Healthy Habits - Staying Healthy Through the Holiday Season

The holiday season brings joy to many people, but it can also come with health risks since it’s a time for gathering with people who live outside of your home. Now is the time to learn more about finding power in prevention…. whether this is taking steps to prevent a chronic disease, like cancer, or an acute illness, like the flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) works hard to help all people fight disease and stay as healthy as possible.

CDC Recommendations to Stay Healthy During Holidays

• Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every season. Flu vaccination is especially important for people with cancer or a history of cancer because they are at higher risk of developing serious flu complications.
• Having cancer or having a history of cancer can make you more likely to get very sick from COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines help your body develop protection from the virus that causes COVID-19. Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19. CDC recommends that everyone stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines, especially people with weakened immune systems.
• People with cancer should also watch out for a fever and know the signs and symptoms of an infection.
• One of the easiest things we can all do is to simply wash our hands and stay home if you’re sick.

CDC Recommendations for Cancer Screenings

• Talk to your healthcare team about when and how often to get screened for breast, cervical, colon and lung cancers.
• CDC supports screening for breast cancer as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force. The Task Force currently recommends women who are 50 to 74 years old and are at average risk for breast cancer get a mammogram every two years. Women who are 40 to 49 years old should talk to their doctor or other health care professional about when to start and how often to get a mammogram.
• The Task Force recommends that women aged 21 to 29 years should get a Pap test for cervical cancer screening every 3 years if your test results are normal. Women aged 30 to 65 years can get a Pap test only every 3 years if your test results are normal, an HPV test only every 5 years if your results are normal or a Pap test AND an HPV test (co-testing) every 5 years if your results are normal.
• The Task Force recommends that adults aged 45 to 75 years should be screened for colorectal cancer. There are a range of options for screening, including stool tests which can be done at home. Talk to your doctor about which test is right for you.
• For lung cancer, people who are 50 to 80 years old, have a 20 pack-year or more smoking history and who smoke now or who quit within the last 15 years, should get screened every year.

If someone is going through cancer treatment or dealing with any other health issue, the CDC encourages people to discuss their options with their health care providers to understand their options when making decisions.

In this interview, Dr. Lisa Richardson, Director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, and Angela Dunbar, Program Director of CDC Foundation’s Empowered Health Program,  discuss how there is power in prevention when it comes to your health. Angela is also a cancer survivor and talks about her experience and what the holiday season means to her as a cancer survivor.

Interview courtesy:  CDC Foundation