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Prevention
Although cancer has a significant presence in the world, more than 50% of cancers are preventable. An individual's lifestyle has an enorm effect on one's health, including whether or not you get cancer. Lifestyle choices such as diet and nutrition, physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking and sun exposure all affect one's chances of developing cancer.

The Cancer Agency's Prevention Program has a team of Prevention Educational Leaders (PEL) who focus on five preventable risk factors including tabacco, obesity, inactivity, poor nutrition and sun exposure. The PEL team specifies a number of screening programs that can prevent cancer from forming or help detect cancer in its early stages. it states that the purpose of thes screening programs is to, "apply a relatively simple, inexpensive test to a large number of people in order to identify those with risk factors for cancer or who are in its early stages." These screening tests include:

1) Cervical Cancer Screening Program : A PAP test is performed to detect abnormal cells in the cervix. If abnormal cells are found, they are treated which prevents cancer from forming. Women should begin getting PAP tests at the age or 21 or within three years of their first sexual encounter.

2) Screening Mammography Program: In this test, an x-ray is done which is a good tool to find breast cancer at its early stages. Since being an aging woman is the strongest risk factor, such women should receive a routine mammogram.

3) Colerectal Cancer Screening: Colerectal cancer can develop from polyps,which are small growths in colon and rectal tissue. If these growths are left untreated, they can become cancerous.

4) Lung Cancer: In order to detect lung cancer early, a chest x-ray or examination of 3 or 4 sputum samples for malignant calls is done. The BC Cancer Agency is currently enrolling people in a project called the Lung Health Study. Its focus is early detection for lung and bronchial cancer, and for the identification of new agents that may slow the growth of abnormal cells within these organs.

5)Oral Cancer Prevention Program: This prevention program is most often conducted by doctors who examine the head, neck and all tissues of the mouth. During these examinations, they look and palpate for any colour or texture changes within these areas.

6) Prostate Cancer: A PSA test is often conducted as a preventative technique for the detection of prostate cancer. A PSA test is a blood test that measures a substance produced by the prostate called prostate specific antigen (PSA).