This February, the National Nutrition Council Caraga joins the month-long celebration of National Cancer Awareness Month in which the campaign aims to spread the word on how to live a better, healthier, and happier life free from cancer.
Cancer is known as a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably and go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs.
It has existed since the dawn of time and affects people everywhere, regardless of their color, age, sex, or social standing. Due to an unhealthy lifestyle, its depressing hold has upscaled over the past few decades. Its growth has been attributed to factors such as smoking, eating poorly, and lack/absence of physical exercise.
One of the leading causes of mortality in the Philippines, a Southeast Asian nation with more than 110 million inhabitants, is cancer. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, cancer is the third most common cause of death as of 2022, accounting for 31,487 fatalities, behind heart disease, which remained the nation's top cause of death for the first seven months of 2022.
In addition to screenings and immunizations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that making healthy choices like keeping a healthy weight, abstaining from tobacco, consuming alcohol in moderation, and taking care of our skin can reduce the risk of developing cancer.
The National Nutrition Council Caraga together with, Department of Health have reminded us that health is wealth, thus we should take care of ourselves to have a long life and have more time to spend with our loved ones.#DMOIISMMontenegro
References:
Cancer. (2019, July 12). https://www.who.int/health-topics/cancer
How to Prevent Cancer or Find It Early | CDC. (n.d.). https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/prevention/index.htm
National Cancer Prevention Month. (2022, December 8). National Today. https://nationaltoday.com/national-cancer-prevention-month/
