The best way to treat cancer is to prevent it happening in the first place! You can do this by a few simple lifestyle changes:
1. Eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, preferably at least five portions of each a day, and some raw. Fresh fruit and vegetables, particularly raw, contain vitamins and anti-oxidants that help prevent the free radicals that can cause cancer.
2. Don’t smoke – throat cancer is specifically linked to cigarette smoking. If you do smoke, think about giving up. There are support groups and various medications that can help you. Quitting smoking will also improve your skin and help you stay looking young in addition to preventing cancer.
3. Cut down or stop your alcohol consumption. Frequent consumption of alcohol is linked to throat cancer. If you think you might be suffering from an alcohol dependency problem, there are organizations that can assist you.
4. Cut your exposure to asbestos. Asbestos is the name given to a group of minerals that are naturally present in the environment, however, these are harmful to human health. Industries that used asbestos are the mining industry, construction, and automobile industry. Since 1979, it has been illegal to make any new products with asbestos, but it may still be present in your home, workplace, or your child’s school. Make sure that you have your home inspected to make sure that any asbestos is removed or encased to limit its affect on you. Make sure your employer or school principle also has inspections if they suspect there is asbestos in the building.
5. Check all your cosmetics and medicines carefully to make sure that none of them contain formaldehyde. Shampoo and shower gels commonly contain it, so go green and buy environmentally friendly products that don’t contain this.
6. Have safe sex! Throat cancer is directly linked to oral sex and to the number of sexual partners a person has, both for vaginal and oral sexual intercourse. The New England Journal of Medicine found that “A high lifetime number of vaginal-sex partners (26 or more) was associated with oropharyngeal cancer as was a high lifetime number of oral-sex partners (6 or more).”
Preferably have one life partner so that this isn’t a consideration. If you do have casual sex, use a condom – even for oral sex, or ask your partner to get tested for HPV prior to engaging in any sexual activity.
Support Organizations:
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism - http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/
American Lung Association (Quit Smoking Support) - http://www.lungusa.org/
Joanna is a freelance health writer for The Mother magazine and Suite 101 with a column on infertility, http://infertility.suite101.com/. She is author of the book, 'Breast Milk: A Natural Immunisation,' and co-author of an educational resource on disabled parenting, in addition to running a charity for people damaged by vaccines or medical mistakes.