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Here are ways doctors say you can reduce your risk of cancer

By Linda Stouffer, WSB-TV
By Linda Stouffer, WSB-TV

ORLANDO, Fla. — We all want to be healthy, but what about your risk for something serious like cancer?

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Partner WSB-TV spoke with experts about ways you can reduce your risk.

Russell Pearson has family support as he recovers from prostate cancer. He chose proton treatments as a method of treatment.

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“Make sure that you do your physical every year,” Pearson said. “I had time to ponder and to think over it instead of making a hasty decision.”

The Georgia-based American Cancer Society said there is no sure way to prevent cancer and listed the following as ways to reduce your risk for cancer.

  • Manage your weight
  • Stop tobacco use
  • Limit alcohol
  • Protect your skin

Dr. Arif Kamal also wants people to learn the details of family history, and even related cancers that may affect your care.

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“A person could have a family history of breast cancer and ovarian cancer, but for them, the risk of uterine cancer is high,” Kamal said. “But if you’re at high risk we start to create individualized, tailored plans about how to prevent cancer for that person.”

Pearson is feeling great and now has his own plan. including sticking to a good diet and plenty of exercise.

Overall, death rates are falling for cancer.

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Since the 90s, a 33 percent drop in mortality rates with better treatments and fewer smokers.

Doctors say there is a lot more work to be done on prevention.

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VIDEO: Black people dying of cancer at a higher rate than all other racial groups, experts say Black people have the highest death rate out of any racial group for most cancers nationwide, according to research by the American Cancer Society. (Kirstin Garriss, CMG Washington News Bureau/WFTV)

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