Lifestyles & Cancer

Dietmar W. Siemann, Ph.D.
Professor & Associate Chair for Research, Department of Radiation Oncology
Associate Director, Education & Training, UF Health Cancer Center

Topic Abstract: Cancer has affected friends and family of nearly everyone. This year, approximately 2 million people will be diagnosed with cancer and about 600,000 people will die from the disease. Our cancer risk depends on a combination of our genes, our environment, and our day-to-day activities. While there is little we can do about our genetic makeup, it is estimated that 30-50% of cancer cases and nearly half of the deaths may be traced to preventable causes. Decades of scientific research have conclusively linked cancer incidence to modifiable health behaviors including what we do, as well as what, and how much, we eat and drink. These findings suggest that we have some control over factors that may affect our chance of developing cancer. This presentation will discuss how, beyond smoking cessation and limiting sun exposure, taking control of our lifestyle choices including diet and exercise should be taken seriously when trying to prevent our risk of cancer.

Dietmar Siemann, Ph.D., is a cancer biologist at the UF Health Cancer Center. His research focuses on experimental approaches to develop novel anticancer therapies that will enable the development of future clinical treatment regimens designed to improve cancer prognosis and survival.

Core Standards

SC.912.L.14.6
Explain the significance of genetic factors, environmental factors, and pathogenic agents to health from the perspectives of both individual and public health.

SC.912.L.16.8
Explain the relationship between mutation, cell cycle, and uncontrolled cell growth potentially resulting in cancer.

SC.912.N.1.3
Recognize that the strength or usefulness of a scientific claim is evaluated through scientific argumentation, which depends on critical and logical thinking, and the active consideration of alternative scientific explanations to explain the data presented.

PE.912.L.4 : Develop and implement a personal fitness program to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.

PE.912.L.4.4
Use available technology to assess, design and evaluate a personal fitness program.

PE.912.L.3.2
Participate in a variety of activities that promote the health-related components of fitness.

PE.912.L.3.6
Identify risks and safety factors that may affect physical activity throughout life.

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