Up to 30 percent of all cancers are linked to poor diet. That is a scary statistic, until you think of how much power we have to control it. Diet is one of the few controllable risk factors for developing cancer. Studies demonstrate that people who eat a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains have a significantly lower risk of developing many types of cancers.
The impact of cancer and cancer treatment on health care costs has increasingly gained the attention of providers and payers as well as patients and their families. Health care costs include the direct costs of receiving medical care and the nonmedical costs incurred while receiving care such as transportation or childcare expenses. In addition, there are indirect costs associated with the morbidity of cancer care such as days lost from work for the patient or caregiver. Intangible costs such as pain and suffering and loss of companionship are difficult to measure but very real to the patient and family.
Cancer is a very dangerous disease and a vicious killer. Its about 60 percent of the world’s deaths due to cancer, heart attacks and diabetes. Besides causing death, cancer also raises the economic burden. In 2008, 1.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) of the world, or about U.S. $ 895 billion spent on cancer. This value only takes into account the economic burden due to disability and loss of life expectancy, not including the costs of treatment.
