KGTV-TV (San Diego, CA) - Live With Kelly and Mark

>> kelly: headed dangers peered they are everywhere and our hidden danger week continues with a part of our simple fix for '26 series. today we are discussing hidden cancer dangers from everyday habits with the chief of radiation oncology at luminous health, dr. amar rewari. welcome to the show. appreciate it. >> mark: this one was surprising to me. >> kelly: drinking hot beverages. that can cause cancer? >> mark: explain that one that one. >> dr. rewari: let me first start by saying thank you for having me on and this is not about living in fear. it's all normal things that we all do, myself included, and it takes years for this to happen, to develop into cancer. there are simple fix is good hot beverages. i myself am guilty about drinking very hot coffee or soup where you feel like you like to feel the burn going down. but that burn is your body telling you the temperature may be too hot and over time that can cause thermal injury on the delicate lining of your esophagus which over years of exposure can lead to cancer. >> kelly: and what cancer would we be looking for? >> dr. rewari: since it damages the esophagus, we are talking about squamous cell carcinoma was but another interesting thing is if you have uncontrolled acid reflex coming up from the belly, that can also cause damage to the lower part of the esophagus causing esophageal adenocarcinoma. >> kelly: let me ask you this. when i burn my mouth, the roof of my mouth on pizza peered. >> mark: that's different, right? >> kelly: will that kill me? >> dr. rewari: unless you are eating pizza every day and burning it every day for 20 years, then you are fine. >> mark: irritations in your mouth can lead to cancers as well. >> kelly: what you mean by irritations? >> dr. rewari: let's say you have dentures that don't fit so well and they are constantly rubbing up against your gums or let's say you are stressed and you are someone who choose the inside of your cheek or the back of your tongue. or if you have a chipped tooth that is chipped and rubbing up against the roof of your mouth. chronic irritations over time can cause dna talent damage. >> kelly: and what would we be looking for here? >> dr. rewari: it is cancers of the oral cavity. cancers of the cheek and the gums but it can even be of the tonsils and the tongue. >> kelly: oh, my gosh, we are talking about them out so much. >> mark: oral hygiene is very important, yes question work. >> dr. rewari: 100%. our bodies have good bacteria and bad bacteria. over time if you don't take care of oral hygiene, you can get periodontal disease which is accumulation of bad bacteria so if you eat certain foods, the bad bacteria can interact with those foods and cause carcinogenic substances that can cause cancer over time. >> kelly: what kind of cancer? >> dr. rewari: of the mouth or the back of the mouth, the esophagus, or sometimes even pancreatic cancers. >> kelly: death creeps in through the mouth. i'm telling you. >> mark: how do we avoid these risks? take care of your teeth. >> dr. rewari: brush, floss, water picks. if you are someone who is stressed and chewing, maybe a mouth guard. >> kelly: what about people who have issues with sleep. it seems like we are always comparing our data on our devices to see how poorly we are sleeping. that can contribute to cancers? >> dr. rewari: all of us have trouble sleeping whether you are a busy parent or juggling many things and working night shift but it's not the lack of sleep itself that causes the cancer. what happens when you sleep is when your body allows itself to repair dna damage and recognize things that are wrong and fix them. if you aren't sleeping so well, it can add an extra stressor on your body where it's not able to repair those damages and coupled with other things, it can lead to cancer over time. >> mark: and what are associated with sleep deprivation question work. >> dr. rewari: breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and others. >> kelly: and fine-tuning our sleep can avoid this? >> dr. rewari: seven to nine hours of sleep a day which are virtually everybody would love. >> kelly: we are dead. >> dr. rewari: it's hard to do. avoid blue screen time before bed. >> kelly: dead. >> dr. rewari: set the room to a nice cool temperature and avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed. >> mark: that's good. that's good. what about respiratory stuff in the home. >> dr. rewari: the first and most important thing is smoke. smoking has 700 plus chemicals in it and we are talking first hand smoke, secondhand smoke, and third hand smoke. >> kelly: what is that question work. >> dr. rewari: it's when those smoke particles attached to the upholstery or the carpeting in your homes and they can live there for years. those chemicals. if you have young children that are roaming around and they are putting stuff in their mouth, they can get exposure over time. >> kelly: people on the street have taken up smoking again peered there's a lot of people smoking suddenly. and you walk by it and it is stuck in your hair immediately. immediately if you pass through smoke. is that thirdhand smoke? >> dr. rewari: that is thirdhand smoke but this is more prolonged in the home. >> mark: candles. talking about candles. >> dr. rewari: this is my biggest vice. i love a good candle. the candles, certain candles can release it so in the air and other chemicals, particularly heavily scented candles can cause organic compounds to be released. >> mark: what are suggestions question work. >> dr. rewari: open the window and trim the wick but you could try to use more organic candles like beeswax or soy or something like that. >> mark: gas stoves peered quickly. >> dr. rewari: same thing, they release chemicals in the air. ideally hood them or open a window or switch to an induction stove. >> kelly: or never cook again. >> dr. rewari: never cook again. >> mark: check out