Assess your Cancer risk

[Guest guest]

An article in today's Washington Post has a blurb with a website from the

ACS to take a 5 minute " checkup " to learn how you might reduce your cancer

risk. Unfortunately the website given is nonexistant but I did find it

here:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/PED_13_Great_American_Health_Check.asp?sit

earea=PED & level=1

Unfortunately i couldn't get it to work to take the checkyp but I have a

behemoth computer. So perhaps some of you can have fun with it.

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

Well, here is my " checkup " .

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/PED_13_Great_American_Health_Check.asp?siteare\

a=PED & level=1#null "

This is your personalized Action Plan

Take this Action Plan to your doctor.

Congratulations. You've completed the Great American Health Check. Here is the

action plan based on your answers. Now you're ready to share these results with

your

doctor.

Age and Gender risk:

Based on your age and gender, the American Cancer Society recommends the

following:

Your doctor should offer you a blood test to check the PSA in your blood and a

rectal exam to check your prostate gland. Your doctor should talk to you about

how

you might or might not benefit from prostate cancer testing so you can decide if

you

want to be tested or not.

Have a colon exam. Use the following guidelines:

Have a yearly stool blood test OR

Yearly stool blood test plus flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years OR

Flexible sigmoidoscopy every five years OR

Colonoscopy every 10 years OR

Double contrast barium enema every five years

As part of a periodic checkup for any man your age, your doctor should check the

following:

Lymph nodes

Oral cavity

Skin

Testes

Thyroid

You indicate that there is a history of cancer either in yourself or your

immediate

family. Make certain to discuss this with your doctor when you talk about cancer

screening (tests to find certain cancers early). With certain cancer histories,

your

doctor may suggest earlier cancer screening or more frequent cancer screening.

Eating Habits:

Great! Eating at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day can help

reduce your risk of cancer. Keep up the good work and talk to your doctor about

ways

to eat even more healthfully.

The American Cancer Society recommends:

Eat a variety of healthy foods, with an emphasis on plant sources.

Eat five or more servings of a variety of vegetables and fruits each day.

Choose whole grains in preference to processed (refined) grains and sugars.

Limit consumption of red meats, especially those high in fat and processed.

Choose foods that help maintain a healthy weight.

Whole grains are an important part of a healthy diet. Try to eat at least three

servings of whole grain foods each day. Keep looking for ways to include more

whole

grains in your diet throughout the day. Whole grain cereal in the morning and a

sandwich made with whole wheat bread for lunch are easy ways to get your 'three

a

day'.

Dairy products provide some much needed calcium and protein, but can also be

loaded

with saturated fat - which is not good for your cancer or your heart disease

risk.

Based on your answers, you should aim for choosing lowfat dairy products more

often

than not - lowfat milk, yogurt and cheeses are still packed with good-for-you

nutrition but with less saturated fat.

Eating a diet low in saturated fat is important for your health. Red meats -

beef,

pork and lamb - and processed meats can add saturated fat to your diet. Choosing

chicken, turkey and fish instead of red meats is an easy way to reduce the

amount of

saturated fat you eat (although go for baked or broiled poultry and seafood

instead

of fried!)

If you eat a fairly well-balanced diet, the occasional sweet treat is not likely

to

be a problem. These high-sugar foods, though, typically have a lot of calories

and

not a lot of nutrients, so if you tend to have them on a regular basis, you may

want

to look for ways to cut back: Watching portion sizes is a good way to start!

Physical Activity:

Based on your answers, it looks like you are trying to live a physically active

lifestyle. That's great. Increasing your activity even more can help reduce your

cancer risk.

The American Cancer Society recommends that adults engage in at least moderate

activity for 30 minutes or more on five or more days of the week; 45 minutes or

more

of moderate to vigorous activity on five or more days per week may further

enhance

reductions in the risk of breast and colon cancer.

BMI (Body Mass Index):

This number is commonly used to judge whether you are at a healthy weight for

your

height. Knowing your BMI is important, because it can give you an indication of

whether your weight may be putting you at increased risk of cancer.

Based on the Height and Weight you entered, your BMI is 16.0.

This score shows that you are underweight. Your doctor can give you suggestions

for

eating a well-balanced diet with enough calories to maintain a healthy weight.

The

American Cancer Society recommends that you maintain a BMI between 18.5 and 25.

You have said you don't smoke cigars or use other forms of tobacco. If someone

you

love uses tobacco, ask them to talk to their doctor about how tobacco can harm

their

health, and how to get the help they need to quit.

Your Outlook

A good relationship between you and your doctor is an important part of good

health

care. You must be able to communicate well with each other so that your needs

are

met. A good relationship with your doctor is worth the effort it takes to create

it.

This means taking the time to ask your questions and make your concerns known.

Likewise, your doctor must take the time to answer your questions and listen to

your

concerns. If you and your doctor feel the same way about sharing information,

and

making choices, you are likely to have a good relationship. Take this to your

doctor

to get recommendations based on these results.

--- Francesca Skelton <fskelton@...> wrote:

> An article in today's Washington Post has a blurb with a website from the

> ACS to take a 5 minute " checkup " to learn how you might reduce your cancer

> risk. Unfortunately the website given is nonexistant but I did find it

> here:

>

> http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/PED_13_Great_American_Health_Check.asp?sit

> earea=PED & level=1

>

> Unfortunately i couldn't get it to work to take the checkyp but I have a

> behemoth computer. So perhaps some of you can have fun with it.

>

Al Pater, PhD; email: old542000@...

__________________________________

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