One Health

The US federal government estimates that in 2025, about 2 million people were diagnosed with cancer and just over 600,000 passed from the disease. About 40% of cancers are the result of preventable causes. Cancer is also the number one cause of death from disease in pets. About half of dogs and a third of cats will develop cancer in their lifetime.

The good news is that there are steps that you can take to lower your risk of cancer from preventable causes:

• Quit smoking
• Exercise and eat well
• Protect your skin from the sun
• Get vaccinated against things like HPV

There are similar steps you can take to keep your pet healthy as well:

• Help them maintain a healthy weight with good diet and exercise
• Avoid smoking around them
• Beware of carcinogens (cancer causing chemicals) in products you use around pets like cleaning supplies

You can take this cancer prevention quiz to test your knowledge and learn more about cancer prevention!

How did you do on the quiz? Did anything surprise you? What did you learn?

References:

National Cancer Prevention Month | Cancer Awareness Months | AACR

The staggering statistics on pet cancer cats and dogs | CANCERactive

How to Lower Your Cancer Risk: Tips for National Cancer Prevention Month - Mason Park Medical Clinic