Too many older Americans hold mistaken beliefs about their risk of developing cancer. A recent poll reported in Cancer revealed that the following false beliefs are common among people ages 65 and older:

• More than half believed that city pollution posed a bigger cancer risk than smoking.
• About four out of 10 people thought that what someone did as a young adult had little effect on his or her risk of developing cancer later.
• Approximately one in four people believed that smokers couldn’t reduce their risk by quitting smoking but that they could reduce it by smoking lowtar cigarettes.
• A few people—from one in nine to about one in five—subscribed to the myths that cancer could be caused by cell phones, underwire bras, mammography, or hygiene products like deodorants, or that tanning in the sun or in tanning booths did not contribute to skin cancer.

What Is Risk Anyway?
Your cancer risk can be expressed in two ways. The statement that 46 out of 100 men will be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime is called absolute risk. The chance that one person compared to another will get cancer is called relative risk. This type of risk may be expressed as a percent or a ratio, or in a factual statement such as “Quitting smoking at any age lowers your risk for many types of cancers.”

Cutting Your Relative Risk
You can’t change your age or family history, two recognized risk factors for cancer. But you can reduce your relative cancer risk by taking these actions:

• Don’t use tobacco.
• Apply sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher.
• Limit alcohol intake to two drinks a day for men and one for women.
• Eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

Look and Learn
Click here to find videos explaining cancer facts in easy-to-understand format.