by Hank Dart We’ve written a great deal in CNiC over the years on the dangers of indoor tanning, with one primary theme being the allure it has to young people, especially teenage girls. It even seems to border on an addiction of sorts, as some research suggests. With UV exposure in youth and young […]
The Power of Youth: Beginning Breast Cancer Prevention in Childhood
Creative Commons photo: Flickr/CatDancing (cropped) We’ve written a lot recently about the importance of breast cancer prevention starting early in life, both here on Cancer News in Context and in a guest post on the American Association for Cancer Research blog, Cancer Research Catalyst. Though most breast cancer research focusses on women in midlife and […]
Alcohol and Health: Three New Studies and What They Mean for Youth and Young Adults
Photo: Flickr/Tim RT It’s been a big week in the news for alcohol and health. Three separate studies were released that helped shed light on a key issue we often discuss here at Cancer News in Context: the important impact that drinking has on cancer risk – particularly when started early in life. The first […]
In the News: Office Visits Can Reduce Youth Smoking & More Benefits Found for Mediterranean Diet
Hot off the presses this morning are two important health-related releases from the US Preventive Services Task Force and the Cochrane Library. From the USPSTF are updated recommendations that highlight effective approaches that primary care providers can use to prevent tobacco use in youth. Because 90 percent of regular adult smokers begin smoking when they […]
That’s a Wrap: Images of Smoking Way Down in Youth Movies
In what can only be viewed as a positive in the fight against tobacco, a new federal report finds that images of smoking in youth-oriented movies have plummeted since 2005. In movies rated G and PG, the rate of tobacco “incidents” (as the report calls them) fell by over 90 percent (see figure). Even in […]
More Blistering Truths About Tanning Bed Use By Youth
A new study published online last week in the British Medical Journal on tanning bed use by youth in the United Kingdom has raised concerns well beyond its shores (full study) (1). The study surveyed over 9,000 children aged 11 -17 in England, Wales, and Scotland and found that 6 percent of those surveyed […]
For Your Health – Planning for a healthier school year
August 4, 2022 It’s not what many kids want to hear right now, but the new school year is just around the corner. Even while the long days remain filled with summer activities, families are starting to make plans for the first day of school and the coming year. While it’s hard to know what might […]
For Your Health – 4 Healthy Eating Tips That Can Lower the Risk of Cancer
July 5, 2022 It’s likely no surprise to read that what we choose to eat and drink can have a large impact on our health, including our risk of cancer. Practically from the time we can sit up at the kitchen table, we’re reminded of the importance of eating our vegetables. And although some of the messages […]
In Memory of Dr. Leon Ashford
PECaD would like to remember and celebrate the life of Leon E. Ashford, PhD, a prostate cancer survivor and longtime member of the Disparities Elimination Advisory Committee, the Prostate Cancer Community Partnership, and the Prostate Cancer Coalition, who passed away in March at the age of 90. Dr. Ashford was a fierce champion of prostate […]
Guiding Daughters Toward Lifelong Breast Health Habits
Originally appeared in: TOGETHER – Every Woman’s Guide to Preventing Breast Cancer. Health is a strange thing. It is something that is both very personal and very communal. As individuals, of course, we ultimately have control over the choices we make when it comes to what we eat, how much TV we watch, and how much […]
For Your Health: The Blistering Truth About Teens and Indoor Tanning
by Dr. Graham A. Colditz Part of being a teenager is feeling a sense of youthful invincibility. The health concerns of middle age are just that – concerns of middle age – and are so far away that it’s hard for teens to even think about them, let alone want to take steps to avoid […]
One in Five High Schoolers Vape or Use Tobacco. Tips for Guiding Your Teen Toward Healthier Choices
Recently released numbers from a national survey show that many high school-aged youth in the United States put themselves at risk for lifelong addiction by using tobacco or electronic cigarettes. The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System report found that 16 percent of girls and 24 percent of boys had vaped, used smokeless tobacco, or […]
Weighty Matters: The Obesity Epidemic Keeps Advancing
A new federal analysis shows that the adult obesity epidemic in the United States keeps on getting worse. Between 2007 and 2016, the percentage of the adult population that was obese increased from an already very high 33.7 percent to a staggering 39.6 percent. And the rate of those severely obese increased from just under […]
Room for Improvement: Rates of Cancer Risk Factors in Young Adults
As we’ve written about before on Cancer News in Context, good evidence points to the important role that behaviors in youth and young adulthood can have on cancer risk later in life. Health habits started in youth not only have a longer time to impact risk, but they can also have unique and important interactions with the […]
New York Joins Other States with Growing E-Cigarette Restrictions
In a little under a month in New York state, electronic cigarettes (e-cigs) will be banned wherever standard tobacco cigarettes are prohibited. The move adds to a growing list of states restricting e-cig use because of concerns about their impact on health and safety. Although e-cigs are often marketed as safer alternatives to standard cigarettes […]
Past Postdoctoral Research Trainees
Marquita Lewis, PhDPostdoctoral Research Associate through September 2019, then accepted faculty position at Northwestern University EDUCATIONPhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2016MPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 2011MS, Southern Illinois University-Springfield Campus, 2007BS, University of North Carolina at Wilmington RESEARCHDr. Lewis’ research interests primarily focuses on social determinants of health and community based participatory research. […]
Ready for the Taking: The Economic & Health Benefits of Implementing Cancer Prevention
For a topic that always gets a lot of news coverage, health and healthcare has been in the media even more than usual since the 2016 election. While it’s unclear exactly where the current debates on Obamacare and the American Health Care Act will lead, a Sounding Board article in today’s New England Journal of […]
Benefits of the HPV Vaccine for Girls and Boys
Only two doses now needed for most youth, instead of three By Katy Henke HPV, or human papillomavirus, is an increasingly popular health topic these days. Not only are there news stories about HPV and the HPV vaccine just about every week, but there’s a push across nearly all levels of healthcare — from federal […]
The Importance of Taking an Honest Look at Your Child’s Weight
It’s not news that parents can sometimes have blinders on when it comes to their kids. It’s only natural that we look for all the positives in our children and downplay any possible negatives. And this is just what seems to be happening with parents and the loaded issue of their child’s weight. Parents of […]
Cloudy Evidence on Skin Cancer Screening Shines Light on Prevention
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) reported today in the journal, JAMA, that there is not enough evidence to recommend that adults get screened for skin cancer. Though some professional medical organizations recommend physician-performed visual checks for skin cancer — and many physicians carry them out — the USPSTF found no solid evidence that […]
Large-Scale Problem: Obesity Rates Still Increasing in Certain Groups
by Hank Dart The course of the obesity epidemic in the United States has been so bad for so many years that even minor victories have been cause for celebration. But despite some bright spots in the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on national rates of obesity (on adults, on youth), […]
Keeping “Your Disease Risk” Up to Date: Cancer Science Review and Plans for a Responsive Design
Since January of 2000, our website, Your Disease Risk, has reached millions of visitors with personalized risk estimates and prevention messages for the most important preventable chronic diseases, including cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and others. Based on feedback from both health professionals and the public, much of the appeal of the the Your Disease Risk […]
New Study Finds High Fiber Diet Early in Life Lowers Breast Cancer Risk
by Hank Dart Though coverage of the Iowa caucuses has eclipsed most other media stories this week, there was still some important health news Monday about a large study finding that a high-fiber diet early in life may lower the risk of later adult breast cancer. The study, part of the long-running Nurses’ Health Study II, […]
Weighing Evidence: Obesity and Breast Cancer Risk Across Life
by Hank Dart In a paper published yesterday in the journal Science Translational Medicine, Cancer News in Context’s Graham Colditz and Washington University researcher, Kelle Moley, detail the important role that overweight and obesity play in the development of breast cancer. Looking at wide-ranging evidence at all periods of life — from gestation to the […]
2015’s Top Posts on Cancer News in Context
It’s been another big year of cancer prevention news, and it started with a real splash way back in January with a headline-grabbing study in Science attributing most cases of cancer to simple “bad luck.” Not surprisingly, we disagreed with that conclusion, and our post responding to the study – and the stories it generated […]
A Closer Look at Obesity, Breast Cancer, and Health Disparities
by Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH Obesity is an established cause of postmenopausal breast cancer, with the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) estimating that approximately 10 percent of postmenopausal breast cancer is due to excess weight (1). Overweight and obesity also increase the risk of mortality after diagnosis. One large analysis combining data from […]
Practical Steps to Prevent Breast Cancer: Day 3 – Avoid Too Much Alcohol
It’s day three in our nine day series highlighting key steps and practical tips that can help women lower their risk of breast cancer. Previous days. _ _ _ _ Day 3 – Avoid Too Much Alcohol Alcohol can be good for the heart, but when it comes to cancer, there is, unfortunately, nothing really […]
Eating to Lower Cancer Risk: Replacing Superfoods with Science
by Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH Article originally appeared in the Washington University – Institute for Public Health Blog When it comes to cancer, there are few topics as supercharged as diet. A quick search of “diet and cancer” in Google News alone returns over 3 million stories. And yet, however large these numbers are, they […]
CNiC’s Colditz Honored for Contributions to Prevention – Highlights Importance of Early Life in Breast Cancer Risk
Cancer News in Context’s Graham Colditz is being honored tonight at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as an AACR 2014-2015 Scientific Awardee. In the announcement of his 2014 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cancer Prevention, AACR describes the honor and Colditz’s contributions to the field: The award is given […]
Study Finds Periods Start Earlier in Girls Who Drink a Lot of Sugary Drinks. What Does This Mean for Breast Cancer Risk?
Creative Commons photo (cropped): Flickr/zingersbs by Hank Dart A new study released last week in the journal Human Reproduction has found that regularly drinking sugar-sweetened beverages – like sodas and fruit drinks – may cause girls to start their menstrual periods at earlier ages. The study, a spin off of the long-running Nurses’ Health […]
Preventing Skin Cancer: Tanning Beds Still Alluring, Still Very Risky
Photo: Flickr/whatshername, Creative Commons Lic. There was a nice piece in the New York Times this weekend on the risks of indoor tanning, particularly in youth. Focussing on the personal experiences of a handful of young women and their parents, it does a very good job highlighting the well-established risks of skin cancer and deadly melanoma, the […]
2014’s Top Posts on Cancer News in Context
Amidst the crush of year-end top ten lists filling your news feeds this week, we present our own: the top posts of 2014 from Cancer News in Context. Covering topics from aspirin to healthy eating to the importance of starting healthy behaviors in childhood, these posts show the prominent place that cancer prevention has had […]
New Study: Tanning Bed Use Brings Skin Cancer Risks – and Brings Them Early
Photo: Flickr/whatshername A new study out this week further confirms the dangers of indoor tanning, finding that use of tanning beds and other UV tanning devices is strongly linked to developing skin cancer early in life. Published early online in the medical journal Pediatrics, the study compared the history of indoor tanning in a group […]
Sitting, Cancer Risk, and Developing Strategies to do Something About It
Photo: Flickr/DanielGo This post seems a bit cruel, coming out as it does during the current TV season’s finale week and the beginning of the World Cup. But, science doesn’t rest – not even for Game of Thrones or the Brazilian national soccer team. So, neither do we. Just released on the Journal of the […]
New Study Shows HPV Vaccine Also Likely Protects Against Throat Cancers
Adding to the growing benefits linked to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine that protects against cervical cancer, is a new study providing solid evidence that the vaccine will also likely help protect youth and young adults from developing throat cancers later in life. The study appeared in the journal PLoS One and was also written up in today’s New […]
Hey, Mom & Dad, Early Life Can Be Important for Breast Cancer Risk
A little while back we developed a brief card focusing on the importance of early life exposures in determining breast cancer risk. With this week marked by a new NIH report pushing for greater emphasis on breast cancer prevention (report) and the launch of our newest 8 Ways brochure, 8IGHT WAYS to Prevent Breast Cancer […]
Tanning Industry Fights the Blistering Truth: That Tanning Beds Raise the Risk of Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers
A recent article in MedPage Today highlighted the birth of a new tanning salon industry-sponsored group that has the sole intent of refuting well-established and peer-reviewed science showing the dangers of tanning bed use. The new group – the American Suntanning Association (ASA) – which, intentionally or not, seemed to receive cozy treatment in the article, has […]
AHA’s 2012 Heart Disease Advances and What They Mean for Cancer
The American Heart Association (AHA) just released its top 10 list of research accomplishments for 2012. Most are quite heart-specific (unsurprisingly), but two of the ten highlight something we’ve often highlighted on this blog and in our risk assessment app and websites: that major chronic diseases share many of the same risk factors. “6. Why […]
Dept. of Diversity: Cancer-Related Risk Factors in Hispanics
A report last month in the American Cancer Society’s journal CA detailed the rates of cancer-related risk factors in US Hispanics/Latinos (report), and one of the parts of the report that stood out to us were the rates of certain behaviors in adolescents that could have implications for cancer risk later in life. As we’ve […]
Early Life and Later Breast Cancer Risk: “Hey, Mom & Dad”
“Breast cancer” and “youth” are two terms not often linked together. But there’s a growing body of evidence showing that certain factors early in life – like diet, activity, and weight – can have an important impact on a woman’s breast cancer risk later in life. To help parents guide their daughters toward optimal breast health […]
Preventing Colon Cancer Now.
As we complete April, colon cancer awareness month, the topic of strategies to improve our population risk profile and reduce the cancer burden in our families, our workplaces, our communities and our state, I am reminded of many times we have written and talked on this topic. We have written on physical activity and colon […]
Don’t Quit on Quitting: Smoking Cessation Still an Important Focus
John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, made the point at last week’s meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative that tobacco control should remain the highest priority in combatting chronic disease. It’s a point we’ve certainly echoed on this blog – that efforts to curb tobacco use shouldn’t be relegated to the second tier […]
With Spring in the Air, New Sun-Safe, UV-Safe Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics
With spring in the air and the long sunny days of summer not too far off, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new policy statement on the hazards of UV radiation exposure in children and adolescents. The statement, published in the journal Pediatrics (link), refreshes and reinforces what many of us know – […]
Lance Armstrong has it right: Why tobacco taxes matter
News came out this week that Lance Armstrong will team up with a new partner – the California Cancer Research Act. The Act proposes increasing the state’s tobacco tax by $1 and funneling that money toward cancer research. California is facing a budget crisis and may be cutting huge (billions) sums of money from health […]
Mother/Daughter Tanning and the Dual Nature of Family History
We’ve dedicated a number of posts over the past year on the policy and health pitfalls of indoor tanning – from the potential benefits of the “tanning tax” (post) to surprisingly high rates of tanning by some youth (post). Now comes a fascinating, if not perfectly surprising, little analysis on the influence parents can have […]
Tobacco Control Works – Now Implement It
As noted in the NCI Cancer Bulletin this week (see related story), Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Howard Koh, describes the new tobacco control strategy released this month as four pillars of strategic action. These high impact approaches are known to work. Change social norms around tobacco use Improve the public’s health […]
Do competitions help you get healthy?
This week marks one of my favorite times of the year – the US Open. The New York Times had a couple of articles this week that got me thinking about how competition can fuel (or harm) health. The first was a great photojournalism article in the Sunday Magazine about how much harder the women […]
Treatment, costs, and the value of cancer prevention
Yesterday in the New York Times, Jane Brody reminded us of the importance of cancer prevention when focusing on tobacco, the leading cause of cancer in the US and the world. This preventable cause of cancer continues to be marketed, but how do we quantify the prevention efforts that range from international agreements to counter […]
Potential of Prevention: WALL-E, Active Lifestyles, and the Importance of Good Policy
In the movie WALL– E, the human race has become so dependent on energy-saving devices that they’ve devolved over the course of 700 years into large infant-like beings that can only get around on futuristic wheel chairs. The director of the film has denied that this was targeted social commentary, just a way to develop […]
Tanning Beds, Addiction, and Taxes
A new study in this month’s Archives of Dermatology suggests that indoor tanning can be addicting in young adults (study) (1). While the study was relatively small, with just over 400 participants surveyed, the results seem to bolster the need for moves toward greater regulation of the indoor tanning industry, especially through policies that curtail […]