It requires olympic-level acrobatics to put a positive spin on current cancer survival rates in the UK. A recent report conducted by the Health and Social Care Committee of MPs warned cancer survival rates could go into “reverse” as people die prematurely due to the pandemic-induced backlog and a collective reluctance to come forward. The dire forecast underscores the importance of acting on the early warnings of cancer.
It doesn’t help that cancer symptoms are often vague and falsely attributed to everyday aches and pains.
However, there are some ways to distinguish cancer-related pain from the everyday type.
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), pain often emerges in different areas of the body when you are engaged in specific actions.
For example, pain when urinating or pain after eating can signal the potentially deadly disease, the NIH warns.
READ MORE: More patients diagnosed with cancer in an emergency in UK than other countries – symptoms
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, around one in three cases of the most common cancers (about 33 percent) could be prevented by eating a healthy diet, keeping to a healthy weight and being more active.
It must be noted you cannot reduce your risk completely through your lifestyle.
“For most people, increasing age is the biggest risk factor for developing cancer,” Macmillan Cancer Support.
“In general, people over 65 have the greatest risk of developing cancer. People under 50 have a much lower risk.”
