Tag Archives: American Cancer Society

A Healthy Lifestyle Helps Prevent Cancer

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Remember those old black and white movies when most of the actors and actresses smoked their way through countless roles?  Back then, smoking was a way of life for the famous and the not-so-famous alike.  So, it’s no surprise that John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Lana Turner and numerous other Hollywood stars shared two things in common with millions of their fans:  they were heavy smokers and they died from cancer.

It’s been a half century since the Surgeon General’s Report linked tobacco with cancer and other deadly diseases.  Today, smoking cigarettes or cigars is no longer part of the lifestyle for a majority of Americans.  Yet, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States can be blamed on tobacco.   An estimated 160,000 Americans died from lung cancer in 2014 and most of them were smokers.  Those who believe they can chew tobacco and escape the risk of cancer are fooling themselves.  The chewing habit leads to numerous cancers, including those of the mouth, throat, voice box and esophagus.

Smoking is the most obvious lifestyle choice linked to cancer, but hardly the only one.  Even if you don’t use tobacco, you could be leading a lifestyle that increases your risk of cancer.   Obesity, a poor diet and inactivity also play significant roles in the incidence of various types of cancer.

The ACS says obesity may be linked to cancers of the pancreas, kidney, colon stomach and uterus.   Women who gain excess weight after menopause increase their risk of breast cancer.  Obese men may be more likely to be diagnosed with a deadly type of prostate cancer than men of normal weight.  Studies cited by the ACS also indicate that obese men and women are at greater risk for pancreatic cancer.

Many studies also show a healthy lifestyle that includes proper nutrition and regular exercise lower your risk of cancer.  A steady diet of vegetables, fruit, poultry, fish and low-fat dairy products has been linked to a lower risk of breast, colon and other cancers.  Limiting the consumption of processed meats and alcohol may also reduce the risk of various types of the disease.

Of course, even the healthiest among us can’t totally eliminate the risk of cancer.   No one can control family histories and other medical factors that increase the risk.  However, for most of us, a tobacco-free healthy lifestyle that includes a healthy diet and regular exercise can help reduce the chances that cancer will strike.

A Houston Treasure: The Cottage Shop

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In 1971 The Women’s Home established a resale store in the Montrose neighborhood that now shines as one of Houston’s brightest lights.  The Cottage Shop is one of our community’s premier resale stores.  It also serves as a training center for residents of The Women’s Home as they conquer the crises in their lives that led them to the agency.

My wife, Natalie, and I were so impressed with The Cottage Shop that we commissioned paintings to be placed on the exterior front and rear of the store.  We wanted the artwork to be a symbol of The Cottage Shop’s vibrant programs and to help raise the visibility of the building.

We asked artist Homer Allen to create the paintings and he came through with works of art that perfectly illustrate the Shop’s impressive record of success.  The paintings feature monarch butterflies rising from orange chrysanthemums.  Homer used the butterfly to symbolize the evolving nature of The Women’s Home over the past half century.  The butterfly’s flight from the flower also symbolizes residents graduating from the Home’s programs.

Homer’s brilliant paintings are done with waterproof enamel on recycled billboards.  The works can be displayed indoors or outdoors and will remain a permanent part of The Cottage Shop’s exterior.

Natalie and I couldn’t be more pleased with the paintings.  The Cottage Shop generates 20% of The Women’s Home revenues.  We believe the paintings will draw more people into the Shop and perhaps help increase revenues to fund the Home’s programs for women in crisis.

As volunteers at The Women’s Home, Natalie and I invite you an exciting fundraiser with a best-selling author.  The Afternoon Tea with Barbara Taylor Bradford will be held April 8th.  You can learn more about the event and services offered by The Women’s Home at the agency’s website: http://www.thewomenshome.org/

The welcoming front door of the Cottage Shop, 811 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77006. Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. Donations accepted Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

The welcoming front door of the Cottage Shop, 811 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77006.
Open Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.
Donations accepted Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Artist Homer Allen and Dr. Steven Curley pose with one of the photos donated by Dr. Curley to hang on the Cottage Shop exterior.

Artist Homer Allen and Dr. Steven Curley pose with one of the photos donated by Dr. Curley to hang on the Cottage Shop exterior.

One of the photos by Homer Allen donated by Dr. Steven Curley

One of the photos by Homer Allen donated by Dr. Steven Curley

Exercise Your Way to a Lower Colon Cancer Risk

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It’s no secret that exercise reduces your risk of heart and respiratory diseases.  But did you know that running, walking, playing tennis, swimming or whatever exercise you prefer can help prevent colon cancer?

Numerous studies indicate that regular exercise can reduce your risk of colon cancer by as much as 40 per cent.  One study at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston included the collection of data from more than 150,000 men and women over a period of three decades.  Researchers found that cancer of the colon or rectum was far less common among people who exercised for 30 minutes several times a week, compared to those who led a sedentary lifestyle.

Another study, this one at the University of Vermont, also concluded that exercise lowers the risk of colon cancer.  Researchers studied 17,000 middle age men and found that those who exercise regularly and kept their weight down were 38 per cent less likely to be diagnosed with the disease.

It’s unclear why exercise lowers the risk of colon cancer, but these two studies and many others indicate the connection is unmistakable.  Research also shows that cancer patients who exercise regularly are less likely to die from several types of the disease.

As we come to the end of March, designated as Colon Cancer Awareness Month, it’s vital to remember that nothing can eliminate the risk of coming down with the disease.  So, even if you live a physically active lifestyle, you shouldn’t run away from colonoscopies and other forms of colon cancer screenings.  They can lead to prevention and early detection of the disease and make it much more likely that your healthy lifestyle will continue for many years to come.

Beating Colon Cancer

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Colon Cancer will kill an estimated 50,000 Americans in 2015.  That sad prediction comes from the American Cancer Society.  It is especially tragic because early screening for the disease would have saved the lives of many of those who will lose their battle against Colon Cancer this year.

March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month.  We need to focus on this disease because it is one of those cancers that can often be prevented.  A colonoscopy can find precancerous polyps in the colon or rectum.  The polyps are then removed before they develop into cancer.  If the screening leads to the discovery of colon cancer in its early stage, treatment often leads to a cure.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 90 per cent of patients whose colon cancers are found and treated early are still alive five years later.

Who should get screened for Colon Cancer?  In general, men and women should get a colonoscopy at the age of 50.  Patients with certain medical issues or family history of the disease need to be screened earlier.  The CDC currently recommends colonoscopies or other screenings at regular intervals until the age of 75.  Your doctor may advise screening beyond 75, depending on your medical history.

Thanks to increased screening, the American Cancer Society says the number of Colon Cancer deaths in the United States has been declining for two decades.  Even so, an estimated 130,000 new cases of the disease will be diagnosed this year.  Screening will lead to the discovery of some of those cases in time for the patient’s life to be saved.  Tragically, many other patients who had never been screened will have no such reprieve.  It doesn’t have to be that way.  Have you had your colonoscopy yet?