In a recent TIME article, health reporter Angela Haupt asks four oncologists what they do in their own lives to try to prevent cancer. Their answers, she reports, come down to the fundamentals: sleep, fiber, movement, and regular screenings, followed not perfectly but consistently. As Dr. Andrea Tufano-Sugarman of Memorial Sloan Kettering puts it, “Everything I do is quite boring and quite routine.”
Below are the Oncologists’ 10 daily habits from the Haupt’s reporting:
- They don’t drink alcohol. Haupt reports that Tufano-Sugarman cut out alcohol entirely two years ago, as research increasingly links even low levels of drinking to higher risks of several cancers, including breast and colorectal. With no known safe amount, she finds it easier to avoid it completely than to keep wondering how much is too much.
- They eat plant-forward and aim for serious fiber. Dr. Andre Goy of Hackensack University Medical Center makes 70% to 80% of his weekday meals plant-based, shifting toward a Mediterranean style on weekends. He puts his patients on plant-based diets too, telling Haupt: “Out of all the patients, including famous chefs from New York, there’s not one person who didn’t tell me they felt better in a few weeks.” Tufano-Sugarman targets 30 grams of fiber a day to support the gut microbiome, drawing on smoothies with chia seeds, popcorn, legumes, and brown rice.
- They cook at home. Many oncologists limit processed foods, and cooking at home is the simplest way to do it, Haupt reports. “You’re making the dish yourself, so you know how much salt, sugar, and butter you’re adding,” says Dr. Michael Dominello of the Karmanos Cancer Institute. Restaurants, he notes, tend to use more of those ingredients and are less likely to use organic produce unless they say so, “because that hurts the bottom line.” He opts for organic versions of produce like strawberries and blueberries that tend to accumulate pesticides.
- They skip takeout and wait to box up leftovers. Haupt reports that heated plastics can leach endocrine-disrupting chemicals linked to certain cancers. Dr. Nikki Wood of Children’s Mercy Kansas City sometimes eats home-cooked leftovers while her family orders takeout, and at restaurants she lets food cool to room temperature before boxing it, rather than sealing it hot in plastic.
- They aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Tufano-Sugarman targets 7 to 9 hours a night, Haupt reports, because poor sleep drives insulin resistance and appetite dysregulation. Consistent rest, she says, helps maintain her energy and a healthy weight.
- They prioritize strength training, especially squats. Dominello recommends lifting weights at least two or three times a week, telling Haupt that squats offer the most efficiency because they work one of the body’s largest muscle groups. Wood adds that strength training matters more for women as they age, and on busy days she fits in lunges, air squats, and pushups between tasks.
- They wear sunscreen daily and get an annual skin check. Tufano-Sugarman wears sunscreen every day regardless of season, Haupt reports, and gets a yearly full-body skin check from a dermatologist even though it isn’t standard guidance, because a trained eye catches what a self-exam misses.
- They go to the dentist at least twice a year. Dominello keeps up twice-yearly dental visits with his long-term health in mind, Haupt reports. Poor dental health is linked to cardiovascular disease and, through chronic inflammation and changes in the oral microbiome, possibly to certain cancers. “We know there’s an association,” he says, “but causation we cannot prove.”
- They don’t ignore early colon-cancer warning signs. Tufano-Sugarman calls colon cancer in younger adults “an epidemic,” Haupt reports. Her advice for any age: rectal bleeding or a lasting change in bowel habits warrants seeing a specialist, since catching it early can make a critical difference.
- They grow sprouts at home. Dominello grows sprouts on his kitchen counter, calling them “like cruciferous vegetables on steroids.” Sprouts from broccoli and red cabbage pack especially high levels of beneficial compounds, and Haupt reports they take just a mason jar, seeds, and twice-daily rinsing to grow in four to five days.
Haupt adds that none of these habits is dramatic or surprising, which is rather the point: the oncologists’ own approach to cancer prevention is built not on hacks but on the quiet consistency of doing the basics, day after day.
Acknowledgement: This summary was generated using AI writing tools as part of my experimental learning process. For more information, check out the original article listed below.