Blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are some of the serious conditions, that you need to understand what exactly they are and how to treat them. These conditions will primarily affect your blood cells’ production and function, making your body a battleground. Let’s dive into this blog to know the 7 effective ways to help prevent blood cancers.
What is blood cancer?
We also call blood cancers as hematologic cancers, which mainly disturb the blood, bone marrow, and lymphatic system. Leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are the main types of blood cancers. Usually, blood cancers develop in the bone marrow, where the blood is produced, which causes uncontrolled growth of abnormal blood cells that extremely disturb the normal blood cells.
To date, the actual cause of blood cancers is not fully understood, but doctors believe that several factors may contribute to this condition like genetic mutations, exposure to chemicals and radiation, serious infections, and poor immune system. To get the precise treatment for your condition, reach out to a blood cancer specialist in Coimbatore for better outcomes.
Further, the symptoms you experience are completely based on the type and stage, but generally include,
- Chronic fatigue
- Recurrent infections
- Sudden weight loss
- Easy bruising or bleeding
- Inflamed lymph nodes
- Bone pain
- Night sweats
Simply, timely detection and diagnosis are crucial for effective treatment and management of blood cancers.
What are the 7 ways to prevent blood cancers?
1) Follow a healthy diet:
You are what you eat, this is so true when it comes to blood cancer prevention. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins will add strength to your body and combat conditions like cancer, notably blood cancer. Further, let’s see how you can start:
- Add more fruits and vegetables: These come with antioxidants and phytochemicals, which help to protect your cells from damage.
- Choose whole grains: When you decide to stay health-conscious and prevent yourself from blood cancers, you can try a smart diet like switching to brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat bread.
- Opt for lean proteins: You can get a great source of protein from fish, poultry, beans, and nuts.
By consuming these healthy foods, you are offering your body the nutrients it needs to maintain strong, and healthy blood cells.
2) Maintain a healthy weight:
Nowadays, obesity stands as a primary cause of numerous health issues, including blood cancers. Maintaining an ideal weight through a balanced diet and consistent workout can highly reduce the risk of blood cancers. Further, let’s see some tips to manage your weight to prevent yourself from blood cancers:
- Consistent workout: Try to do 150 minutes of mild aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous activity every week.
- Mindful eating: You can practice this by concentrating on the portion sizes, eventually will not eat more foods.
- Stay away from sugar: Both sugary drinks and snacks are high in calories but lack nutritional value.
Balancing your weight in a healthy range is not only about looking good, it’s about ensuring your body functions optimally and reduces the strain on your blood cells. Just avoid leukemia, but staying an ideal weight helps you a lot in preventing yourself from blood cancers.
3) Quit smoking:
Tobacco and smoking cause several types of cancers like blood cancers. Usually, tobacco comes with harmful chemicals, that will weaken your immune system, and further damage your DNA, then you will find it harder to fight against cancer cells.
- Quit smoking: If you have the habit of smoking, seek help to quit this habit. There are several resources available like nicotine replacement therapies, support groups, etc.
- Avoid secondhand smoke: Make sure to live in a smoke-free environment to reduce exposure to harmful chemicals.
Simply, to live a healthy and long life, try quitting tobacco.
4) Reduce alcohol consumption:
Limited alcohol consumption won’t highly impair your health, but binge consumption can surge the risk of blood cancers. Primarily, alcohol will damage your bone marrow, where blood cells are produced, and affect your immune system. Further, let’s see some techniques to limit your alcohol intake:
- Follow guidelines: Abruptly, one cannot quit this habit, so moderate your alcohol consumption by taking one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
- Drink non-alcoholic beverages: There are numerous delicious non-alcoholic beverages available that can satisfy your cravings without affecting your health.
One of the best ways to prevent blood cancers is to be mindful of your alcohol consumption.
5) Protect yourself from infections:
Few infections like those caused by HIV and EBV have been connected to an increased risk of blood cancers. Further, let’s see how you can protect yourself:
- Practice safe sex: Do frequent screening to check for STIs (Sexually Transmitted Infections).
- Avoid sharing needles: This prevents the spreading of infections such as HIV.
6) Reduce your exposure to radiation and chemicals:
Staying in high levels of radiation and certain chemicals can increase your risk of developing blood cancers. Further, let’s see some ways how you can minimize your exposure to radiation and chemicals:
- Limit medical radiation: Just undergo X-rays, CT scans, and other radiation tests only if it is necessary.
- Use protective gear: Due to unavoidable situations you are working in a chemicals or radiation-filled environment, just ensure that you use the appropriate protective gear.
- Be cautious with household chemicals: Try to use natural cleaning products and in case you are using chemical cleaners ensure good ventilation.
Taking these effective steps can assist you in protecting your cells from the harmful effects of radiation and chemicals to prevent blood cancers.
7) Stay informed and get regular check-ups:
When it comes to blood cancers, staying on track by knowing the latest research and guidelines can assist you make informed choices. Frequent checkups with your doctor in the hematology hospital in Coimbatore are crucial for timely detection and prevention. Further, let’s see some easy ways in which you can achieve this:
- Keep up with health screenings: One of the finest ways to detect any abnormalities are blood test.
- Stay educated: Stay updated about the new advancements in cancer prevention research and guidelines.
- Discuss your family history: If any of your family members have blood cancer, discuss it with your healthcare provider, as this may influence your screening schedule and preventive measures.
Being conscious about your health can make a huge difference in your blood cancers.
Bottom line:
In conclusion, we can say that, when you try to prevent yourself from blood cancers, you have to take a combination of approaches like healthy choices, protective measures, and staying informed. Just by embracing a healthy diet, maintaining an ideal weight, quitting smoking and binge alcohol consumption, protecting yourself from infections, limiting your exposure to harmful substances, and frequent screening, you can potentially reduce your risk of developing blood cancers.
