We hope that you’ll join us this week for another “delicious
edition” of Pathfinder Produce, our fresh fruit and vegetable market held here
each Thursday afternoon at the Village Commons, from 2 to 5 p.m. We have
two weeks of the market until we’ll be closed for Thanksgiving Thursday … we’re
grateful for all the great support we receive from our patrons all year long!
Throughout
the year, most of my blog entries focus on nutrition and how adding fruits and
vegetables to one’s diet may improve one’s health. But another piece of
the wellness puzzle is to pursue non-food related activities that also are
important to maintaining good health. Our local Edmeston 5-2-1-0 program
has presented local opportunities for fitness; the basis of the program also
encourages people to spend less than two hours doing recreational screen
activities (television, computer games, tablets, etc.) to get one hour of daily
physical activity, and to cut down your number of sugary drinks to zero.
This
week, I’d like to be a nag and remind people to sign up for their regular cancer
screenings.
If you come to Pathfinder Village during November, you may see some of our
normally clean-shaven staff members are looking a little fuzzier than
usual: These friends are taking part in “No-Shave November” as a
way to raise cancer prevention awareness. The idea is to show off our
hair (which many cancer patients lose) to raise public awareness of the
disease, which is predicted to affect over 1.6 million patients in the U.S.
each year. No-Shave participants are encouraged to sign up and share the No-Shave November website , and send in
a donation equal to the amount that is typically spent on shaving and grooming
products for a month. Proceeds go to the American Cancer Society to help
educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and help those fighting the
battle. (No-Shave isn’t just for guys either, but it isn’t mandatory for
anyone to not shave if you’re not really comfortable unshaven … just sign up
and send in a gift to ACS).
Another upcoming cancer
awareness event is The Great American Smokeout, which takes place on Thursday,
November 20 (it’s always the third Thursday of November each year).
ACS encourages smokers to use the date to quit or plan to quit. According
to ACS, tobacco use is yet the single largest preventable cause of disease and
premature death, yet about 42 million Americans (nearly one out of five) still
smoke cigarettes. For resources on how to quit, please visit the
ACS’s online Great
American Smokeout resource pages. (We encourage everyone to
give up all forms of tobacco … snuff, chewable or pipes/cigars.
There’s enough evidence that indicates all of these increase your chance of
getting cancer).
All
of that aside, how you eat may also affect your likelihood of contracting
cancer:
A 2002 study in The
Lancet by Dr. Timothy J. Key, DPhill, et al, states, “Dietary factors are
thought to account for about 30% of cancers in western countries, and thus, diet
is second only to tobacco as a potentially preventable cause of cancer. The
contribution of diet to risk of cancer in developing countries is lower,
perhaps around 20%.” This study is inconclusive about specific foods or
food substances causing cancer, but advises the public to eat a well-balanced
diet with a goal of maintaining a healthy weight, as a way to ward off abnormal
cell growth. An article
at the MD Anderson Cancer Center website, specifically on sugar’s relationship
to cancer development, also advises, “… too much daily sugar can cause weight
gain. And, unhealthy weight gain and a lack of exercise can increase your
cancer risks.”
The
ACS website also has guidelines about what cancer screenings
are recommended, how often, and at what age. While we hear news
stories about changing recommendations, it is still important for people to see
their healthcare providers for regular mammograms, pap smears, prostate checks,
colonoscopies, or whenever there is a notable appearance in moles or other skin
features. TRUE, none of these are pleasant experiences, but if
your doctor can detect atypical cells early, your chances of beating cancer
improve dramatically. For example, if one looks at the 2014 survival
relative survival rates for breast cancer, people with Stage 0 and 1 have a
100% chance of surviving for five years; stage 2 drops to 93%. Stage 3
and 4 survival rates drop quite a bit … 72% and 22% respectively.
Overall, ACS states, “The 5-year relative survival rate for all cancers
diagnosed between 2003 and 2009 is 68%, up from 49% in 1975-1977. The
improvement in survival reflects both progress in diagnosing certain cancers at
an earlier stage and improvements in treatment.” (To see detailed
information regarding different cancers and survival rates for that time
period, see the Cancer
Facts & Figures report).
I’m
grateful for the people in my life who have battled cancer and won, and
encourage anyone who reads this post to be vigilant. So … pick up the
phone, and make your appointment for your screening today.
Until
next time, be well,
Lori
