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The best breast cancer treatment is prevention.
In my own humble opinion, much more should be done about stopping this disease in the first place. My views have been shaped by my own breast cancer scare, as well as by other women’s stories. One of the most enlightening books I’ve ever read was Knockout, written by actress Suzanne Somers.
She presents eye-opening interviews with leading cancer doctors. The reader is left with the clear impression that women are being short changed. Cutting-edge therapies that don’t involve radiation or toxic drugs are not widely available in the United States. Most people don’t know about them.
Instead, there’s a lot of focus on detection. Mammography is heavily promoted. But these x-rays don’t thwart the disease. Instead, they’re designed to catch an early cancer, in the hopes it will be more treatable.
After watching a loved one endure a grueling treatments, which didn’t work, I’m outraged that effective, non-toxic therapies aren’t being discussed.
Are There Some Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer is devastating. Patients undergo invasive and controversial tests. During an assessment period, a woman who’s diagnosed will probably have one or more mammograms. Some natural health experts believe this procedure can cause a small, encapsulated tumor to migrate elsewhere, since the breast is compressed and flattened.
Fearing for her survival, she’ll also need to choose between two types of surgery. Both are disfiguring, although mastectomy is much more so.
She may elect to have a lumpectomy, followed by radiation. Being treated with radiation is not without risk. Since the tumor is purportedly gone, the remaining healthy tissue will be irradiated on the premise that stray cancer cells will be killed.
Or will they? A study published in the medical journal Cancer shows that radiation may cause cancer to grow 30 times faster.
Radiation is often coupled with chemotherapy. Again, there’s disturbing information this therapy, as well, may result in a more aggressive malignancy. Researchers now know that healthy cells exposed to common chemotherapeutic agents may secrete a protein that makes it harder to kill cancerous cells.
Is There Anything You Can Do to Prevent Breast Cancer?
Every women should know what she’s up against. Breast cancer is an epidemic. Currently, 1 in 8 of us will develop the disease.
If safe and effective treatments existed, no one would worry about breast cancer. That’s because it wouldn’t take so many lives. This year, in the United States alone, upwards of 246,000 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and about 40,000 will die from it.
Knockout Cancer Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers survived breast cancer. Later, she was mistakenly diagnosed with metastatic “full body” cancer. But she was convinced her doctors were wrong. At the time, she was very invested in natural health. A recent test had showed her immune system was in peak shape.
She’s since written a book called Knockout. It’s one of the best resources I’ve found. I read it cover to cover, shortly after my own cancer scare. It is filled with advice on living a lifestyle designed to keep the disease away. It contains extensive interviews with integrative cancer specialists who practice in the United States.
You can also read accounts of people who’ve recovered, even when things look grim, including the story of one women with pancreatic cancer. After being treated by a famous specialist, she recovered.
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Can You Prevent Getting Breast Cancer?
To say that breast cancer is life-changing is an understatement. This is why more should be done to prevent it.
In an instant, based upon lab results, a woman’s life is turned upside down. She quickly transitions from wife, mother and friend to cancer patient. If she works, she’ll probably either need to stop or take an extended leave of absence.
Surgery is usually the first course of action. Increasingly, this is followed by aggressive chemotherapy, especially if she is young. These toxic drugs have unpleasant side effects, including nausea, vomiting, hair loss and death. Short of that, she can also suffer major organ damage, even if she survives the cancer.
Chemotherapy for breast cancer, typically, is highly debilitating. During these six to eight “cycles,” a woman may not be able to take care of herself or her family. She’ll look different. Her head will be bald, and her face will be swollen from the steroids added to her pharmaceutical cocktail. These drugs depress her immune system and may also cause depression and insomnia.
All of this discomfort and inconvenience, of course, is set against a backdrop of uncertainty. Survival is not guaranteed. Many women undergo aggressive treatment, only to discover their cancer has returned, this time with a vengeance.
Are There Some Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer?
Clearly, we want to avoid facing the scenario just described above. Part of the reason breast cancer is feared so much is because current treatments are so primitive. Also, with advanced disease, they’re largely ineffective.
Because I’m not a doctor, I can’t give medical advice. Nor can I promise you that there are steps you can take to prevent this disease, or that any books or products will keep you cancer free. But I can share information, based on published research, which seems to show that cancer is preventable.
If you have any health concerns, please discuss them with your doctor. Never neglect getting medical treatment because of something you might have read on this site.
Organic Eating to Prevent Cancer
Mainstream doctors do tell us to eat fruits and vegetables. But they usually don’t say we should eat organic produce.
There’s some evidence that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally farmed produce.
Eating organic also means you’ll avoid pesticides and herbicides, some of which are known endocrine disruptors. Because they mimic estrogen, it raises concerns they could fuel breast cancer. Toxic pesticides also make your liver and kidneys work harder to flush these chemicals out of your system.
The late Dr. Jozsef Beres, PhD., a brilliant Hungarian researcher, also believed that chemical fertilizers can cause cancer. He noted this disease, in his country, increased when farmers moved away from organic methods of growing vegetables.
Organic Vegetables and Cancer
Chemical fertilizers, he theorized, results in an unhealthy shift in the nutrient composition. Consequently, according to his theory, unless we buy organic produce, we’re eating food that’s deficient in a number of micro-nutrients. These trace minerals help keep us healthy.
To test his theory, he developed a formula known as Beres Drops. This supplies the nutrients once found in healthy, composted soil. In his clinical work, Dr. Beres found these drops often reversed cancer. This formula is now a popular European dietary supplement. Please understand I’m not suggesting Beres Drops is a cure for cancer. I’m only sharing historical information on this product.
Beres Drops Dietary Supplement
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Can Organic Food Prevent Cancer?
Organic food, by definition, is not genetically modified.
If you live in the United States, it’s difficult keeping GMOs out of your diet. But you may want to, after learning about a ground-breaking French study.
Most corn grown here is sprouted from genetically modified seeds. Consequently, a number of countries around the globe, including Russia and Peru, have banned American corn imports, over fears that it poses a health risk to their populations.
Very little research has been done on the health effects of genetically modified corn. But a team of French researchers from the University of Caen have sounded the alarm. They’ve found that laboratory rats developed large mammary tumors, the human equivalent of breast cancer, after eating genetically modified feed.
Lead author Gilles-Eric Seralini, PhD., has criticized American research for testing animals, but not following them long enough to see if they developed tumors.
The majority of corn, soy and canola oil sold in the United States is genetically modified. You can also find GM sugar beets and zucchini.
Can Vitamin D Prevent Breast Cancer?
The evidence is mounting that having adequate levels of Vitamin D in your bloodstream can greatly reduce the likelihood of developing breast cancer. Both mainstream medical doctors and alternative health practitioners are in agreement on this.
However, there is great debate over how best to achieve the recommended levels of this vitamin, crucial for the effective functioning of our immune systems. Sunlight is our best source of Vitamin D. But we’re also told to avoid the sun and to use sunscreen. In recent decades, though, when sunscreen use has been popular, the incidence of both breast cancer and skin cancer have reached historic highs.
People who are concerned about having adequate levels of Vitamin D are urged to work with their doctors. If a low level is discovered, supplements are often recommended.
Can Iodine Prevent Breast Cancer?
There is growing evidence that iodine deficiency could be linked to breast cancer.
Dr. David Brownstein, MD, is one of the leading voices stressing the importance of having enough iodine in our diets. The body needs this element to manufacture thyroid hormones, which control many of our bodily functions. As reported elsewhere, Dr. Brownstein treats his patients with supplemental iodine.
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Can Dairy Products Cause Breast Cancer?
The idea that dairy products may contribute to breast cancer is revolutionary one. But many health experts, especially those practicing alternative medicine, believe that cow’s milk is highly inflammatory, and that inflammation is the root cause of all disease.
There are also a handful of studies suggesting that breast cancer patients, or those wishing to avoid the disease, might need to rethink their milk drinking habits.
One large study in particular, conducted by Kaiser-Permanente, found that breast cancer patients who consumed dairy products were twice as likely to die from their disease, compared to a similar group of dairy-free patients.
British scientist Dr. Jane Plant, PhD., is a leading advocate of a milk-free approach. She cured her own recurring breast cancer by cutting all dairy out of her diet.
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Repressed Emotions and Breast Cancer
Most alternative health practitioners firmly believe that it’s impossible to separate the mind from the body, and that stress and negative emotions can ruin our health. Some naturopathic doctors even think that low-level stress and traumatic events are a leading cause of cancer and other serious illness.
Those in the mainstream medical world are coming around to this line of thought as well. Stress is not good for us and we need to reduce it as much as we can.
Some people try to reduce stress with the Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT. Some people simply refer to it as “tapping.” What is means is that you tap on your body’s meridians while thinking positive thoughts and giving yourself “permission” to release any negatively stored in your body.
I’ve tried this myself, and and it does seem to relieve tension.
Photo Credit: billionphotos.com/Bigstock.com
Disclaimer
These statements have not been approved by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. All information here is presented for discussion only. The author is not responsible for treatment decisions or outcome.
For Additional Reading
Radiation Makes Breast Cancer Cells Stronger
