Calculate your cancer risk with My CancerIQ

Cancer Care Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care launch new online tool

TORONTO, Feb. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - Ontarians now have a new digital tool in the fight against cancer, called My CancerIQ.

With support from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, My CancerIQ was developed by Cancer Care Ontario to allow men and women to calculate their personalized risk of developing breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer. It takes less than 10 minutes to answer a series of interactive questions that will produce individualized recommendations on how to reduce cancer risks.

With My CancerIQ, Ontarians can take action now to improve their overall health.

DID YOU KNOW?

As many as half of all cancers in Ontario can be prevented by eliminating known risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, occupational or environmental exposure to carcinogenic substances, poor diet and lack of physical activity. There are a number of other modifiable and non-modifiable factors that My CancerIQ identifies, such as:

• People who eat more red meat are at a higher risk of developing colorectal cancer;
• Women who smoke are at a higher risk of developing cervical cancer;
• Workplace exposures may increase the risk of developing lung cancer; and
• Women who consume alcohol are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer.

My CancerIQ personalized risk reports and health action plans can be saved, printed and emailed. These results can be discussed with a healthcare provider. My CancerIQ can be accessed from a smartphone, tablet or desktop at MyCancerIQ.ca

QUOTES
"You can't see inside your body to find out how your choices are affecting your health. With My CancerIQ, you can better understand your cancer risk factors and start making lifestyle changes to avoid it." – Dr. Linda Rabeneck, Vice-President, Prevention and Cancer Control at Cancer Care Ontario

"Ontario ranks amongst the best in the world when it comes to surviving cancer and we want to keep it that way.  So I am very excited that Ontarians will now have this great new tool from Cancer Care Ontario that will help them to maintain and improve their health.  My CancerIQ is an important part of the government's Patients First: Action Plan for Health Care. I encourage Ontarians to assess their risks and discuss their reports and action plans with their health care providers." – Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care

Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) – an Ontario government agency – drives quality and continuous improvement in disease prevention and screening, the delivery of care and the patient experience for cancer and chronic kidney disease patients. Known for its innovation and results-driven approaches, CCO leads multi-year system planning, contracts for services with hospitals and providers, develops and deploys information systems, establishes guidelines and standards and tracks performance targets to ensure system-wide improvements in cancer and chronic kidney disease care.

SOURCE Cancer Care Ontario

Video with caption: "Find out your cancer risk in less than 10 minutes.". Video available at: http://youtu.be/_DK9FgOyHZU

Image with caption: "Dr. Linda Rabeneck, VP, Cancer Care Ontario, demonstrates My CancerIQ tool to Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Dr. Eric Hoskins, at the YMCA in Toronto on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015. (CNW Group/Cancer Care Ontario)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150203_C7221_PHOTO_EN_11785.jpg

Tori Gass, Cancer Care Ontario, Tel: [phone], E-mail: [email protected]