Learning and Sharing

CHECK it OUT; KEEP in TOUCH --  Part 5.

Watching out for the “big four”

Lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancer account for slightly more than half of all cancer deaths. Tips for better self-protection, from the usual (and a few independent) sources.  Rx for all:  A low-fat, high-fiber diet rich in vegetables and fruits, plus multivitamins (particularly including selenium and zinc), plus added C, D, E and mixed carotenoids. 

Lung cancer.  Tobacco is estimated to cause 80 percent of lung cancer deaths in men and 75 percent in women. The more cigarettes smoked each day and the younger the age when smoking begins, the greater the risk of lung cancer.  Death rates are slightly lower for filtered and low-tar/low-nicotine cigarette brands, as well as for pipe and cigar smokers.  Smokers who quit lower their risk, and after 10 to 15 years of being tobacco free, have virtually no more risk than non-smokers.  Secondhand smoke, asbestos, radon, occupational exposure and heredity also are thought to play roles in lung cancer development.  Some studies link the use of marijuana with lung cancer;  others find no connection. 

Colorectal cancer.  Contributory factors include age 50 and above, history of colon polyps or ulcerative colitis, ethnic heritage (a mutated gene leads to high incidence in Eastern European Jews), inactivity, high-calorie, high-protein, high-fat, low-fiber diet, cigarette smoking, overweight, heavy alcohol use,  women who’ve previously had reproductive cancers, Type 2 diabetes and family history of the disease and. Primary symptom is bleeding. Red meat is problematic due to saturated fat content and abundance of iron, which can create free radicals. Barbecued and flame-broiled meats present greater dangers. Preventative foods include sulfur-rich broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts, plus garlic, onions, leaks and chives.  Preventative supplements may include aspirin, flax or fish oil, calcium, bioflavonoids, zinc, curcumin and ginger.  Health screenings (age 50 or with predisposing factors) are important.  If detected early, this cancer is 95 percent curable.  [Top]

Breast cancer.  Contributory factors are believed to include age, inactivity, overweight, hormones (birth control pills, replacement therapy, HGH supplements and the growth hormones commonly present in all commercial (non-organic) meat and dairy products), barbecued or flame-broiled meats, polyunsaturated vegetable oils, x-ray exposure (including mammograms, pesticides, chlorine products (including household cleaners and plastic residues), excess alcohol (more than one drink per day), inherited gene mutation, family or personal history, disturbances in normal sleep schedules (nightshift work, etc.), cigarette smoke, high sugar consumption, stress, prescription drugs, silicon gel/polyester-wrapped breast implants, employment in the vinyl, petrochemical or electrical industries, proximity to chemical plants and hazardous waste sites, tobacco (especially early or heavy use), car exhaust, cosmetics and personal-care items and use of dark-colored hair dyes,  

Also, family history, personal history of uterine, ovarian or colon cancer, menstruation before 12, menopause after 55, no pregnancies/first child after age 30, children not breast fed.  Preventative foods include flax seed, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.  Preventative supplements may include CoQ10, green tea, B-complex, melatonin, glutathione, calcium D-glucarate, beta 1,2 glucan, curcumin, garlic and aspirin.  Regular exercise and eight hours of nightly sleep in a totally darkened room are advised, as are monthly breast self-exams starting at age 20.  Physician exams should begin at least once every three years between 20 and 39, and be increased to annually at age 49.  Mammography prior to menopause is controversial.   [Top]

A harmful test?

In response to a series of studies which have linked pre-menopausal x-ray exposure (including “routine” mammography) with increased breast cancer rates, the National Cancer Institute recently withdrew its recommendation for pre-menopausal mammography. (The American Cancer Society, which gains heavy financial support from Dupont and General Electric---both makers of mammography equipment---continues to promote this practice.)

ALL women should visit these websites and make informed mammography choices:

http://www.bcaction.org/Pages/SearchablePages/1993Newsletters/Newsletter016C.html

http://www.preventcancer.com/avoidable/breast_cancer/avoid_mammography.htm 

http://www.preventcancer.com/patients/mammography/ijhs_mammography.htm 

http://www.headlice.org/lindane/health/toxicology/cancer_inc.htm

http://www.preventcancer.com/publications/pdf/Interview  June 03.htm

For breast self-exams, see http://www.medicinenet.com/breast_self_exam/article.htm

More than one form

 Although the vast majority of breast cancers begin with a lump, a less common  (but highly aggressive) form called inflammatory breast cancer begins with one or more of a variety of symptoms including sudden pain, swelling, itching, warmth, discharge, darkened color or ridged texture...or even a bruise that won’t fade.  Many symptoms are similar to those of a breast infection, but if antibiotics show no apparent effect after one week, a biopsy is warranted.  This condition can also occur during pregnancy or while breast-feeding (a time when most believe they’re at low risk).  See more at http://www.ibcresearch.org/     

 A daunting problem

 More women have been lost to breast cancer in the last 50 years than were killed in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam combined...and each year 45,000 more continue to die, losing, on average, two decades of their normal lifespan.  Breast cancer rates have climbed steadily in the United States and other industrialized countries since the 1940s, amounting to more than one million cases a year worldwide. In the 1940s, a woman’s lifetime risk of breast cancer was one in 22; today, it’s one in seven and rising.  Fully 42 percent of American women can be expected to develop breast cancer in their lifetimes.  (The number of men diagnosed with breast cancer has also increased 25 percent in the past 25 years.)  [Top]

Contributing factors include age, race (highest incidence among African Americans, with twice the death rate), family history, high-fat diet, high intake of red meat and high-fat dairy products (Barbecued or flame-broiled meats are particularly harmful.), pesticides, hormones (including those found in all commercial (non-organic) meat and dairy products and those that leech from plastics), tobacco, employment as mechanics, farmers, sheet metal workers and in the rubber, fertilizer and textile industries (due to cadmium exposure, which depletes zinc).  Preventative foods include broccoli and cooked tomatoes (particularly soups and sauces).  Many studies show that men actually need more vegetables daily than women, up to nine servings, and research results of men who choose a low-fat, high vegetable and fruit diet confirm their decreased susceptibility to this disease.  Preventative supplements may include lycopene,  Vitamin E, zinc, calcium D-glucarate, beta glucan 1,2 or maitake mushroom, green tea, melatonin and aspirin.  Exams should begin at age 50 (45 for those in high-risk groups) and should include both a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and digital exam. 

Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in America, and 234,000 men in the United States are expected to be diagnosed this year. One in six men now is eventually diagnosed, with increasing age being the most common determiner.  Diagnosis under age 40 is rare, increasing to one in 39 between 40 and 59, and one in seven for ages 60 to 79. For more, see http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/    [Top]

Keeping tabs on cancers “common” in young/er adults

Cancer is the most common “natural” cause of death for young people, who may sometimes be in greater danger because they so little expect it.  Four types strike most often:  

Testicular. Testicular cancers are on the rise, increasing by 70 percent among older teenagers in the United States between 1973 and 1992, from one in every 1,550 boys to one in 820 boys. Symptoms are a lump, swelling, dull pain or heaviness in the groin, lower abdomen or lower back. 

Breast.  Every year, 11,000 American women 40 or younger are diagnosed with breast cancer and about 1,300 die of it. Breast cancer appears to be more aggressive in younger than older women and is the leading cause of cancer death in women between 15 and 54, with higher mortality rates for African-Americans and Latinas.  Despite these numbers, many young women (and even their doctors) are largely unaware that they can be at risk for breast cancer.

Melanoma.  A deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma accounts for only about four percent of all skin-cancer cases, but causes almost 80 percent of the deaths. Increasing rapidly in younger people, it’s the most common cancer for those aged 25-29 and the second most common from 30-34.  Those most at risk are fair skinned and have had a blistering sunburn before age 18. See Watch the Waves.

Leukemia.  Red-flag symptoms of this disease that causes abnormal white-blood-cell production include fever, fatigue, night sweats, bleeding, bruises and weight loss. 

For all, an early visit to a doctor or health clinic can greatly enhance chances of survival.    [Top]

The importance of regular health check-ups

Embracing prevention is priority one, but health screening ranks a strong second.  Finding problems swiftly generally means less chance of damage, making recovery far more assured.  Getting into the habit of regular medical and dental exams is doing a kindness to ourselves, and also to those we love.    [Top]

If cancer is diagnosed...

Along with conventional care, which often supports a one-size-fits-all paradigm created by the “cancer establishment,” strongly consider complimentary approaches to treatment---especially diet, supplements, regular exercise and stress reduction through meditation, guided imagery, tai chi, qi gong, yoga or other methods. From the experience of many, the medical establishment generally is unaware of natural substances which consistently have been shown in highly reputable scientific studies to slow (and even reverse) the growth of many types of cancer cells, sometimes in animal studies, but often also in human trials. In California, medical professionals actually are legally prohibited from suggesting any treatment other than conventionally accepted approaches (generally surgery, radiation and chemotherapy). For patients, not seeking out and employing all means of help may mean giving up both quality and quantity of life.    

With diet, strongly consider limiting sugar intake. Cancers are sugar feeders.  Amazingly, the supplement foods of choice in many cancer centers are commercial products of our industrialized food industry, their main ingredient being high-fructose corn syrup (sugar).  When more calories or liquid supplementation is needed, far healthier options are available, and a really tasty choice is high-calorie smoothies made with organic yogurt, berries, flax oil and whey protein isolate, which comes in vanilla, strawberry and even chocolate flavors. 

We highly recommend finding a nutritionist who specializes in strategies to boost the body’s own immune response, and strongly believe that, although our ultimate objective could not be achieved, our son’s quality of life was greatly enhanced by such nutritional support.  We feel very confident in recommending the services of nutritionist Jeanne Wallace, PhD, CNC  http://www.nutritional-solutions.net/ whose guidance started us on the path that’s led to this document. Although her primary specialty is brain tumors, she also works with clients diagnosed with breast, colon, ovarian and pancreatic cancers, as well as melanoma. Another look at her work can be found at http://www.healingjourneys.org/pages/nutrition_css.html 

Other resources that had great meaning to us during a difficult time included books by Bernie Siegel, MD (Peace Love and Healing and Love, Medicine, & Miracles) and Cancer: 50 Essential Things to Do by Greg Anderson and O. Carl Simonton, plus several others on guided imagery. We read dozens more, but remember these best, which always says a lot.  We also attended a retreat with the Simonton Center, and found it both peaceful and uplifting.   

Exercise, music, sunshine, fresh food, happy movies, long talks, good books, occasional walks in the sunshine, the company of old and new friends and closer ties with the power that binds us all are more indispensable than ever when every moment matters.