Each year, cancer affects millions of people across the United States. In 2025, the NIH’s National Cancer Institute estimated that over two million Americans were diagnosed with cancer and over 618,000 died from the disease. While these numbers are sobering, there is also reason for hope. According to the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2025, approximately 40% of these cases are associated with preventable factors, such as smoking, obesity, physical inactivity and excessive sun exposure. Furthermore, decades of public health efforts focused on prevention and early detection have already made a difference, helping to avert an estimated 5.94 million cancer deaths between 1975 and 2020 and highlighting the significance of cancer prevention.

Cancer researchers often study risk factors as well as protective factors to find ways to prevent new cancers from forming. Anything that increases your chance of developing cancer is called a risk factor, and anything that decreases your chance of developing cancer is called a protective factor. Some risk factors can be avoided, but many cannot — those that a person can control are called modifiable risk factors.

Modifiable risk factors include:

• Smoking or tobacco use, vaping, chewing, etc.
• Alcohol consumption
• Obesity, or physical inactivity
• Diet
• Environmental exposures, such as air pollution, radon, asbestos, arsenic, etc.
• Staying up to date with recommended preventative screenings

Non-Modifiable risk factors include:

• Genetics
• Age
•  Race/Ethnicity
• Sex
• Family history
• HPV or other infections

To learn more about what you can change to improve your health and lower your cancer risk, you can take the ACS CancerRisk360 Assessment.

In the Wellness Suite

Cancer prevention is not defined by a single choice — it is shaped by everyday habits that influence overall health. From nutrition to physical activity, rest and stress management, lifestyle plays a significant role in reducing cancer risk and supporting long-term wellbeing.

Research continues to demonstrate that maintaining a healthy body weight, consuming a balanced, fiber-rich diet and engaging in regular physical activity are associated with a lower risk of several types of cancer, including colon, breast, endometrial and kidney cancers. Studies also suggest that healthy lifestyle behaviors following a cancer diagnosis may improve outcomes and quality of life. While no single behavior can eliminate risk, consistent, evidence-based choices can make a meaningful difference over time.

This Spring, the Osher Center for Integrative Health will open the Osher Wellness Suite & Learning Kitchen. Located in the Blood Cancer Healing Center, this one-of-a-kind space invites individuals to cook, move, rest, connect and recharge through hands-on wellness experiences rooted in evidence-based practices that support overall health and wellbeing.

At the Osher Wellness Suite & Learning Kitchen, the John & Carrie Hayden Community Learning Kitchen, Mind-Body-Spirit Wellness Studio and Rooftop Healing Garden come together to create a comprehensive, whole-person wellness destination. Created for people navigating health challenges, ongoing stress, burnout, fatigue, or simply looking for practical ways to live healthier and prevent disease, this space meets people where they are and offers support that fits real life.

Led by Chef Stephanie White, EdD, the region’s first-of-its-kind Community Learning Kitchen features five hands-on cooking stations and offers evidence-based classes designed to make healthy eating practical, accessible and empowering. Programming includes topics such as budget-friendly cooking, plant-forward meals, anti-inflammatory nutrition, gut and heart health, cognitive support and cancer risk reduction.

Accommodating up to 274 participants, the Mind-Body-Spirit Wellness Studio is centered around an inlaid labyrinth to encourage reflection and connection while hosting evidence-based programming including mindfulness and meditation, tai chi, yoga therapy, sound immersion, music and health initiatives and art therapy. In collaboration with partners like the Cancer Center’s Survivorship & Supportive Services Program, these programs support emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing.

Finally, the Rooftop Healing Garden features fresh herbs utilized in the aforementioned culinary programming and provides a restorative outdoor setting for reflection and group experiences. Programs such as Nature as Medicine, Seed to Harvest and other nature-based wellness sessions highlight the role of the natural environment in promoting resilience and overall health.

Highlighting the connection between lifestyle and cancer prevention, the Osher Wellness Suite & Learning Kitchen will offer practical strategies to incorporate balanced nutrition, regular movement and mindfulness into daily life. Whether seeking healthy recipes, guidance on meeting physical activity recommendations or opportunities to participate in supportive movement and meditation programs, small, sustained changes can create lasting impact.

In the Lab

Leeya F. Pinder, MD, MPH, a physician-researcher at the Cancer Center, is leading efforts to make cervical cancer screening more accessible for medically underserved communities. Her research focuses on self-collection HPV testing, which allows individuals to collect their own sample using a swab or brush and send it to a lab for testing.

This method can be especially beneficial for those who:

• Feel uncomfortable with traditional exams
• Struggle to find time for a doctor's visit
• Have difficulty accessing screening services

Through her study, LEAP (Leveraging an Early Intervention Program to Increase Access to Cervical Cancer Screening), Pinder is exploring how self-screening and HPV vaccination can be integrated into community health programs. This research is being conducted in partnership with the University of Cincinnati’s Early Intervention Program (EIP), which connects individuals at risk for health issues with community resources.

In addition to LEAP, Pinder is also leading the Self-Collection for HPV Testing to Improve Cervical Cancer Prevention (SHIP) Trial, which investigates the use of self-collected vaginal samples for HPV testing in patients referred for colposcopy or cervical excisional procedures. HPV, a common virus, can lead to cervical cancer if infections persist. Despite the importance of early detection, many individuals avoid screenings that require pelvic exams, with over half of cervical cancer cases occurring in those who are inadequately screened.

Self-collection offers a more accessible and comfortable alternative, enabling individuals to collect samples at their convenience. The SHIP Trial evaluates the accuracy of HPV testing on self-collected samples compared to those collected by clinicians, aiming to enhance cervical cancer prevention and improve access to care.

Leeya F. Pinder, MD, MPH  Interim Associate Director, Cancer Prevention, Control & Population Science Research University of Cincinnati Cancer Center Director, Center for Global Cancer Control University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

In the Community

The Office of Community Outreach & Engagement at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center works to establish and strengthen community partnerships throughout the region by connecting members of the community as well as community organizations directly to researchers and clinicians at the Cancer Center. By leveraging these partnerships, the Cancer Center hopes to better address the cancer-related challenges in our region and, over time, reduce the overall burden of cancer.

The Office of Community Outreach & Engagement will accomplish these goals, in part, by:

• Sharing meaningful insights and data between the community and Cancer Center members to better understand the cancer burden in our ten-county region
• Disseminating evidence-based research findings back to the community
• Supporting opportunities for education and advocacy within the Cancer Center and the community
• Utilizing programming that equips Cancer Center members with the skills to effectively engage with and listen to the community. More importantly, researchers should understand the value of community engagement in research and ensure that research is informed by the people it impacts
• Establishing partnerships with key community organizations to facilitate the sharing of ideas between the community and Cancer Center members

One such partnership that focuses on these educational efforts is with We Engage 4 Health (WE4H) — a community health project supported by the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The goals of WE4H are to:

• Improve health and science knowledge in the community.
• Reduce chronic disease in communities where it occurs most.
• Increase citizens’ involvement in their own and community’s health.
• Strengthen science competencies and encourage STEM careers in youth.

WE4H has created health outreach stories — a collection of graphic-style stories designed for all ages — which are a key component in sharing insights, data, evidence-based research and education on prevention, screening and early diagnosis.

The Reducing Your Risk story, for example, features a conversation between Georgia and Vito regarding the average cancer risk and how risk can be decreased by making healthy choices — such as quitting smoking, or never smoking in the first place, maintaining a healthy weight, staying active, etc.

This story, along with many others in the collection, is displayed at numerous community events throughout the year with Cancer Center staff and volunteers present to not only read through the stories with attendees but to also share more resources and information on the topics presented. Additionally, through the Community Outreach Speaker Network, the Cancer Center regularly delivers educational presentations covering cancer prevention to families and seniors in the ten-county catchment area.

The Community Outreach Speaker Network is a group of researchers, physicians, clinicians, trainees and staff who are trained to effectively discuss and engage with diverse community audiences. This month, the Office of Community Outreach & Engagement and the Community Outreach Speaker Network presented at Bethany House Services — a non-profit organization providing shelter, supportive services and housing assistance to families experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness — and AHEPA Senior Living Mt. Healthy — a community for low-income seniors.

Click here to join the Community Outreach Speaker Network.