Endometrial cancer - Preventing womb cancer
- Introduction
- Symptoms of womb cancer
- Causes of womb cancer
- Diagnosing womb cancer
- Treating womb cancer
- Living with womb cancer
- Preventing womb cancer
- See what the doctor sees with Map of Medicine
- Complications
It's not always possible to prevent womb cancer, but some things are believed to reduce the risk of the condition.
Healthy weight, diet and exercise
The most effective way of preventing womb cancer is to maintain a healthy weight.
The best way to avoid becoming overweight or obese is to eat healthily and exercise regularly. A low-fat, high-fibre diet is recommended, including wholegrains and at least five portions a day of fresh fruit and vegetables.
For most people, a total of at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week is recommended. Ideally, this should be spread across the week into at least five separate periods.
If you haven't exercised before or haven't done any for some time, see your GP for a health check-up before you start a new exercise programme.
Read more about health and fitness and losing weight.
Contraception
Research has also shown that long-term use of the combined contraceptive pill (the pill) can lower the risk of womb cancer.
Other types of contraception, such as contraceptive implants and the intrauterine system (IUS), work by releasing progestogen (a synthetic version of progesterone). These may also reduce the risk of womb cancer.
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