“Drink coffee warm, not hot”: 16 things oncologists do differently because they know too much

A Redditor put out the call to oncologists on Sunday, asking them to share what kind of steps they take to stave off cancer. Doctors and nurses in the field responded in the thousands, along with a lot of folks who are neither, but supposedly know someone.

“Oncologists of Reddit: what’s something that you never/always do or eat because of what you know about cancer?”

Among a lot of typical answers about diet and exercise were some less usual tips, including some that sparked debate in the comments. Keep in mind that there is disagreement even among medical professionals, and also that not everyone who says they’re a doctor on Reddit actually has the degree.

Some have strict rules, others say to live in moderation, but always wear sunscreen. Seriously. Slather it on, even if you won’t be out for long. Perhaps the most useful advice, however, is to pay attention to your body and insist on thorough discussions with your doctor about what’s going on.

Then read these 16 other tips, staring with the sunscreen.

1. Wear sunscreen.

“My best piece of advice is WEAR SUNSCREEN and get your moles and spots checked. Health insurance typically covers a yearly total skin check at a dermatologist.” —u/DAFFODIL0485

2. Don’t ignore weird symptoms.

“I would never ignore weird unexplained symptoms (sudden weight loss, blood coming out your butt, ongoing abdominal pain, excessive bleeding or bruising, odd skin lesions, swollen lymph nodes that aren’t related to acute illness).”

“It’s heartbreaking when people ignore symptoms and don’t get diagnosed until the cancer is too advanced for treatment to be helpful.” —u/downtownhoundtown

3. Avoid plastics around your food.

“Use as little plastic as possible for food storage and drinkware (glass is best!) and never put plastic in the microwave.” —u/Commercial_Can4057

4. Don’t smoke. Not even that.

“DO NOT SMOKE. It doesn’t matter what it is, no smoking.” —u/sheepman66

5. Ditch the herbicides.

“Hematopathologist here. I never use herbicide (weed treatments) on my lawn. I’ve seen too many childhood leukemias/lymphomas, especially in children of parents who work in lawn care.” —dra_deSoto

6. Sorry, but, stop drinking alcohol.

“I hate to tell you this but it’s alcohol. It directly causes at least seven kinds of cancer. Twenty years from now we will talk about alcohol the way we talk about cigarettes today.” —u/troll_doll_buzzcut

7. Advocate for yourself.

“Don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself when using health professionals, and if they’re tossing up whether to go gently or radically, always opt for radically because one day you’ll need the radical surgery anyway, and by then you’ll be less likely to fully recover.” —u/LycheeMangoJamun

8. Cool down your coffee.

“I used to drink very hot coffee but I drink it warm now since very hot drinks damage esophagus can cause esophageal cancer.” —u/karaylo

9. Limit red meat.

“As someone who grew up with an oncologist in the family (though they are now retired), I can share: They don’t eat red meat. They eat a balanced diet of fish/poultry, lots of fruits & vegetables, and 1 sweet a day.” —u/BadgerBeauty80

10. Stop taking vitamins if you already have cancer.

“Something that always surprise my breast cancer patients is when I tell them to avoid vitamins specially antioxidants, as they could be associated with more risk of recurrence and dying from cancer if you take them while on cancer treatment, or even before treatment.”

“There is a lot of information regarding this issue with contradictory results, but until we get better information it is logical to be cautious about vitamins.” —u/Redditzombi

11. Don’t join the military.

“The number of people who developed cancer because of something they were exposed to while serving is just mind-blowing (camp lejeune, asbestos in the navy, the tar pits, agent orange, etc etc etc).” —u/genetic-counselor

12. Get your HPV vaccine.

“A huge fan of the HPV vaccination for both males and females. So many preventable cervical and head/neck cancers.” —u/gingerannie22

13. Avoid food coloring.

“Food coloring… we are just figuring out how toxic it is. Tartazine in relish and what that vibrant color in your Aperol Spritz?” —u/pogo_what

14. Easy on the antibiotics.

“Protect your gut microbiome from unnecessary antibiotics. Our healthy bacteria keeps our immune system in balance and is linked to better cancer surveillance.” —u/atgctgttt

15. Pay attention to heavy metal content in your food.

“I’m also very cautious about cheap spices and tofu – they can be contaminated with heavy metals (spices) and paraformaldehyde (tofu) both of which should not be consumed in any quantity.” —u/Pale-Particular5132

16. Everything in moderation.

“Moderation is more important than ‘magical’ ideas about certain foods. Rather than thinking that some food or even some additive causes cancer or, alternatively, some berry or supplements prevent it, think about balance. Red meat isn’t ‘poison’ but 15 servings a week isn’t wise.” —u/dragstorecowboy

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