Is Cancer Preventable?
February is Cancer Prevention Month.
Nearly 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer at some point during their lifetimes, meaning if it’s not you, it will be a friend or loved one. The good news is that continued advancements in medical research has led to more people surviving cancer. But what if we could prevent cancer altogether? Is it possible?
The NIH says that only 5–10% of all cancer cases can be attributed to genetics, whereas the remaining 90–95% have their roots in environmental and behavioral determinants. Are we spending enough time on preventing cancer? How should we think about balancing investments in prevention vs. detection?
In this episode, I talk to Jody Hoyos, who is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Prevent Cancer Foundation, the only U.S.-based nonprofit solely dedicated to cancer prevention and early detection.
Topics covered:
The importance of early detection, and what screenings you should be asking your doctor about
How and if it matters where someone is treated for cancer
Why it’s so hard to replicate cancer studies, especially those looking at behavior change and nutrition
The lack of research on disparities in cancer outcomes
What she would tell Nixon 51 years after he launched the “War on Cancer”
Listen