Don't be another statistic on a cancer chart

Dubai - However, at the end of the day, doctors in the UAE believe that it is very much up to the person himself to change his lifestyle for the better.

Technology and modern lifestyle has certainly made everyday living easier for people around the world. However, as much as a helping hand, it has equally triggered a variety of illnesses and diseases, which seem to increase in numbers as the years go by.
Doctors and health authorities warn residents to be cautious about their daily habits, which include the food they consume as well as their lifestyles, as that may lead to cancer.

The Abu Dhabi Health Authority (HAAD) revealed that every year, a staggering number of 4,500 cancer cases are reported in the UAE. Moreover, cancer is the third cause of death in the Capital, accounting to 13 per cent of all fatalities.
Dr Urgan Ul Haq, consultant medical oncology at Burjeel Hospital, told Khaleej Times that 50 per cent of the risk factors leading to cancer are related to one's lifestyle.
"There are certainly huge risk factors involved when it comes to people's habits. Almost 50 per cent of risk factors leading to cancer are to do with lifestyle, while the other 50 per cent is your luck with genes."
Dr Haq, whose key interest areas include dealing with tumors, especially breast, colorectal and targeted therapy, stressed that a traditional lifestyle, which perhaps took place in the UAE less than 50 years ago, was much healthier.
However, travelling long distances on foot, fishing on a daily basis for a meal and the scarce of technology seem to be things of the past.
"An unhealthy lifestyle of sitting on the couch, smoking and consuming fatty foods are all risk factors."
He noted that smoking itself is one of the greatest risk factors. "Perhaps 9 out of 10 people with lung cancer have had a history of smoking. In fact, smoking not only triggers lung cancer, because it is also linked to other cancers and heart disease.
"The best thing you can do for yourself if you are a smoker and you want to prevent cancer is to simply stop smoking," he advised.
Dr Isabel Gerntke, administrative manager of the Oncology Centre at Burjeel, stressed that smoking, whether it is cigarettes or shisha, is seen somewhat as a cultural phenomenon in the GCC.
Although the Ministry of Health and Prevention has taken wide measures by implementing anti-smoking legislation in 2008 - introducing laws to prohibit people from smoking in public areas - as well as the Federal anti-tobacco law in 2014, which included the banning of tobacco advertisement and closure of shisha cafes around mosques and schools, smoking continues to be a problematic habit in the country.
Dr Gerntke stressed that smokers often underestimate the rise of lung cancer, as it continues to be in the top five cancers in the UAE, while highlighting that shisha can be more damaging, as it is equivalent to smoking a packet of cigarettes in just one hour.
"All around the world, people suffer from lung cancer, but what the people in the UAE, particularly the younger generations don't understand, is the effect of smoking, particularly shisha."
According to a survey conducted by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), a smoker consumes an average of 12 cigarettes a day, and approximately 67 per cent of non-smokers are at risk as they are exposed to passive smoking.
Earlier this year, the Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, made strategic initiatives by boosting the healthcare system for Emiratis, creating an early diagnosis cancer programme, which encourages medical examinations for early prevention and aims to bring down the number of cancer sufferers by approximately 18 per cent by 2021.
However, at the end of the day, doctors in the UAE believe that it is very much up to the person himself to change his lifestyle for the better.
"It's simple, you have to eat right and exercise to avoid falling into the trap. Being overweight triggers breast cancer, smoking triggers lung cancer and eating fatty, processed food triggers colon cancer," said Dr Haq
"One of the top cancers I see in men in the UAE is colon cancer, and it is very much linked to an unhealthy lifestyle."
"A vegetarian diet offers some sort of protection against cancer, in particular colon cancer.
"As much as we made the modern lifestyle and modern food part of our daily routine, it's time to take a step back and make the traditional and healthy lifestyle a habit again."
jasmine@khaleejtimes.com