How Weight Loss Surgery Reduces the Risk of Cancer

Could cancer impact your health and life? Many people have family members, friends, and coworkers who have gone through cancer. What if there was a way to reduce this risk to yourself?

The American Cancer Society states that in 2022, there were an estimated 1.9 million new cases of cancer diagnosed in the U.S. That is a very high and worrisome number. Many people do what they can to reduce those risks, but sometimes there is no way to prevent it.

Yet, for those who are morbidly obese, weight loss surgery could prove to be one of the most significant ways to reduce this risk of some cancers.

How Does Weight Loss Surgery Help?

A study reported recently by the National Institutes of Health shows that bariatric surgery may reduce – by a significant amount – the risk of some types of common cancers. The study looked at the risk of cancer onset for 18 million people who were obese.

Of those people, about 1 million had undergone some type of weight loss surgery. The researchers learned that the people who were in that group who had undergone surgery had a lowered chance of developing five types of solid tumor cancers.

This includes the risks associated with the following:

• Lung cancer
• Colorectal cancer
• Liver cancer
• Kidney cancer and urinary tract cancer
• Esophageal cancer

What Is the Link Between Cancer and Obesity?

Those who are obese are at a higher risk for developing at least 13 types of cancer. Researchers are not sure what the full link is, but they know that obesity increases hormone production that some cancers use as their fuel. That helps encourage them to grow.
Additionally, it reduces the production of valuable hormones that help to minimize the risks of higher risky hormones.

Make a Change in Your Future

Learning about the risks and benefits of weight loss surgery is the first step. Foothills Weight Loss Surgeons in Knoxville, TN, offers a free online seminar designed to help people understand the process of bariatric surgery. Watching the seminar is the required first step for all our patients in their weight loss surgery journey.

Visit our GET STARTED webpage today to learn how bariatric surgery can help you lead a healthier life.