I think it’s safe to say this community is a pretty savvy bunch when it comes to cancer. We may not have been completely up to speed on the beast when we took our first steps into this world, but we caught on quickly and realized how important it was to be educated on the topic. So, today I was on a panel that discussed how behavior and cancer go hand-in-hand. By behavior, we were talking about diet, exercise, environment..issues we have some control over. If we have control over it, then we should be able to use our common sense and eat healthier, exercise regularly and know if we’re putting ourselves at risk for cancer.
Right? Well, it sounds easy, but not everyone is in a position to do that. So the question is, how do we educate them, how do we get the word out about how important all of this is?
At Hopkins today, we suggested a multi-disciplinary clinic. The gathering of experts from many disciplines, but all related to this topic, who would share their knowledge in a clinic setting. By planting the seeds, patients would take their new found information and spread the word. Educate their friends, family, church groups, etc.
Bottom line, we all agreed, was education is a step toward prevention of cancer. A baby step, maybe, but still a step.
Who would argue against that?
November 5, 2011 @ 9:33 am
I agree that this is a good first step. Education will help some if they apply what they’ve learned. For so many, they will not even pay attention….too set in their ways and habits and lifestyle. Hard to overcome.
I would say that the education’s target should be the very young, teenagers and then young adults. Might have a chance there to sway or change some behaviors. Unfortunately, smoking seems to on the rise with teenagers and young adults. Peer pressure; the need to be accepted, to be cool, etc. is very hard to overcome but it is certainly worth the effort. I have grandchildren (5) from 8-13 years….great target group for a beginning of the education process.
As we all know, cancer is an epidemic. Cases increasing not decreasing. Is it due to better diagnostic techniques and screenings or is it actually that cancer is increasing as well as the death rates from cancer? Chicken or egg. We need to put at least a little finger into the dike to stem the tide. Education can be the little finger.