I am an old guy, turning 54 this year. My Dad died from Colon Cancer when he was 64, only 10 years older than I will be shortly. I have had three colonscopy tests to make sure I am OK. My cholesterol is managed with a statin. I don’t smoke, get an annual physical, and work out 4-5 times a week.
What else can I do? Taking a daily dose of aspirin is recommended with some risks.
Daily aspirin therapy: Understand the benefits and risks
Is an aspirin a day the right thing for you? It's not as easy a decision as it sounds. Know the benefits and risks before considering daily aspirin therapy.
One of the studies that got attention is from my friends at RMS who have a study on the financial risk to pension funds if adults take daily aspirin, creating a $100 billion increased cost to support adults who live longer.
Rise in Aspirin Use Likely to Increase Pensioner Life Expectancy
- NEWARK, Calif. – April 02, 2013 –
Recent medical reports have confirmed the growing body of evidence that taking a daily low-dose of aspirin reduces cancer mortality, in addition to its known benefits for cardiovascular health. Experts believe around 15% of current cancer deaths could be prevented by daily aspirin use with benefits beginning as early as three years into treatment. Conventional cancer treatments are expensive and new treatments typically require a lengthy approval process. By contrast, aspirin is inexpensive and readily available and has the potential for rapid uptake.
Based on these new findings, RMS modeled several potential scenarios of daily aspirin uptake which revealed that a typical 65 year-old male could see a 12-month increase in life expectancy and a 40% increase in the chance of living to 100, depending on a variety of lifestyle factors.*
Women’s risk of heart disease is significant and there is evidence aspirin helps with cancer’s that impact women.
Previous research has suggested that aspirin may help to reduce the risk of breast cancer and melanoma. Now, new research from the National Institutes of Health suggests that women who take low-dose aspirin every day may reduce their risk of ovarian cancer by 20%.
The findings were recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.