News Break
	Preventing Colon Cancer, One Step at a Time

Colon cancer is one of the most common – yet most preventable – types of cancer. (How preventable? Take our survey to find out!). To mark National Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, here’s how you can reduce your risk, starting today.

• Get to – and do what you can to stay at – a healthy weight. The evidence is strong that carrying too much body fat ups the risk of colorectal cancer. (Check out Small Steps Strategies, below, for some fat-fighting tips.)
   
  
• Get active. Whatever weight you’re at right now, being active every day in any way can decrease your risk of colorectal cancer. Aim for 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. If you’re looking to keep off the pounds as you get older, you may eventually need to clock up to a total of one hour a day.
   
  
• Boost your fiber foods. The 2007 AICR report found that foods containing fiber probably reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Foods containing fiber include fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans.
   
  
• Cut back on alcoholic drinks. One drink daily for women; 2 for men.
   
• Cut back on red meat and avoid the processed types. AICR recommends eating no more than 18 ounces of red meat per week and avoiding processed meats.

Note: Regular colon cancer screenings are key to early detection of colorectal cancers. Speak with your physician about this and other choices you can make that will reduce your risk.

New Finding: A Whopping 45 Percent of Colon Cancers Are Preventable

AICR’s just-released cancer prevention policy report estimates that 45 percent of colorectal cancer cases in the United States are preventable through diet, physical activity and weight maintenance. The report draws upon AICR’s 2007 expert report, which detailed the specific choices about diet, weight and physical activity that can lower risk.

But for many people, making healthy choices is difficult. So the new policy report takes the next step – it points out the opportunities we have, as a society, to make it easier for people to make healthy choices.

The overall message of the report is that all sections of society – from individuals and schools to governments and industry – have a role to play in preventing cancer.

Read more about the report Policy and Action for Cancer Prevention.

Lowering Your Colorectal Cancer Risk: The “Small Steps” Strategy

Start small and keep building. Those are the findings of a number of recent studies showing that relatively small and gradual changes to diet and exercise patterns can translate into a desired end goal: weight loss and improved health.

In one such study published last year in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, researchers found that participants who used a small-change approach actually lost more weight than those in the traditional weight-loss program. The small-steps program asked participants to add one new small change in food choices and one small change in physical activity each week for 12 weeks. (Participants in both programs maintained their weight loss three months after treatment ended.)

The key to the small-step approach is integrating one relatively minor, healthy change into your lifestyle, and then adding another, and then another.

For example:

If you want to end up incorporating lots of fruits and vegetables into your day, try getting into the habit of replacing one of your daily snacks with a fruit.

Next, add a vegetable to a staple side dish, such as pasta or rice. Keep it going and eventually, you will have a sustainable habit of enjoying fruits and veggies throughout your day.

For more information on preventing colon cancer, including answers to commonly asked questions, AICR offers Reducing Your Risk of Colon Cancer