Top 5 Cancers Affecting Women :-
A cancer diagnosis is often linked to family medical history, lifestyle choices, or something in the environment. And while you can’t control your family history or your whole environment, healthy lifestyle habits such as a good diet, regular physical activity, weight control, and quitting smoking if you’re prone to lighting up are all within your control.
“Risk factors are individualized, but it’s important to know that there are things you can do to lower your risk,” says Daniel McFarland, DO, a medical oncologist with the thoracic oncology service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and an instructor in the center's department of medicine.
Learn more about what might increase your risk for the top five cancers in women, and some steps you can take to reduce that risk. :
1. Breast Cancer :
Breast cancer is expected to account for 30 percent of female cancer cases and 14 percent of the 282,500 female cancer deaths projected for 2017. A woman’s odds of getting breast cancer are 1 in 8.
While there’s no one definitive way to prevent breast cancer — and many risk factors are beyond your control — being aware of the following most common risk factors can help you deal with those that are in your control.
2. Lung and Bronchus Cancer :
Lung and bronchus cancers are expected to account for 12 percent of female cancer cases and 25 percent of female cancer deaths in 2017. A woman’s odds of getting lung cancer are 1 in 17.
A look at the percentages of deaths among people diagnosed with this form of cancer shows just how deadly lung cancer is. Though breast cancer is much more prevalent among women than lung cancer, the latter is responsible for many more deaths. Most striking is our ability to lower those numbers: 80 percent of all lung cancers in women (and 90 percent in men) might be avoided if people didn’t smoke. Smokers are 15 to 30 times more likely to get or die from lung cancer than nonsmokers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Family history also plays a part.
3. Colon and Rectal Cancer :
Colon and rectal cancers account for 8 percent of all cancer cases and 8 percent of female cancer deaths. A woman’s odds of getting colon or rectal cancer are 1 in 24.
While colon and rectal cancers can occur in young adults and teenagers, the majority of cases are diagnosed in adults ages 50 and over. The average age at which women are diagnosed with colon cancer is 72 (and for men, the average age at diagnosis is 68), according to the American Society for Clinical Oncology. Besides age, there are several other risk factors, some of which can be controlled
4. Uterine Cancer :
Uterine cancer accounted for 7 percent of all cancer cases, and 4 percent of female cancer deaths. A woman’s odds of getting uterine cancer are 1 in 36.
Uterine cancer (also known as endometrial cancer) is cancer in the lining of the uterus — the endometrium — and it’s the most common type of cancer that affects the female reproductive organs, making it more common than cervical cancer or ovarian cancers. Unlike cervical cancer, it’s not one of the gynecological cancers caused by HPV.
Hormonal changes, particularly related to estrogen, play a significant role in your risk for uterine cancer; as with breast cancer, uterine cancer can feed on estrogen. Some things that can affect hormone levels and increase uterine cancer risk include: taking estrogen after menopause, birth control pills, a higher number of menstrual cycles (over a lifetime), past or present use of tamoxifen for breast cancer, never becoming pregnant, being obese, and having certain ovarian tumors or polycystic ovarian syndrome.
5. Thyroid Cancer :
Thyroid cancer is expected to account for 5 percent of all cancer cases and 3 percent of all deaths in 2017. A woman’s odds of getting thyroid cancer are 1 in 57. As several of the risk factors for thyroid cancer are outside of our control, it may not be possible to prevent most of the cases of this disease, according to ACS. But it’s still important to know what these risk factors are so that if you’re at increased risk of the disease, you can get the tests you need to diagnose and treat potential tumors early.