The big C

Nobody wants to get cancer. And there is no sure path to avoiding cancer.

There are a number of gene alleles that predispose to cancer risk. If you inherit one of these alleles, your risk of cancer is higher than average. That doesn’t mean you can’t do anything. Knowing you’re at higher risk means you should undergo more frequent testing (breast imaging, colonoscopy, prostate exams, etc). Early detection improves survival.

There are a number of other “lifestyle” risk factors for cancer: smoking, alcohol, sun exposure, obesity and aging. Of course, if your goal is a long life, you’ll have to confront an increased risk of cancer as you age. Again, surveillance is an important way to increase survival.

Diet is probably the most modifiable cancer risk factor. 

“The most recent research uses different indices to assess dietary patterns without specifying the amount of animal-based foods that participants consumed. A 2023 meta-analysis included assessment of 22 prospective cohort studies on cancer with 57,759 participants and found greater adherence to a plant-based diet was associated with a 12% reduced risk for cancer, driven primarily by associations in reduction of breast, pancreatic, and prostate cancer. The benefit increased slightly to a 14% reduced risk when the dietary pattern emphasized healthy plant-based foods in particular, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. Those were studies that used the “healthful plant-based dietary index” instead of the “overall plant-based dietary index.” In fact, higher adherence to an “unhealthful plant-based dietary pattern” was linked to a 7% increased risk for cancer.

 

“For specific cancers, plant-based diets were associated with a 9% reduced risk for breast cancer, a 13% reduced risk for prostate cancer, an 18% reduced risk for digestive system cancer, and 32% reduced risk for pancreatic cancer. Meanwhile, associations for colorectal, liver, lung, and stomach cancer did not reach significance. But with fewer studies looking at these cancers, there may simply not have been enough statistical power to reach significance. And, when researchers looked only at a healthful plant-based dietary pattern, colorectal cancer risk fell by 15%.”

Note that a plant-based diet isn’t necessarily a vegetarian diet. It’s more like a plant-forward diet—a diet in which most of the calories come from fruits and vegetables.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/growing-evidence-suggests-plant-based-diets-reduce-cancer-2025a100011d?form=fpf&ecd=socpd_fb_rem-traf_mscp_2025june9-plant-diets-ida100011d-relaunch-phase3-fpf-acq-job_us&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=fb&utm_id=6756711770992&utm_content=6774417914192&utm_term=6771593221592&utm_campaign=6756711770992&fbclid=IwY2xjawK2RiZleHRuA2FlbQEwAGFkaWQAAAYpStjPMGJyaWQRMXR1aG40OWRLc0o3c2ttNnoBHn-Pptk7tf-SUkkCHabrqOmWFwlNeUcSEKSTj4tAif6T2ewWrtw678wwQJKO_aem_Apwo6xexa-eRQdO7pl8XbA