”. MedTvoiLokony is a Media Partner of the campaign. We invite you to read the entire supplement.