Risky public health behaviours

[appleyoudontevenknow]

Following on from the thread about sun bathing and mention of skin cancer...

Does anyone have experience of people engaging in risky public health behaviours that has resulted in a cancer diagnosis? So like, sun worshipper getting skin cancer, smoker getting lung / bladder cancer, drinker getting breast cancer etc.

I feel like these are the public health messages: do not expose yourself to the sun, don't smoke, don't drink - yet in my experience it's these people who are perfectly healthy and the least suspecting people get cancer (the bowelbabes of instagram etc).

I’m a public health scientist. I think generally the risk reduction messaging is focused on what risks can be reduced.

Both of my parents have had cancer. My dad was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer and died 4 weeks later. He smoked for 20 years. My mum had stage 3 endometrial cancer (currently in remission). She is overweight and hasn’t had a particularly healthy lifestyle most of my life (lots of binge eating and yo yo dieting) and not muc exercise.

The reality is that some people do get cancer without a lifetime of bad habits, but that’s why there are campaigns about symptom recognition.

There is a fuck tonne of ignorance around the health consequences of drinking.

Everyone thinks it's just the liver but the truth is it causes neuropathy (nerve damage) which can damage every organ in your body.

My Dad was an alcoholic who gave up drinking at 50. By then he had renal failure and heart failure. Watching him die very, very slowly was not any more bearable than watching him drink himself to death.

Alcohol is a silent killer.

Agreed. Pub culture doesn't help!!!

I bet your job is fascinating!