For every 10 centimeters (about 4 inches) increase in height, women have a 16 percent increase in their risk of cancer.

Taller women have an even greater risk for colon cancer — 25 percent for every 10 centimeters.  There is a 14 percent increased risk for rectal cancer.

There is about a 37 percent increase in the chance of getting any cancer between the shortest women (less than 5 feet, 1 inch) and the tallest (over 5 feet, 9 inches) according to a very large study in the United Kingdom. Read the rest of this entry »

What you eat can increase your risk for rectal cancer . . . or reduce it.  But race makes a difference too.

Whites had an increased risk of rectal cancer when their diets had lots of refined grains and white potatoes, while African Americans risk was increased with fruit and added sugar.

The North Carolina Colon Cancer Study studied diet patterns and colorectal cancer risk among whites and African Americans with rectal cancer and matched controls.  They identified three major eating patterns and found that risk for rectal cancer differed between the two racial groups. Read the rest of this entry »