The One Habit Oncologists Wish Everyone Would Quit Before Age 50

You’ve probably heard the adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. With respect, there is nothing further than the truth. It’s never too late to learn a new skill, take up a new hobby, or even completely reinvent yourself. It’s never too late to take control of your health.

If you haven’t really thought about prioritizing your health until now, you may think it’s too late to change. Would changing your habits make a difference at this point? According to oncologists, the answer is a resounding yes. The reality is that you can significantly reduce your risk of cancer by adopting a healthy diet and lifestyle habits. With that in mind, one oncologist says it’s important to stop doing it before age 50, and if you’re over 50, it’s time to take action ASAP.

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The habit of stopping before 50 hours to reduce your risk of cancer

If you are approaching fifty, Dr. Tingting Tan, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and hematologist at City of Hope in Newport Beach, Calif., says there’s something it’s important to stop doing: delaying cancer screenings. “One habit I wish everyone would refrain from is delaying age-recommended cancer screenings. If a person repeatedly postpones their cancer screening, it can unfortunately become a habit,” says Dr Tan.

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Dr Tan hears many reasons why some patients have postponed cancer screening, ranging from they have no symptoms and don’t feel the need to get screened, to their work schedule making it difficult to take time off to go to the doctor or that they do not feel the need to get tested. I simply prioritized other tasks. However, she emphasizes that delaying cancer screening can harm your health.

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“Taking the recommended screening tests can not only reduce the risk of developing cancer, such as with colonoscopy, but also the risk of dying from cancer. These tests can detect certain cancers early, before a person even has symptoms. Survival rates are high for people with cancer detected and treated early,” she says.

Not sure what cancer screening tests you should have? The American Cancer Society describes recommended screenings at certain ages. In midlife, this includes screening for colon, breast, cervical and prostate cancer. If you have a family history of cancer, you should be screened for cancer even earlier. “The risk of cancer increases with age. It is therefore essential that people aged 50 or older follow screening recommendations so that potential cancers can be prevented, detected or treated early,” says Dr Tan.

Other habits to stop before age 50 to reduce your risk of cancer

In addition to delaying cancer screenings, oncologists recommend stopping other habits before age 50 to reduce your risk of cancer. If you smoke, Dr. Mary Chamberlin, MDbreast oncologist at Dartmouth Health, says it’s high time to stop. Dr. Latonya Riddle-Jones, MD, MPHinternist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, also says so. “Smoking is a direct risk for many cancers, such as lung, head and neck, and a significant risk factor for almost all other cancers. Simply quitting smoking significantly reduces the risk of cancer, and the younger you are when you quit, the sooner you lower your risk,” she says.

Dr. Riddle-Jones cites data from the National Cancer Institutes and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showing that when one quits smoking after 10 years of smoking, the risk of lung cancer is reduced by 30 to 50 percent. “In five years, the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or esophagus is reduced by half for people who stop smoking. If you stop smoking after five to ten years, the risk of developing laryngeal and pharyngeal cancer is reduced by half. After 10 years, the risk of bladder, esophagus and kidney cancer decreases. And the risk of cervical cancer is reduced by about half by stopping smoking after the age of 20,” she adds.

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Dr. Chamberlin says another habit worth quitting before age 50 to reduce your risk of cancer is drinking soft drinks that contain sugar or artificial sweeteners, like soda and diet soda. “This reduces the intake of known carcinogens or inflammatory triggers,” she says. Scientific research shows that drinking two or more sodas per week significantly increases the risk of pancreatic cancer. For a healthier alternative, Dr. Chamberlin recommends drinking unsweetened seltzers, herbal teas, or plain water instead.

It’s comforting to know that there is much you can do to reduce your risk of cancer. While it’s never too late to adopt healthy habits, the sooner the better! With this in mind, if you’ve been putting off cancer screenings, mark today as the day you’ll put them on the calendar.

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