Keeping Things In Perspective
Breast cancer awareness programs have resulted in a wealth of
information in the public domain about beast cancer.
We are told that over 2400 new
cases are diagnosed annually and that more than 600 women die from
this disease each year.
New Zealand women are told that
they have a 1 in 10 chance of developing breast cancer. (This
figure in itself is misleading as it is calculated on the
assumption that all women lived to about 80).
Fortunately of course even this
figure means that 90% of women will not get breast cancer and we
know that only one third of those diagnosed will die from the
disease!
Overall only about 3% of women will
die from breast cancer.
This figure is a concern but to
keep things in perspective it needs to be compared with other
disease rates.
The statistics for prostate cancer
in men are very similar with 594 deaths.
Equally astonishing is the totally
unheralded fact that 546 women die from lung cancer and a further
563 from bowel cancer annually.
Cancer kills more than 7000 New
Zealanders each year and only 600 of these have breast cancer.
These cancer figures themselves are
only a small part of the overall health statistics. Ischaemic heart
disease, smoking related illness, diabetes, obesity and other
preventable diseases are wreaking havoc in our communities.
Few women are aware that they have
a far greater chance of dying from heart disease (2704 deaths) or a
stroke (1620 deaths) than breast cancer.
To improve women's health
significantly we need a broad based strategy that deals with all
aspects of health.
Some of the most simple changes
will make a huge difference at very little cost.
- Stop smoking
- Exercise more
- Drink less alcohol
Pay attention to diet cutting down
on fat, red meat and eating more fresh fruit and vegetables.
Take time to relax and enjoy life -
keep things in perspective.
Read more about risk reduction
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Breast Cancer