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These social dimensions of cancer have important implications for
the design of cancer control programming. They stem from behavior
patterns that people evolve to meet their biological, psychological
and social needs. These patterns, in turn, create a lifestyle
which influences cancer incidence. They include the development of
addictions to tobacco, drugs and alcohol, the ways in which food is
prepared, stored and eaten, and certain risk patterns of personal
interaction as with sexual mores. With tobacco, for example, oral
cancer predominates where tobacco is chewed, and lung cancer where
it is smoked. The changed cancer patterns that accompany the
migration of people provides an example of the influence of
lifestyle on the occurrence of cancer. When Mexicans migrate to
the United States they take on the cancer incidence patterns of
their new country.
There is a very real possibility that lifestyle change can
reduce cancer incidence. But such changes can be very difficult to
make, as anyone who has tried to stop smoking can attest. There is
now a major research emphasis on the application of behavioral
science in health promotion and prevention programs to create
lifestyle change at the population level.
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