Oral Sex Can Cause Head and Neck Cancers

There are more serious consequences of sexually transmitted diseases caught through oral sex than you can think of. It's not only the virus and the disease, but the virus can cause serious head and neck cancers.

The cases of head and neck cancer called oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) have risen sharply. These cases are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), as reported in the British Medical Journal.

HPV can be prevented using 2 vaccines, i.e. Cervarix and Gardasil. These vaccines should be given to girls before they become sexually active. This HPV is the cause of cervical cancer, which is the second most common cancer in women.

A new study has found that the oropharyngeal carcinoma was linked to those people with history of 6 or more lifetime sexual partners, 4 or more lifetime oral sex partners. And for men, is due to earlier age at first sexual intercouse.

And because of the above reason, it is suggested that the vaccines should be given to boys too. However, all in all, abstinence before marriage and safe sex should be exercised carefully.

Fight Against Cancer With Broccoli

Good news for all of us who like to eat broccoli, well even those of you who do not like it, we all should start taking in more broccoli into our diet.

A study by Institute of Food Research in England has shown that broccoli can affect hundreds of genetic changes. To name a few: to strengthen genes that could fight against cancer, and to eliminate genes that could promote tumor.

Besides having isothiocyanate, broccoli also contain sulforaphane which yield extra immunity to fight against cancer.

Alcohol as a Cause of Cancer

It has been told that moderate consumption of red wine, on average 2 glass per day will be beneficial for our health. For other alcohol in general, the suggested consumption is 4 drinks a day for men, and 2 drinks a day for women. Apparently, this no longer hold true. Red wine consumption is particularly good for cardiac disease, however consumption of wine and alcohol in general would increase the risk of cancer.

A new report "Alcohol as a Cause of Cancer" is released today, 8 May 2008, showing alarming link between alcohol consumption and particular types of cancer.

An international audit of cancer and alcohol research was conducted by The Cancer Institute New South Wales. The study found that even as little as 2 glass of alcohol per day can significantly increase the risk of cancer. And thus, reducing alcohol consumption will lower risk of cancer.

The types of cancer associated with alcohol consumption include:
- bowel cancer,
- breast cancer,
- head and neck cancer,
- oesophageal or gullet cancer.

The average risk increase per average drink is around 10-20% for some of the above cancers.

I myself have received news in less than a week that 3 men I know of have been diagnosed with colon or prostate cancer. All 3 of them smoked and/or drink wine on regular basis.

Cancer, in fact, is a very common disease. On average, 1 in 2 men, and 1 in 3 women will most likely get cancer in their lifetime. The prevention strategies would include, but not limited to, eliminating the risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco. For more tips on cancer prevention, please refer to my previous post on cancer.

Cancer

It was just yesterday, 19 Feb 2008, we heard mourning news that the favorite and famous Hong Kong TVB Legend, Lydia Shum who is more popular being called as "Fei Fei" (which means fatty). She was called so because of her tubby build. She passed away at the age of 60 in Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital, due to liver cancer.

We now become more realized of the 'existence' of cancer among us. That is why we have to do our best efforts necessary to prevent cancer.

Here are the things that you should do to prevent cancer:

1. Stay as lean as possible without becoming underweight
2. Be physically active for at least 30 minutes per day
3. Avoid sugary drinks. Minimize consumption of energy-dense foods, such as those processed food high in added sugar, or low in fiber, or high in fat
4. Eat more of variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes such as beans
5. Limit consumption of red meats, such as beef, pork, and lamb. Avoid processed meats
6. Limit alcohol consumption
7. Eat fresh foods instead of supplements
8. Cancer survivors should follow all recommendation and obey restrictions for relapsed cancer prevention