NATUROPATHIC
environmental
risk factors
By Laurie Wertich
W
HOW DO LIFESTYLE
FACTORS AND
EXPOSURE TO
ENVIRONMENTAL
SUBSTANCES
AFFECT OUR
CANCER RISK?
hat causes cancer? It's the million-dollar
exposure to that substance can increase the risk of cancer.
question—and if you pay attention to
The term environmental risk factor usually brings to mind
the messages in the media, the answer is:
things like chemicals and radiation, and these things are indeed
everything. But that isn't really the case.
risk factors; however, there are many other factors that fall
There are indeed some environmental risk factors for
within that category, as well. In fact, the greatest risk factors
cancer—meaning exposure to substances that could increase
we face in the United States are not exposures to radiation or
the risk of developing cancer—but there are also a lot of
chemicals in the environment around us but, rather, our own
unproven claims about factors that increase the risk of cancer.
dietary and lifestyle choices—most of which can be modified.
The trick is learning to discern fact from fiction. The best way
"From a public health point of view, environmental risk factors
to protect ourselves from cancer: information and lifestyle
are not just things that you are exposed to in the environment
modification.
around you or the things you eat, drink, or put on your skin.
They are the sum total of those factors, plus other behavioral
What Is an Environmental Risk Factor?
and lifestyle factors that expose your body to carcinogens and
Environmental risk factors for cancer are things in your
affect how your body responds to those carcinogens," explains
environment that may increase the risk of developing cancer.
Robert Wascher, MD, FACS, surgical oncologist at Cancer
Carcinogens are materials that are known to cause cancer.
Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) in Goodyear, Arizona,
When a substance is referred to as a "known cancer risk factor"
and author of A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race
or a "known carcinogen," it means that science has proven that
(Dog Ear Publishing, 2010; $14.99).
cfthrive.com
spring 2013 | cancer fighters thrive 31