BATON ROUGE — Nearly half of cancer deaths in the United States are associated with preventable risk factors such as smoking and alcohol use.

Experts say it's never too late to make lifestyle changes to decrease your risk.

Smoked tobacco is strongly linked to cancer in almost every part of the body.

"Smoked tobacco produces about 7,000 chemicals, and when you inhale those chemicals in your body, they cause alterations in cells. And it's those alterations in cells that can lead to cancer,” Jon Ebbert at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center said.

One of the best ways to lower your cancer risk?

"It's never too late to stop smoking. And the risk for cancer after quitting cigarette smoking, for example, goes down,” Ebbert said.

Consuming alcohol increases your risk of breast, head and neck, esophageal, and colorectal cancers.

"At every level of alcohol consumption, there is cancer risk, but heavier drinkers have higher cancer risk than lighter drinkers," Ebbert said.

Finally, packing extra pounds can increase your risk of cancer in several ways.

"Excess body weight increases estrogen and insulin, which can increase the rate of cellular
division, which can increase the risk for cancer. But also, excess body weight is associated with inflammation, and inflammation is a known risk factor for the development of cancer,” Ebbert said.

Bariatric surgery has been shown to decrease risk. However, there are less drastic steps people can take.

"Small sustainable steps toward weight loss are the most effective when we think about diet and
exercise. Those are the classic approaches, but also there's new medications on the market that can help people lose weight,” Ebbert said.