GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Get the latest and greatest information on how to control your cancer risks through a new online UF/IFAS Extension program.

Linda Bobroff, professor of nutrition and health in the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, developed the program, called “Take Control to Reduce Your Cancer Risk,” which went live in April.

“This program was developed to help participants make lifestyle changes that can improve their health and decrease cancer risk,” Bobroff said. “Cancer is one of the major causes of death in the U.S. and worldwide, and many types of cancer are preventable. Tobacco use, improper sun exposure and poor dietary habits contribute significantly to the burden of diabetes, and we address all of these in this program.”

The modules provide information, motivation and self-guided activities that will increase knowledge and promote positive behavior changes for a healthier lifestyle and reduced health risks, she said.

Program participants will learn more about how to reduce their cancer risk through the following segments:

• Cancer basics, protective factors and risk factors, including their personal risk factors.
• Warning signs of cancer and recommended early detection practices.
• The importance of exercise and physical activity.
• The role of cabbage-family vegetables in fighting cancer and how to include them in your diet.
• Using food labels for a healthier diet.
• Ingredient substitutions to create healthier recipes.
• Protecting against the cancer-causing virus, HPV (human papilloma virus)
• Health risks of smoking, smokeless tobacco and second-hand smoke, and ways to quit and/or avoid exposure.
• Strategies for reducing exposure to UV rays.

These modules cover many of the modifiable risk factors for cancer, Bobroff said.

“The modules are to motivate and empower the participants to make lifestyle behavior changes for overall health and cancer risk reduction,” she said. Bobroff received funding this summer from the Florida Department of Health Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention to develop the online Extension course.

Bobroff said she worked with two staffers hired with DOH funding to design the course, and colleagues at UF/IFAS and across campus gave her plenty of helpful input as reviewers of the modules.

To register, go to http://tinyurl.com/TakeControlUF. The nine-module program is free. After registering, you will have access to the modules for six months.

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By: Brad Buck, 352-294-3303, bradbuck@ufl.edu

Source: Linda Bobroff, 352-273-3521, bobroff@ufl.edu

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