Healthy Seniors: Cancer screenings and trends as we age
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Cancer screenings are important for everyone, but they become critical as we age. And there are certain things seniors can do to stay ahead of their health.
"Cancers seem to have an age-related risk factor, in fact, the number one risk of developing any cancer is getting into an older age," says Dr. Richard Miller, who works in cardiothoracic surgery at Penrose Hospital.
Half of the cancer diagnoses are in people over the age of 70, according to new cancer research. One of the main reasons your risk goes up as you age is that people are living longer.
"Most common age group for a cancer diagnosis is 60s through 70s," says Dr. Miller. "It largely has to do with cumulative exposure and damage to the cells over time that don't seem to get caught and lead to cancer."
Dr. Miller says specific cancers differ based on your age.
"In the over 50 age group cancers that are common are lung cancers, breast cancers in women, colorectal cancer would be another common cancer, and prostate cancer," says Dr. Miller.
Living a healthy lifestyle can lessen your risk of a cancer diagnosis later in life according to Dr. Miller.
"Limiting your alcohol intake, making sure as much as you can that you are in a whole food-based diet," says Dr. Miller. "Trying to limit processed food heavily and manufactured or manipulated food and if you can follow those broad tendencies you will probably do yourself a huge favor."
Like with other health data, Colorado stacks up pretty well when it comes to cancer trends. Dr. Miller says we have fewer smokers than lots of other states, which can be a leading cause of cancer. He wants to remind people to make sure and keep up cancer screenings because, if found early, most can be treatable.
