When Size Affects Your Odds

Oncologists are on board in the fight against obesity. And they’ve made it official by issuing their first-ever Position Statement on Obesity and Cancer through the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
That’s especially great news for women—who are twice as likely as men to be affected by the nearly half a million new cases of obesity-related cancers worldwide each year. Not surprisingly, the greatest proportion of them are in North America. (http://ow.ly/FacZg http://ow.ly/Fadcm)
Despite the fact that more American men than women are overweight or obese, U.S. women are disproportionately affected by the obesity-cancer link. Obesity not only puts a woman at greater risk of cancer—especially post-menopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and colon cancer—but it worsens her odds for surviving it as well. (http://ow.ly/FacZg http://ow.ly/Fadcm http://ow.ly/H8C3C)
Consider this: Obesity is associated with worsened prognosis after cancer diagnosis; it negatively affects the delivery of therapy; it contributes to morbidity of cancer treatment; and it may raise the risk of second malignancies and comorbidities. (http://ow.ly/H8AkB)
It’s no wonder ASCO is taking a stand. Kudos to them for doing so—and not a moment too soon. The rates of obesity have increased dramatically over the last 30 years—with more than two-thirds of men and significantly more than half of all women in the United States now either obese or overweight. Yet, obesity remains an unrecog...

Source: Disruptive Women in Health Care - September 25, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: dw at disruptivewomen.net Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs