October 6, 2016 general

Can we please change October “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” to “Prevent and Defeat Breast Cancer Month”? (By the way, breast cancer does affect men too.) As the graphic implies, we all want to be “in the pink”. On Saturday’s Show I skimmed through some causes of breast cancer. These factors are interrelated and hint at ways to prevent cancer. Beyond that, if cancer has already been diagnosed, they suggest how we might add benefit to whatever type of treatment has been chosen. Happily, these actions also improve overall wellness and help prevent other diseases.

CAUSES / PREVENTIVE STEPS:

• Our heredity does play a role in the risk of cancer. However, it is increasingly apparent that our eating habits and lifestyle can control whether genes become active or stay peacefully dormant. LINK
• Free radicals (also known as oxidants) damage cells and our DNA. That can set us up for cells that don’t know when to stop multiplying—e.g. tumors. Smoking is one of many toxins that cause free radicals. In fact, even exposure to secondhand smoke is a risk factor for breast cancer. LINK. Most of us take antioxidant nutrients (such as vitamin C, zinc, selenium, colorful plant foods and many more) to help control free radicals.
• Radiation is another cause of free radicals and an increased risk of cancer. Concerns about accumulating radiation exposure is why there is controversy about how often it is wise to get a mammogram. LINK (Note: thermography does not share those risks.)
• Inflammation is implicated in most degenerative diseases. At this LINK the Mayo Clinic lists some proven causes for this risk. Another less publicized source of inflammation is a diet high in sugar and omega-6 oils. Those oils are found in processed foods and vegetable oils (e.g. soy and corn). Omega-3 fats (e.g. fish oil) has the opposite effect. It is anti-inflammatory. (Some research shows it works as well as anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis pain. LINK) Magnesium is another anti-inflammatory nutrient with many fringe benefits. LINK
• The microbiome. As I describe in The Probiotic Cure, probiotic bacteria and other microorganisms that make up the hugely diverse community in our intestinal tract known as the microbiome. They not only contribute greatly to our immune function, they also help regulate hormone imbalances that can lead to cancer. LINK. It is an exciting beginning that a lab study showed that certain probiotic bacteria caused breast cancer cells to reproduce more slowly, shrink and die! Even probiotics killed by heat had that inhibitory effect. LINK
• Alcohol in moderation may have some benefit to health However, according to the American Cancer Society “Those [women] who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1½ times the [breast cancer] risk of women who don’t drink alcohol.” A new study shows that alcohol increases the density of breast tissue which is a cancer risk. LINK
• Diet is of course important to all aspects of health. The Mediterranean Diet has shown promise not only for prevention, but also reducing return bouts with the disease. LINK. I was pleased to see that the famous cancer clinic, MD Anderson, acknowledge the role of dietary sugar in increasing breast cancer risk. LINK  One human study (LINK) came to conclusions that surprised me. They found that those women who ate tomatoes, drank coffee and canned meat had lower rates of breast cancer. (Sure, tomatoes and coffee contain antioxidants, but, canned meat? Really? The study was done in Malta. Maybe their canned meat is better than ours?) Here is a surprise: consumption of fava beans, cabbage and low sodium salt substitute increased risk.
• Many other factors certainly have an effect. The surprising study listed in the previous paragraph also found that protection was better in women who got (Not surprising since that is the primary source of vitamin D which is powerful for the immune system.) Those who had not taken oral contraceptives had lower risk. (Apparently nature is better at balancing hormones.) Also at less risk were those who had not experienced a heart attack. (We’d think they were generally healthier.) On the other hand, the study found that being tall was not a good thing. (I’ve seen this odd association before.) This study was carefully done, but it used interviews and without confirming intervention studies is not considered proof that these associations are causes.

CHARITIES

I’m sure that anyone who makes a donation to help with breast cancer wants that money to go as far as possible toward stopping this scourge and helping patients. Unfortunately, there are outright fraudulent “charities” and some that are legitimate, but who in my book not good stewards of the money.

• Charity navigator is a very useful site to check on any charity that you are considering. The service ranks them for transparency and by how much of donated money goes to good works. I like to see charities that go beyond supporting more of the same old kind of research that has been the basis of the unimpressive War on Cancer since 1971.
• Why not donate to the Best Answer for Cancer Foundation that Annie Brandt talks about on the October 8, 2016 HBN Show. Their site says: “A full 90% of your donation will go towards studies, patient care, raising awareness, and advocacy. The other 10% will support the administrative cost of the foundation.” (Charity Navigator does not rate funds that bring in less than $1 million in revenues.)
• I like that the Breast Cancer Fund researches chemical causes and has “Tips for Prevention” on their home page. About 77% of their income goes to their mission. (The smaller the charity, the harder it probably is to keep administrative and fundraising costs to a low percentage. The Best Answer for Cancer Foundation is an example that it is possible.)
• The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has the highest rating by Charity Navigator and invests 91% of its income into stopping breast cancer. They fund a fairly broad range of cancer research areas. LINK.

RESOURCES

The October 8, 2016 show guest is Annie Brandt, a long term survivor of “stage 4” breast cancer and the author of The Healing Platform: Build Your Own Cure!  Other shows in October feature special testing that is very helpful, the role of vitamin D and many other interviews of interest.

The following pages from our HBN Library contain a lot more helpful information.

• Cancer – 6 Ways to Say No
• 13 Steps to Avoid (Breast) Cancer
• 10 Things to Do Before, During & After Your Cancer Treatment
• Listener cancer Survivor Story
• Pancreatic Cancer
• Build Immunity