According to cancer.org, the current lifetime risk of being diagnosed with cancer in the United States U.S. is roughly 40%, with men at slightly higher risk than women. Most of us are surprised to learn this grim statistic, and many are also unaware of the recent trend of troubling rising rates of cancer among the young. In fact, despite all of the advances in our understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, Americans today are actually more than twice as likely to die from cancer than in 1900, almost 125 years ago.

Shifting the Focus to Causes

Well-known Chinese proverbs state that it is “ too late to dig a well after you are thirsty” and “too late to forge weapons after the battle has begun”. In terms of cancer, these sayings could describe the many forms of cancer considered incurable but preventable. Cancer care often degrades our quality of life and is usually incredibly costly, but the suffering and financial burden of cancer treatment would both be greatly reduced if medicine shifted its emphasis from treatment to prevention.

Granted, identifying the causes of cancer is challenging. One of the predominant findings of cancer research is that cancer often results from multiple factors in combination rather than a single cause. For example, a genetic predisposition could make one more vulnerable to a carcinogen, while a lack of exercise as well as an unhealthy diet might further raise the risk by decreasing immune function. In fact, it is unusual to be able to definitively point to a singular “smoking gun” in most cancer cases.

Using the Cardiovascular Model for Cancer Prevention

Cardiologists are increasingly turning to formulas to determine the risk of a cardiovascular event and better understand how necessary it is for a patient to take a medication or have a certain procedure performed. Risk factors, including weight, age, family history, and blood pressure and cholesterol levels, are used to calculate the potential for a stroke or heart attack, for example, to improve the quality of treatment planning. This approach save lives.

Similarly, healthcare providers could actively assess cancer risk as part of regular care. Currently some testing is done for women with a family history of breast cancer, but there is a need for many more patients to receive genetic and blood testing to evaluate cancer risk. Test results should then be considered in light of other factors—age, weight, diet and lifestyle, and family history, for instance—to identify those patients at high risk.

Recognizing and Avoiding Carcinogens

Especially for those individuals with multiple cancer risk factors, it is good preventative healthcare to minimize exposure to carcinogens that could tip the scales and lead to cancer. This includes avoiding the usual suspects of smoking and alcohol, but other cancer-causing agents should also be considered. For the high risk patient, the best strategy is to err on the side of caution and play it safe.

Unfortunately, there is always tension between industry, which has an economic stake in continuing to market, and avoiding the liability for, agents that may be causing cancer. For example, although the FDA considers BPA to be a proven carcinogen, industry websites continue to argue with the science, offering alternative studies that purport to show their safety. Since the latency period—the time from exposure to a carcinogen to a diagnosis of cancer—can be years or even decades, it can be challenging to prove the cancer link beyond the shadow of a doubt.

A Natural Strategy

With as much as 70% of the chemicals in daily use untested for their long-term affects on human health, we advise our patients to choose the most natural options available. This not only includes selecting organic foods as much as possible, but also opting for the safest and most non-toxic products for use in the home, kitchen, office, and car. While this lifestyle change may be essential for those with numerous risk factors for cancer, getting back to basics with simple products, free of harsh, synthetic ingredients, can improve anyone’s quality of life and reduce the likelihood of many serious, chronic diseases.