The National Nutrition Council MIMAROPA Region participates in the observance of 2021 Head and Neck Consciousness Week pursuant to Proclamation No. 676, s. 2008. Annually, we commemorate the fourth week of April to increase public awareness on the cancer of the head and neck region which includes the oral cavity, nasopharynx, larynx, and thyroid, and to promote primary prevention, screening, or early detection and optimal treatment and care.
Cancer in the head and neck are one of the occurring forms of cancers in the Philippines. According to the Philippine Cancer Society, there are 12,000 cases of Head and Neck cancers in the country annually.
The two main substance that greatly increases the risk of developing head and neck cancer is tobacco and alcoholic beverages. At least 75% of head and neck cancers are caused by tobacco and alcohol use. People who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk of developing these cancers than people who use either tobacco or alcohol alone. In addition, secondhand smoke or people who inhale the smoke from any form of tobacco are also at risk of developing neck and head cancer. Other risk factors include prolonged sun exposure, human papillomavirus infection in the mouth, poor nutrition, reaching the age of 40 and above, and ancestry coming from Asian descent.
Given these risk factors, there are ways to lower your risk of developing head and neck cancer. Here are some lifestyle ways that can help prevent in developing head and neck cancers:
Smoking cessation
Cutting the major risk factor is the first step to prevent the development of head and neck cancer. Various chemicals in the smoke come from tobacco are cancer forming also known as carcinogens. Inhalation of these carcinogens can cause damages to a person’s DNA, the genetic code in every cell of an individual. A damaged DNA may produce a malignant cell which spreads uncontrollably leading to cancer.
For individuals having a hard time quitting smoking. the Department of Health has Smoking Cessation Program which provides smoking cessation services to current smokers interested in quitting the habit. Interested individuals can receive real-time counseling and support through the phone using their Quit Line hotline 165364. For mobile users, they can be done via texting ‘STOPSMOKE’ to (29290)165364, this provides clients with text messages of support and guidance to quit smoking.
Avoid consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Too much alcohol intake is also linked to the development of neck and head cancer. The body breaks down alcohol to acetaldehyde which can damage an individual’s DNA and prevents the body from repairing the damaged DNA. In addition, damage in the DNA is amplified when alcohol is consumed while smoking which promotes the risk of head and neck cancer.
Avoid prolonged exposure to sunlight.
Although exposure to sunlight has beneficial effects on the body, prolonged exposure especially at noon can damage a person’s skin due to ultraviolet light. Cancer in the skin spreads faster to other body parts including the head and neck region.
Have a healthy diet.
Good nutrition is the foundation for the body’s resistance to diseases and optimum growth and development. Good nutrition can be attained through diet which contains an adequate amount for a person’s energy and nutritional needs, variety of foods from all food groups, balanced proportion of nutrients per food groups, and nutrient-dense having most of the nutrients in food with least energy it contains.
While there are many nutrition guides available, every Filipinos can enjoy a simpler and easy-to-remember guide for good nutrition through the 10 Kumainments and Pinggang Pinoy. 10 Kumainments is a popularized version of Nutritional Guidelines for the Filipinos developed by the National Nutrition Council which contains messages that aims to improve eating habits and behaviors to prevent diet-related non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Pinggang Pinoy is an easy-to-understand food guide developed by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute of DOST that uses a familiar food plate model to convey the right food group proportions on a per-meal basis. This will help in acquiring the healthy eating habits needed to attain optimum nutrition.
Prevention is better than cure, transition to a different lifestyle may be hard but given time and dedication, changing habits towards a healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of developing cancers and other diseases and enjoy a better life ahead.
(FEPBacena)
Sources:
Head and Neck Cancer: Risk Factors and Prevention. Retrieve from:
https://www.cancer.net/cancer-types/head-and-neck-cancer/risk-factors-and-prevention
National Cancer Institute. Retrieve from:
https://www.cancer.gov/types/head-and-neck/head-neck-fact-sheet
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Retrieve from: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/headneck/
DOH OPENS TELEPHONE/MOBILE QUITLINES TO HELP FILIPINOS QUIT SMOKING. Retrieve from:
