Risk Factors and Prevention
Reducing the risk of falling sick and early diagnosis are essential factors in strategies aimed at reducing oncological and cardiovascular diseases.
Prevention means taking care of your body, committing yourself to following a healthy lifestyle and getting regular checkups for the early detection of diseases.
In many respects, cancer is a preventable disease, the development of which can be influenced by specific risk factors. A risk factor is a characteristic, condition or behavior that increases the probability of experiencing a particular condition.
Risk factors can be divided into two categories:
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- non-modifiable: such as gender, age and genetic heritage
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- modifiable: such as environment and lifestyle
The final goal of the identification and control of the risk factors is a reduction in mortality and the risk of developing a particular disease. For this reason, it is important to adopt preventive strategies that are effective for combating cancer, through the adoption of a healthier lifestyle and periodic medical checkups.
There are three levels of prevention:
Primary prevention is applied to healthy patients to avoid the emergence and development of a disease. Primary prevention is when a behavior (or a substance) is adopted that is able to reduce exposure to modifiable risk factors or to increase individual resistance to these factors in order to reduce the risk of falling ill. o Primary prevention means taking care of your body, committing yourself to following a healthy lifestyle.
Secondary prevention consists of all of the measures adopted for the early identification of cancer, so as to be able to immediately intervene to enable recovery or to prevent the disease from progressing. This, then, is early diagnosis and intervention in the period between the biological onset of the disease and the manifestation of the first symptoms. Measures for secondary prevention consist of a series of checks and tests known as preventive screening. Examples include mammography, Pap-test, HPV-test, colonoscopy, PSA, etc., and others which are supported by studies and research, such as low dose CT and whole body MRI scans.
The examinations suggested within the European Institute of Oncology Checkup program are therefore aimed at healthy patients and are among those provided for by secondary prevention, fundamental to carrying out early diagnosis of the most common oncological and cardiovascular diseases.
Among the European Institute of Oncology Checkups are:
- European Institute of Oncology FOCUS Checkup:: specific courses for the prevention of particular conditions.
- European Institute of Oncology Women’s Checkup: courses of oncological and cardiovascular prevention aimed at women.
- European Institute of Oncology Men’s Checkup:: courses of oncological and cardiovascular prevention aimed at men.