How To Reduce Your Risk Of Breast Cancer

We hear it all the time…lose weight for your health. Few people however, realize the extent to which this is critical to their physical well-being and ultimately their life expectancy.

In January 2003, the Journal of the American Medical Association featured a study finding that obesity appears to lessen life expectancy, especially among young adults. The researchers compared Body-Mass Index (BMI) to longevity and found a correlation between premature death and higher BMIs. For example, a 20-year-old white male, 5’10” weighing 288 pounds with a BMI of greater than 40 was estimated to lose 13 years of his life as a result of obesity.Jamie McManus, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. and author of “Your Personal Guide to Wellness” notes that while this study referenced extreme levels of obesity, there are still millions of overweight people in developed countries with a life expectancy rate that is three to five years less than their healthy-weight counterparts. She also estimates that there are 600,000 obesity related deaths each year in America.

Just how does obesity shorten our lifespan? The answer to this question is complex, yet there is a clear link between obesity and the development of cancer. An extensive study conducted by the American Cancer Institute involving 750,000 people showed that obesity significantly increased the risk of cancer developing in the following organs: breast, colon, ovaries, uterus, pancreas, kidneys and gallbladder.

Michael Thun, MD, vice-president of epidemiology and surveillance research for the American Cancer Society (ACS) says one reason obesity may raise cancer risk is because fat cells produce a form of estrogen called estradiol that promotes rapid division of cells, increasing chances of a random genetic error while cells are replicating, which can lead to cancer. In addition, fat centered around the abdomen may increase insulin and insulin-like growth factors in the blood, which may increase cancer risk.

"Women who are obese after menopause have a 50% higher relative risk of breast cancer," notes Thun, "and obese men have a 40% higher relative risk of colon cancer…. Gallbladder and endometrial cancer risks are five times higher for obese individuals”.There is evidence that cancer rates in developed countries are increasing at 5 to 15 times faster than developing countries. A major contributor to this alarming reality has proven to be diet. In populations where the diet consists mostly of fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains – in contrast to the typical Western diet of fatty meats, refined flours, oils and sugars – the risk of cancer is much lower.

The interaction of diet and the development of cancer is an active field of research and Dr David Heber, M.D., Ph.D. and author of “What Color is Your Diet”, says “It appears that diet has its most significant effects after the cancer has already formed, acting to inhibit or stimulate the growth of that cancer”. At the risk of oversimplifying a complex set of interactions, the typical Western diet that leads to obesity may actually act to stimulate the growth of cancer cells.It is never too late to improve your health through healthful eating and adopting a more health-giving lifestyle. Here are simple steps to follow which can make an immediate improvement to your health and vitality.

1. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI) to determine if weight has become health risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 60% of Americans are overweight, defined as having a BMI (a ratio of height to weight) over 25. Of those, nearly half (27%) qualify as obese, with a body mass index of 30 or more. In 1980, just 15% of Americans were considered obese. You can check your BMI at the website below.

2. Match your diet to your body’s requirements. If you eat and drink more calories than your body requires you will put on weight. Learn to control calories and portion sizes, make recipes leaner, and eat infrequently from fast food restaurants. Also learn how to snack with healthful choices.

3. Color your diet with a large variety of colorful, cancer-fighting fruit and vegetables. There are seven different color ranges of both fruit and vegetables and by choosing between 5 to 9 daily serves from a wide range of fruit and vegetables, we are extending our consumption of cancer (and other disease) fighting nutrients.

4. Eat lean protein with every meal. Protein provides a powerful signal to the brain providing a longer sense of fullness. The right source of protein is essential to controlling your hunger with fewer calories and necessary to maintain your lean muscle mass. Choices of protein should be flavored soy shakes with fruit; the white meat of chicken and turkey, seafood such as shrimps, prawns scallops and lobster and ocean fish or vegetarians may prefer soy based meat substitutes.

5. Rev up your metabolism with activity. If you want to enjoy a lifetime of well-being, exercise is a key ingredient. Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society (ACS), says adults should do something for 30 minutes each day that takes as much effort as a brisk walk. Children should be active for an hour each day. We are more likely to develop habits around things we enjoy, so seek activities which you enjoy doing. It is also helpful to build physical activity into your daily routine: use the stairs instead of the escalator or lift at work, park your car in the parking bay furthest from the super marketing and don’t use the remote control to change TV channels.

6. Get support to ensure you develop a healthful eating plan and reach your goal weight. Whilst a small percentage of people possess the discipline to lose weight, many obese people have developed strong thoughts and habits concerning the food they eat. In order to establish new habits, most people respond well to some form of consistent encouragement and coaching. A study, “Effects of Internet Behavioral Counseling on Weight Loss in Adults at Risk of Type 2 Diabetes” shows that participants who had the support of weight loss coaching lost more weight than those who didn’t. The study concluded that the support of a weight loss coach can significantly improve weight loss results.

Being overweight or obese has been identified next to smoking, as the most preventable major risk to developing cancer. Even small weight losses have been shown to have beneficial health effects. So it’s never to late to start and you can never be too young or too old to be concerned about your health and do something about achieving a more healthy weight.

Breast Cancer Prevention And Cure

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in North America (after heart and other cardiovascular diseases) and breast cancer is among the leading causes of death among women. Cancer prevention, not cancer research or cure, is therefore a top priority for all women. Of known cancer causes, smoking tobacco accounts for about a third of the cases and diet is blamed for another 30-50 per cent, although the relationship between food and cancer is hazier than for tobacco and there are no pat answers.

But "prevention" may simply not be possible. If it is, and there is some evidence that change of diet and occupation (reduced stress levels) in combination with a special herbal dietary supplement may be effective in preventing some types of cancer in women, so much the better. If it isn't, the alternative is early detection and surgery. But not just surgery, surgery in combination with other treatments which may include any or all of chemotherapy, radiation, lymphectomy, tamoxaphen (tamoxifen, and a new replacement called Arimidex which may have frightening side effects) and even radical mastectomy (complete breast removal).

Mammograms may be painful. All reports indicate that they are. However, the alternative, breast cancer left long enough to detect by conventional means (pain, lumps, etc) is virtually always resultant in radical mastectomy, chemotherapy and often in death. Check this web site for basic information on cancer, breast cancer, side effects, etc.

My wife has had 10 tumors removed from her breasts. The first two, in the late 1980's, and the last two (1 each breast each occurrence), about 1996-7, were benign. The six in between (four in the right breast, two in the left breast) were malignant. Although the diagnosis of breast cancer is a devastating experience, most women face up to and cope well with it. In fact, studies show that many respond with renewed vigour and enjoyment of life and stronger interpersonal ties. But there is an inevitable period of adjustment, usually improved by knowing as much as possible about the disease.

My wife has been “free of cancer” for well over 8 years, but at her last mammogram checkup, in Jan ‘05, they discovered a growth they could not otherwise account for and wanted to do another biopsy-type lump removal. This inevitably raises the heady and frightening spectre of “cancer” once again. As I began to write, this “ectomy” was still in our future, the results and reactions were also “still in our future”. We’ve been there, several times, but that didn’t make a diagnosis of malignancy any easier, any less emotionally stressful, even though the “period of adjustment” was eased somewhat.

So after 8-9 years cancer free she was diagnosed in January, 2005 with another lump and it was removed in early April, 2005. Yes, it was malignant, but, in the doctor’s words, it was a “friendly” tumor. Our “period of adjustment” has been much easier this time around.

My mother had a radical left-breast mastectomy when she was about 77-78. She lived another 11-12 years cancer free.

At what age am I most at risk for breast cancer? Actually, most at risk is probably after 40. But breast cancer has occurred in teenagers. I'm not sure if it occurs in pre-teens? Breast cancer is extremely rare but not unknown in men, also. The age group most at risk of dying of breast cancer is the younger women because "I'm too young to have breast cancer" and so the warning signs are ignored until it is too late.

Breast Cancer The Cure

You have my permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. Breast Cancer The Cure There is no known cure for breast cancer. More than 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year worldwide. Scientists don't know why most women get breast cancer, yet breast cancer is the most frequent tumor found in women the world over. A woman who dies of breast cancer is robbed of an average of nearly 20 years of her life. Breast cancer knows no social boundaries. It’s a disease that can affect anyone. Some prominent women who’s lives that have been touched by breast cancer include Jill Eikenberry actress age 52; Peggy Fleming age 49 figure skater; Kate Jackson age 50 (Charlies Angels); Olivia Newton-John age 50 actress singer; Nancy Reagan age 77 former first lady; Melissa Etheridge age 43 singer; and the beautiful Suzanne Summers actress. These high rates of breast cancer are not acceptable to the women of the world and must be met with scientific research that provides results. Despite over a decade of research, and more than $1.7 billion spent, hundereds of women worldwide are dying from breast cancer every day. Yet doctors don’t know how breast cancer starts or how to cure it. Doctors are still approaching treatment for breast cancer in the same old fashioned ways: surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. Barbarick treatments…And scientists keep doing the same old redundant research that’s simply not working. It doesn’t have to be that way. Gen Cells Cures is a scientific biotechnology company that is focused on a cure for breast cancer. The company is dedicated to curing breast cancer before it’s too late for you. We’re not interested in a cure in five, ten, or twenty years from now. We want your cure for breast cancer within a year or two. We don’t want you to have to under go surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or take toxic drugs. Why Gen Cells Cures? You can search the medical journals; you can search the internet until your blue in the face. You will find the same old news which is no new news about breast cancer research and treatments. Breast cancer research is locked up in a black whole. Gen Cells Cures is approaching the cure for breast cancer from different angles and using tomorrow’s scientific technologies today. Our expertise is in stem cell research and genomics. Malfunctioning stem cells have already been linked to the development of breast cancer. We’re not talking about using generic stem cells from an egg and sperm cell. There is no genetic match for you with the politically controversial generic stem cells that are always in the news. The isolation of cancer stem cells, coupled with our understanding of genetic mutations causing cancer, and our knowledge of genomics will result in ways to eliminate cancer cells while sparing normal breast tissues.