Overwhelmed Data? Join the Club
Plethora of information leaves many feeling confused about cancer
 (HealthDay News) -- Sometimes you can, indeed, have too much of a good thing. And a national survey suggests that may be the case with cancer information.
Although experts agree that certain steps -- quitting smoking, eating more fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a healthy weight -- will help reduce the risk of developing many types of cancer, the message appears to be getting lost much of the time, according to the survey findings, which were published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention .
"We found that almost half of the American public believes that 'it seems that almost everything causes cancer,' about one in four feel there's not much one can do to lower the chances of getting cancer, and three out of four felt there were so many recommendations, it's hard to know which ones to follow," study author Jeff Niederdeppe, told HealthDay .
"We took this as evidence that there is widespread confusion and helplessness in the American adult population in terms of cancer prevention -- even though we know quite a bit about prevention," he said. Niederdeppe was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar at the University of Wisconsin at the time of the study.
Nearly 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with cancer, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the United States , claiming about 559,000 people each year, the center reports.
As many as half of all men and about one-third of women will have cancer during their lifetime. About one-third of cancers are attributable to smoking, and as many as 20 percent are attributed to being overweight or obese.
Before Niederdeppe's study, the last time cancer prevention beliefs were examined was in 1986. At that time, about half of the U.S. population thought that "everything causes cancer" and that "there's not much a person can do to prevent cancer."
The more recent study included more than 6,000 American adults who participated in phone interviews in 2003. It found:
- About 47 percent agreed with the statement: "It seems like almost everything causes cancer."
- About 27 percent agreed that "there's not much people can do to lower their chances of getting cancer."
- About 72 percent said they thought that "there are so many recommendations about preventing cancer, it's hard to know which ones to follow."
- People who believed that "it's hard to know" what to do were more likely to smoke.
- People who held these beliefs were less likely to exercise regularly or to eat the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables.
Niederdeppe said that there's some evidence that these beliefs are changing over time. And he encouraged doctors and health care workers to help by educating their patients about the impact that lifestyle habits can have on their cancer risk.
"If a doctor just asks whether or not a patient smokes and advises them to quit, that has a tremendous impact on subsequent attempts to quit," he said.
He also recommended that people talk with their doctors or seek out information on their own. "The Internet can be a very useful resource," Niederdeppe said. "Very trustworthy sites include the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. They aren't changing their recommendations based on every new study."
On the Web
To learn more about cancer, including its risk factors and treatment options, visit the National Cancer Institute.
SOURCES:
HealthDay News ; Jeff Niederdeppe, Ph.D., assistant professor of communications, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; May 17, 2007, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention ; May 17, 2007, Journal of Oncology Practice ; National Center for Health Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/nchs)
Author:
Serena Gordon
Publication Date:
June 30, 2008
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