It's been called the silent killer, difficult to detect and quick to spread.
Colon cancer is the second most common cancer in the country and about 3,200 Canadians die from it annually.
But new research has found that simply getting exercise could reduce your risk of developing the disease.
In the British Journal of Cancer, scientists wrote that being physically active could lessen your chances of contracting colon cancer.
The review pools physical activity and colon cancer data from 52 published studies, and found that colon cancer was 24 per cent less common among the most physically active people.
Here are some other tips to reduce your risk:
- Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
- Limit fat, especially saturated fat. Eat a low-fat diet. Avoid saturated fats from animal sources such as red meat. Other foods that contain saturated fat include milk, cheese, ice cream, and coconut and palm oils.
- Eat a varied diet to increase the vitamins and minerals you consume.
- Limit alcohol consumption. Limit the amount of alcohol you drink to no more than one drink a day for women and two for men. A drink is a 4- to 5-ounce glass of wine, a 12-ounce can of beer, or a 1.5-ounce shot of 80-proof liquor.
- Stop smoking.
- Get screened
Information courtesy the
Mayo Clinic.
The Ontario government has made it easier to get checked.
Click here for your free, at-home, cancer screening kit.
Ontario Ministry of Health - Colorectal Cancer