The good news is that in the past 40 years, we have learned that a large number of cancers can be prevented. Nothing I am about to tell you is new, but it serves as a good reminder that taking responsibility for lifestyle changes today can help you prevent cancer.

• Stop smoking.

• Limit alcohol use. Alcohol is a huge and growing problem among the middle-aged population. Women entering menopause who are afraid of using bioidentical hormones are increasingly resorting to heavy drinking to dull the symptoms (depression, insomnia, loss of libido, relationship disintegration, etc.), thus raising their risk of pancreatic, gallbladder, and liver cancers directly associated with alcohol consumption.

• Lose weight. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that one-fourth to one-third of new cancer cases were related to being overweight and obese.

• Start moving. Sedentary lifestyles make us old and increase inflammation in our bodies. These changes lead to acidification of our system and as a result an increased incidence of cancers.

• Change your diet to organic, vegetable-based foods. Skip the canned, processed foods, lessen the amount of animal meat you eat, limit or eliminate dairy, and skip the sugar substitutes. Your chances of getting cancer will dramatically decrease.

• Practice safe sex. Cancers related to the sexually transmitted viruses HPV and HIV can be prevented by practicing safe sex. That doesn’t mean using birth control pills, but rather, using condoms.

• Limit sun exposure. Skin cancers can be prevented by avoiding excessive sun exposure and possibly by not overusing sunscreens that contain chemicals like PABA, which have been associated with increased skin cancer risk.

• Avoid nonhuman-identical hormones, also known as hormone drugs. They may increase the risk of cancer, too. Instead, use bioidentical hormones as you enter menopause. They are more likely to prevent heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women, and keep aging bones strong.