What steps you can take to prevent cancer?

It's disturbing to know the evolution of mankind reaching such a stage that it had to invent such a day. But here we're! Today is WORLD CANCER DAY

To raise awareness of this deadly disease and encourage its prevention and cure, World Cancer Day was initiated by Union of International Cancer Control.

No, I ain't speaking to take a #NoHairSelfie of yours to raise awareness but what practical preventive measures you can take to live a cancer-free life..

Preventive Measures:

So what preventive measures you can take through your diet?
Here are the two most important preventive measures that one must take to live a healthy life:

1. Eat Organic
2. Eat Plant-based diet

...And 3^rd, Wear organically grown cotton apparels.

Before I go into detail, I'd like to tell you the story of a train in India which is popularly called a Cancer Train.

The Shocking Truth of India's Cancer Train

_{Image credit: Tribune}

A train runs daily between Punjab's Bhatinda to Rajasthan's Bikaner city. For several years now, about 60-65% of its passengers are cancer patients and their attendants. So this train got a nick name of India's Cancer Train or sometimes it's called an Ambulance Train.

People don't actually remember what the official name of this train is. It leaves Bhatinda at about 9 pm and after an overnight journey, reaches Bikaner Junction early in the morning. This passenger train actually runs between Abohar & Jodhpur but it is its journey from Bhatinda to Bikaner which is full of cancer patients.

Cancer patients are entitled to travel free in this train and their attendant too get 75% rebate on the travel fare. However these days, it also carries a lot of drug addicts who are on rehabilitation through treatment in the same Bikaner hospital. (Remember Udta Punjab?).

It's not that Punjab doesn't have any state of the art cancer treatment facility but poor farmers of Bhatinda are compelled to make this long journey for treatment of their cancer because there is a huge queue in cancer hospitals there. Additionally, it's very difficult for poor farmers to avail cash incentives under MMPCRKS (Mukhya Mantri Punjab Cancer Raahat Kosh Scheme) in Punjab without the right connections.

On the other hand, like many hospitals in Punjab , Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Prince Bijay Singh Memorial Hospital in Bikaner, is also covered for benefits under the MMPCRKS. It is one of the country's 19 regional cancer research centres and despite being an overnight journey is closest to Punjab.

Moreover, in Bikaner, lodging and boarding is very cheap too. So poor farmers prefer to take their treatment here.

_{Politics surrounding the cancer train covered by NDTV}
Unfortunately, despite the treatment, the number of cancer patients are increasing with time. Deaths too are not uncommon. With about 18-20 deaths on a daily basis, for many patients, it's a battle against hope.

1970s Green Revolution in India that started from Punjab is said to be responsible for present state of affairs. Too much use of pesticides to improve the yield of cotton contaminated the ground water in this area. Eating and drinking toxic food & water is what created so many cancer patients in that region.

This is the reason, I'm asking you to choose organically grown food and cotton in your lifestyle. Keep away from chemical fertilizers, processed food with chemical preservatives, enhancers, flavours and other additives.

Eat fresh, eat natural.

Quit consuming all animal products

The other thing I can't emphasize more is to stop consuming dairy, meat, eggs and all animal derived products.

I can write on and on on this but won't like to go in much detail as I know you must be already knowing about it. And if not, you can easily find a ton of research papers available online on this subject, in case you really take your health seriously.

Nevertheless, I'd like to quote a few references here:

The World Health Organization has determined that processed meat is a major contributor to colorectal cancer, classifying it as “carcinogenic to humans.”

Eating 50 grams of processed meat daily also increases the risk of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and overall cancer mortality

Eating 50 grams of processed meat daily also increases the risk of prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and overall cancer mortality

There Is No Safe Amount of Processed Meat

Check details here.

“Cow’s milk [organic or otherwise] has been shown to contain 35 different hormones and 11 growth factors,” says Prof Plant. High circulating levels of one such growth factor in milk, called IGF-1, is now strongly linked to the development of many cancers.

Check more at 'Give up dairy products to beat cancer’

There is strong evidence that consuming:

red meat INCREASES the risk of colorectal cancer
processed meat INCREASES the risk of colorectal cancer
Cantonese-style salted fish INCREASES the risk of nasopharyngeal cancer

Check the detailed report on Meat, fish and dairy products and the risk of cancer by World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research.

You can find many more studies and reports on causes of cancer.

• So are you going to change anything in your life this World Cancer Day?

Do share what do you think will be the best thing to do at a personal level to prevent cancer.

Thank you for reading until the end!