Thursday, December 9, 2010

Cancer is our greatest fear as poll reveals Britons find condition scarier than old age or losing home

Cancer is our greatest fear as poll reveals Britons find condition scarier than old age or losing home ; People fear getting cancer more than losing their job, developing Alzheimer's disease or having a heart attack, a survey has found. However, a third falsely believed cancer was down to fate and there was nothing they could do to reduce their risk.

More than 2,000 people were questioned about their greatest fears by choosing from a list of common scary prospects. These included losing a job or home, debt, and being in a car crash along with health issues such as having Alzheimer's disease or a heart attack.

The poll, commissioned by Cancer Research UK, revealed the highest proportion - one in five people - chose cancer over anything else. Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK's director of health information, said many felt powerless against the condition, which affects one in three people during their lifetime. However, half of all cancers could be prevented by healthy lifestyle changes.

She added: 'Cancer is no longer the death sentence people still seem to dread. 'Long-term survival has doubled since the 70s thanks to better diagnosis, improved treatments and the development of nationwide screening programmes for breast, bowel and cervical cancers.'

Professor Sir Mike Richards, the Government's national clinical director for cancer, said: 'The results of this survey show how important it is to get the message across that cancer can often be treatable if diagnosed early.

'That's why we are launching a campaign in January to raise awareness of the early signs and symptoms of breast, lung and bowel cancer and encourage people to seek medical advice as soon as possible.'

Teresa Nightingale, general manager of the World Cancer Research Fund, said: 'It is a concern that so many people think cancer is a matter of fate, because there is now strong scientific evidence that people can make relatively simple changes to reduce their risk.

'The strong evidence that diet, activity and weight affect our risk, together with other well-known risk factors such as smoking and sunburn, means that cancer is actually a largely preventable disease.' Read More www.dailymail.co.uk....

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