Even if most lung cancers are caused by tobacco use accounting for 80-90% of all the lung cancer cases, preventing the disease goes beyond avoiding smoking.
While experts have identified various causes of lung cancer, half of the people who develop the disease are non-smokers currently. Below are a few tips to lower your risk of developing lung cancer:
Quit smoking: If you smoke, quit now immediately. If you do not smoke, never try it. Research suggest that quitting at any time, although you have been smoking for some years, still lowers your risk of developing the disease.
Also, try to avoid exposure to secondhand smoke from other people’s cigarettes, as that too, puts you at risk.
Exercise: Regular exercise may aid in lung cancer prevention. Studies have linked physical activity with a lower risk of getting lung cancer. It suggests that even simple physical activity like gardening twice a week can reduce your risk of developing lung cancer.
Fruits and vegetables: Studies suggest that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help in lung cancer prevention. Try to include a variety of foods with different colours, including dark greens such as broccoli, spinach, onions, apples, tomatoes, oranges etc.
Radon exposure: Check your home for radon since it is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and the second leading cause of lung cancer overall. Radon is a colourless and odourless gas generated by the breakdown of radioactive radium, which in turn is the decay product of uranium, found in the Earth’s crust.