The word cancer scares. Perhaps you will also talk or write about it... it is not difficult to read in the press, in obituaries, references to the fact that he “died of a long illness” that hide the word and make the reality invisible.
But fear and taboo do not help reduce the social burden of cancer. Because, although this pathology is shrouded in the collective imagination in a halo of fatality and unhappiness, the truth is that Approximately one in three cases of cancer can be prevented by eliminating risk factors keys related to tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy eating and physical inactivity.
Prevention can be positively combined with early detection through screening for certain types of tumors that have a high chance of being cured if diagnosed early and receive appropriate treatment. In addition to the combination with vaccination – such as the human papillomavirus (HPV) or the hepatitis B vaccine – which prevents the development of the disease.
The burden of cancer in our society can be effectively reduced if, as stated above, risk factors are avoided, increasing pressure on tobacco consumption, in any of its forms, smoked, vaporized or inhaledand the harmful use of alcohol, while raising awareness among citizens to practice self-exploration, observation and participation in screening and vaccination programs.
And for that too we need to strengthen universal public health, with good primary care and good public health services.
