Choices, Change, and Your Cancer Risk

Healthy choices to lower cancer risk

At least 40% of cancers are related to lifestyle behaviors that we can change or improve. April's National Cancer Control Month is a reminder that there are ways to reduce the risk of cancer. Let's start with sitting less and moving more. Getting regular physical activity can help you get to and keep a healthy weight and lower your risk of cancer. Being overweight and having obesity are linked with a higher risk of 13 kinds of cancer. Another way to lower cancer risk is to not use tobacco products or quit if you do. Tobacco use can cause cancer almost anywhere in the body. Change may not be easy, but small healthy choices each day can help you build long-term behaviors. Learn about other cancer risks and what you can do.

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New Data: Colorectal Cancer in Rural and Urban Areas

Man talking with a doctor

A new U.S. Cancer Statistics data brief looks at the rate of new colorectal cancer cases and the growing gap of new cancers diagnosed among people living in rural and urban areas. In 2019, 142,462 colorectal cancer cases were reported in the United States. Men living in rural areas had the highest rate of new colorectal cancer cases, and the rate decreased more among people living in urban areas than rural areas.

Tips to Help You Prepare for Emergencies

Weather can be unpredictable. Planning early can help you get ready for thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, and other types of severe weather. If you have cancer now or had cancer in the past, you may need to take extra steps to prepare for an emergency. For example, you may need medicine or special medical equipment. Take steps now to get ready, so you can take care of yourself and your family if an emergency happens. Start with these tips, and you’ll be better prepared for an emergency.

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Explore Environmental Exposures, Communities, and Health Risks

The places where we live, learn, work, and play (known as social determinants of health) can affect our health, including cancer risk. CDC’s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network has a new data tool, the Environmental Justice Dashboard, that can help identify communities at risk and help everyone learn more about how the environment affects their health. Environmental exposures, along with historical injustices, racism, community design, access to resources, and other socio-economic factors, can lead to poor health outcomes. For example, exposure to asbestos and lead pipes can increase the risk of cancer.

Learning about community characteristics can help you understand the groups of people at higher risk for environmental and health inequities.

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Research Spotlight

Infographic shows a large group of people; Hepatitis B can cause liver disease

Screening and testing for hepatitis B virus infection: CDC recommendations – United States, 2023 reports that an estimated 580,000 to 2.4 million people are living with hepatitis B virus infection in the United States. Many people may not be aware of their infection. People with chronic hepatitis B virus. People with chronic hepatitis B virus ) infection are at increased risk for liver cancer and cirrhosis and are 70% to 85% more likely to die prematurely than the general population. CDC recommends all adults get tested for hepatitis B at least once in their lifetime.

Did You Know?

More than 90% of new obesity-related cancers occur in men and women who are 50 years old or older.
Alcohol and tobacco use are major risk factors for cancers of the head and neck.