The HPV vaccine
Our ability to avoid getting diseases in the first place will help seniors live healthier in old age, and vaccines are a big part of this. For example, the HPV vaccine helps prevent cervical, head, and neck cancers caused by the virus. “There is a way to prevent this cancer before it even starts – which is a lot better than trying to treat it once it’s already appeared,” says Dr Electra Paskett, a researcher at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. “As a global community, we need to unite around HPV vaccination as a true means of cancer prevention.” Although it’s only given to the younger generation (so if you’re a Boomer you’re out of luck), these future seniors will benefit.
More cancer-fighting vaccines
The HPV vaccine isn’t the only cancer vaccine out there – and these can be implemented at any age. New strides in immunotherapy (using the body’s own defences to fight disease) include vaccines that train the body how to fight cancer once it has developed, unlike traditional preventative vaccines. Cuban scientists have developed such a vaccine for lung cancer, and a clinical trial is currently underway in the US. A vaccine for prostate cancer is already here, and others for melanoma and brain cancer are also in clinical trials. “Custom-designed immunotherapies for cancer are a game-changer for cancer therapy and we are only in the earliest stages of this technology,” Dr Barnard says.
Think twice about falling for these common health myths.
Better hygiene
As basic as it may seem, recent public health pushes for better hygiene will help keep us healthy longer. For example, we now know to cough into our elbow instead of our hand to prevent the spread of germs. And while personal hygiene is important, the growing recognition of the role of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is crucial, too. According to the World Health Organization, there are 800,000 deaths a year from HAI.