Mumbai doctors share with us some healthy lifestyle tips!

Come Saturday and the world will be observing the cancer awareness day. The recent past has seen a rise in the number of cancer cases in India, and this, says Dr Maheboob Basade, medical hematologist at Jaslok Hospital, “is basically happening because of change in diet”. He adds, “We are aping the Western culture blindly in our food habits. A lifestyle change is required at present. Eating less junk food and no tobacco in any form can reduce the burden of cancer in India.”

However, treatment of cancer at any stage is possible, if detected early, asserts Dr Indu Ambulkar, consultant medical oncologist, Seven Hill Hospital. “Awareness is the key to prevent cancer. Certain kinds of food have possibility of increasing cancer. Stay away from red meat as it increases the likelihood of having colon cancer. You should maintain a healthy diet. Intake of fruits, vegetables, calcium, vitamin D should be high to prevent cancer.

Apart from diet, exercise also can help prevent it, specially breast cancer and colon cancer. It’s imperative that exercise becomes a part of one’s everyday lifestyle,” he adds.

Dr Vimal Jain, onco-surgeon, Kohinoor Hospital for cancer, suggests some dos and don’ts for a healthy living:

Avoid eating junk food or food that has too much of preservatives.

Keep obesity and stress at bay, and exercise regularly.

Go for regular medical check up. Through this you can catch the cancer at an early stage.

Women, after 45 years of age, should go for mammography once in two years, and for PAP once in a year, it will help to detect early cervical cancer.

Go for vaccination like Hepatitis B vaccine. Hepatitis B is a risk factor for primary liver cancer.

Don’t consume tobacco and alcohol. And very importantly do not ignore warnings, which may be signal for cancer, like lump or swelling in any body part, non healing ulcer or white patch inside the mouth, alteration of voice (change in the quality of voice), alteration of bowel habits, unexplained weight loss, or abnormal bleeding from any part of the body.