February News
Every year on February 4, people around the globe join together
to raise awareness for cancer in honor of World Cancer Day. Because physical
activity is one of the most important ways to reduce your cancer risk, this
year’s World Cancer Day theme is sports.
Cancer affects virtually everyone in the world.
It takes the lives of more than 8 million people around the globe every year.
In 2012, the most recent year with available data, the International Agency for
Research on Cancer estimated that there were more than 14 million new cancer
cases and more than 8 million cancer deaths.
According to the American Cancer Society,
over the next thirteen years, the worldwide cancer burden is estimated to jump to
almost 22 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths.
World Cancer Day “aims to save millions of preventable
deaths each year by raising awareness and education about the disease, pressing
governments and individuals across the world to take action" (worldcancerday.org). Since physical activity can significantly lower your cancer risk, “sports” is
the perfect theme for this year’s World Cancer Day.
Last year, a team of National Cancer Institute researchers completed a study that showed that regular physical activity can
significantly reduce the risk of 13 types of
cancers. In order to reap the cancer-preventing benefits of
exercising, the American Cancer Society recommends that on a weekly basis, adults get two and a half hours of “moderate
intensity” activity or an hour and fifteen minutes of “vigorous intensity”
activity.
Get out and play this Saturday. Post a
picture of you, your friends and your family participating in some sort of
physical activity. Include the hashtags “#WorldCancerDay,” “#WeCanICan” and
“#PreventCancer” in your post to help spread the word about physical activity
and cancer prevention.
To learn more about World Cancer Day, please
visit www.worldcancerday.org.
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