Take Control of Your Cancer Risk

by John Whyte

You have the power to reduce your cancer risk--and this book will show you just how easy it is. Each year, over a million people in the United States alone hear the words no one ever wants to You have cancer . But what if there was a way for fewer people to hear these words? One of the biggest myths regarding cancer is that it’s mostly genetic--meaning that you have no control over whether you get it. While genetics do have an impact, the truth is that your lifestyle and environment play the major role. Take Control of Your Cancer Risk shares straightforward information and equips you with strategies to help you on a journey to better health, This book will show you how easy it is to lower your cancer risk-- something everyone has the power to do!

Genres: Health

272 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2024

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is incomplete but it's a good primer. Chapters include how to figure out your risk based on genetics and lifestyle factors and the importance of things like sleep and diet. It's easy to read with 5 questions to quiz yourself at the start of each chapter and then at the end it gives you the answers which you should have figured out by then. It's pretty basic and mainstream. Most people who are fairly educated on health issues will know all of this but I may overestimate the public.

One thing that drives me crazy in cancer books and articles is that nobody talks about some of the choices that make huge differences in your cancer risk like breastfeeding. Multiple studies have shown that breastfeeding greatly reduces a woman's chance of breast cancer, with each month leading to a further reduction. It takes a lot of months to see big reductions but as someone who had five kids and did extended breastfeeding with all of them, it was a huge relief to see how much that reduced my lifetime chance of ever getting breast cancer -- and it also reduced my daughters' chances. ❤️ Likewise, we know that every birth reduces a woman's chances of both breast and ovarian cancer (breastfeeding also reduces ovarian cancer rates). Obviously nobody is going to tell women to have a lot of babies just to reduce their cancer risks, but these are big statistical differences and worth telling.

From an article I wrote on the topic a few years ago:

"Researchers reported in JAMA that breastfeeding for any length of time reduced breast cancer risk in general by 25% for all women. In the famous Nurses’ Health Study II, a long-term study of more than 100,000 women, researchers followed more than 60,000 women and found that the reduction was observed for women who breastfed for as little as three months over their lifetimes.

The benefit was even greater for women who had a family history of breast cancer. Generally, having a mother or sister who had breast cancer leads to a far greater risk of contracting breast cancer, but breastfeeding greatly helped improve the odds. For women with a family history of breast cancer, breastfeeding for any length of time was associated with a 59% lower risk of breast cancer.

In addition, the longer a woman breastfeeds over her lifetime, the lower her chances of contracting breast cancer become. When researchers looked at 47 epidemiological studies in 30 countries, they found that for every 12 months a woman breastfed over her lifetime, her risk of breast cancer decreased by another 4.3% (with another 7% decrease for every birth).

These numbers add up, especially when we engage in other healthy behaviors that lower our breast cancer risk such as eating lots of fruits and vegetables, getting regular exercise, not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and minimizing alcohol intake."

All that said, this is a good basic book with sound advice.

I read a digital ARC of this book for review.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Art · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author is the Chief Medical Officer for WebMd and has appeared on the Dr. Phil show. In this book, he discusses several ways a person may lower their risk of developing cancer. Although there is a genetic factor to cancer, many risk factors are controllable. From diet to exercise to sleep to screenings for certain cancers to making sure you are up-to-date on vaccinations, this very accessible read aims to help individuals lower their risk factors. Appendices contain a sample one-week diet, recipes, and a one-week exercise plan.

[Carryl Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of "light." This will be a good book for people new to the subject. As a survivor of breast and ovarian cancer I did not learn anything new but I am already well read on the subject. There are many other dietary and lifestyle changes that can reduce our cancer risks that were not dealt with in the book. This is basic, mainstream but solid advice.

Disclosure: I received a digital preview copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Susan Socha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was so so for me. I did like the part about food and what we should and should not be eating and his recipes in the back of the book. I even photographed them and took them to the grocery store. The rest of it was nothing that knew...we all know about exercise. He does go into the different kinds of cancer and explains why we might be at risk.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think there is a lot of good information within this book and it's written in a way that is easy to interpret.

I wish they would have done a better job with wording, understanding that they geared this towards lay people. Having the background I do, I understand the nuisances, but I can also see how that information can be taken the wrong way therein, accidentally misinforming the reader.

[Jayda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Lots of great information! I highly recommend this book.

[JaneAM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good reference book. Not the kind of book you would sit down and read cover to cover.

[Abeer Arain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the simplicity of this book. Everyone should read it at least once!

[Alicia Erasmus · Rating 4 out of 5]

While on the whole much of this content is simple common sense, it’s broken down quite nicely in layman terms with evidence to back it.