Preventing Your Inner Doom: A New Year’s Resolution for Cancer Resilience
January is Cervical Cancer, Liver Cancer and Hepatitis Awareness Month
New year, new hope, new beginning. Happy New Year, everyone! The memories from previous years feel just like yesterday. Many say time is so fast nowadays, but in reality, it is more complex than that. We have the external clock, determined by Earth’s daylight and night cycle, and we also have our biological clock, also known as the body’s circadian rhythm. This circadian rhythm can be influenced by feelings and psychological state a phenomenon called emotional time distortion, where time seems slow when you wait, fast when you’re late, deadly when you’re sad, short when you’re happy, long when you feel bored, and endless when you’re in pain. In each moment, time is perceived through the lens of feeling. And to add more complexity, external time itself is flexible according to physics, it stretches (slows) with immense speed or strong gravity and contracts (speeds up) with slower speed or weaker gravity. With all the complexity of time, one thing is for sure, if we always choose to have a nice and productive time, we can never go wrong. Choose to spend time with your family and friends, especially this holiday season. Choose time to be happy. Choose time to be peaceful. Choose time to be grateful. And most importantly, choose time to improve and take good care of yourself.
January is the first month of the year, and one of our traditions is to make a New Year’s resolution. Let one of those resolutions be choosing time to take good care of our health and prevent or decrease the risk of some deadly diseases. This month is also Cervical Cancer, Liver Cancer, and Hepatitis Awareness Month. Again, cancer is when your own cells turn into rebels and grow out of control. Cervical cancer is a type that starts in the cervix the lower, narrow end of the uterus (womb) that connects to the vagina. It is almost always caused by a long-term infection with certain high-risk types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus. Liver cancer is a type that starts in your liver, the large football-sized organ under your right ribs that acts as your body’s filter and chemical factory. Hepatitis is the medical term for inflammation (swelling or damage) of the liver. Its main causes are viruses, like Hepatitis A, which spreads through contaminated food or water and usually gets better on its own; and Hepatitis B and C, which spread through blood or body fluids (sex, sharing needles, unclean medical tools) and can become long-term (chronic). These chronic infections can silently damage the liver for years, leading to cirrhosis or liver cancer. Other causes of hepatitis include heavy alcohol use, certain drugs or toxins, autoimmune disease, and fatty liver disease.
In this first month of the year, let’s choose time to learn how to prevent these diseases. Cervical cancer can be prevented through a two-step approach centered on vaccination and screening. First, receiving the HPV vaccine is essential, as it provides strong protection against the virus strains that cause the majority of these cancers. Second, attending regular screenings through Pap smears and HPV tests. We can greatly lower our risk of liver cancer and hepatitis by protecting our liver from damage. Get vaccinated against Hepatitis B, which is a major cause of both hepatitis and liver cancer. Avoid heavy, long-term alcohol use, as it can scar your liver. Maintain a healthy weight and diet to prevent fatty liver disease, another key risk factor. Finally, if we are at high risk due to conditions like chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis, regular check-ups with your doctor to catch any problems early when they are most treatable.
Let us not forget that a single cell in our body can rebel (turning into cancer) if it is not treated well and does not receive the care and respect it deserves. This is similar to the blockbuster movie Avengers, where a variant of Tony Stark rebelled in his timeline due to environmental factors and became Dr. Doom. Instead of saving and preserving life, this variant rebelled and sought to destroy everything in its timeline. Likewise, when our cells are neglected, deprived of the care they need, and constantly exposed to a harsh or toxic environment, they can become the equivalent of Dr. Doom. These rebel cells will multiply, crush the immune systems that stand in their way, and eventually taking the life of all the cells in the body.
So, no matter how busy we are with our jobs, we should not forget that our true wealth is our health. Without a healthy body, wealth is pointless. So let’s welcome and embrace this new year with a healthier body, a peaceful mind, and a forever grateful heart and be ready for Doomsday (Avengers December 2026).
Again, Happy New Year, everyone! Wishing you all the blessings in life.