You have no items in your shopping cart.
ABSTRACT
Cancer is among the major health problems globally and the leading cause of death worldwide with an estimated 10 million incidences and 6 million cancer mortality annually. The burden of modern lifestyle diseases is enormous as the true unifying factor for most cancers seems to be lifestyle. The intervention with the modification of lifestyle factors seems to be a physiological and safe approach for the prevention and management of modern lifestyle diseases including cancer. Defining the precise role of diet and other lifestyle factors in cancer may require the elucidation of genetic susceptibility and genetic-environmental interactions. The balance between genetic predisposition and environmental factors, including nutritional components and lifestyle behaviors, determines individual susceptibility to develop cancer. The modifications in the diet along with secondary prevention measures may have a major impact on reducing the mortality from cancer. Continued focus on primary prevention of cancer, in combination with efforts aimed at screening and surveillance, will be vital in attaining the greatest possible progress against cancer.
Research attention has turned to how best to improve the health of cancer survivors, to mitigate the risks and increase the survival rate. A healthy lifestyle has the potential to improve outcomes in this population. However, there are a number of unanswered questions regarding the health behaviours of cancer survivors and the lifestyle information available to them. This thesis addresses some of these gaps in the literature. Study 1 showed that on a population level, there is little evidence that cancer survivors make positive changes to their lifestyle following their diagnosis. Study 2 found that cancer survivors think lifestyle is important, but receive little information to help them make changes. Study 3 reviewed the lifestyle advice to cancer survivors from the perspective of health professionals in a qualitative interview study. Study 4 is on the prevention of cancer through lifestyle changes. And study 5 estimates the cancer incidence inequalities between Nigeria and border countries with a view to providing guidelines to aid the design of cancer control programs in Nigeria and border countries especially in relation to lifestyle.
Overall, these findings highlight a need for lifestyle information to be incorporated into the cancer care pathway, to ensure the best possible long-term outcomes for cancer survivors.
