Every October, pink paraphernalia blooms everywhere: car magnets, bracelets, coffee mugs, and even one-of-a-kind outfits. October is breast cancer awareness month. With a lifetime incidence of cancer of 1 in 8, everyone knows someone who has had, been treated for, or died of breast cancer. Honoring loved ones and celebrating survivors feels rewarding temporarily, but we honor them best in the long run by taking meaningful action that will help many down the road. That’s why I’m writing this brief review and research-based strategy as a way to say thank you to everyone who has ever helped a loved one overcome cancer or remembered them after a heartbreaking loss. This paper is a gift that you can send to whoever needs it. Some medical “experts” may disagree with me, but I won’t let that cloud my resolve. I speak from scientific knowledge and first-hand experience.
I am a survivor of chemotherapy, radiation and bilateral mastectomy, as I like to say. These can often be more deadly than cancer. I was diagnosed with stage III lobular carcinoma of the right breast in 2002, after many regular mammograms, “doing everything right” except sleep deprivation, and considered myself triumphant against all odds after my mother succumbed to the disease. Today I am healthier than ever. My mother was not so lucky: after a second cancer diagnosis around her 48th birthday, she bravely endured the accelerating downward spiral of terminal cancer for 9 long years.
The long-term survival statistics for breast cancer, despite decades and billions of dollars of research and years of “cure races,” are still not very encouraging. While the official word is that breast cancer deaths are declining, the reality is very different: Because chemotherapy damages the immune system, breast cancer patients often have a diagnosis of a second cancer, not just one. recurrence or metastasis of breast cancer. It is that second cancer that medical authorities associate with the patient’s death, not the breast cancer treatment that destroyed her immune system in the first place.
After my treatment, recovery, and experience of restored health, I can speak with no small authority. We can do a lot about breast cancer, but conventional thinking about it is wrong.
Last fall, Laura Bush was interviewed at the White House after lighting it up pink (outdoors, no less) in honor of breast cancer awareness month. While I admire her willingness to talk about her for her sake, I was dismayed by her message: Get a mammogram and have every woman you love get one too. She ONLY emphasized the value of early detection. The problem is that mammography is radiation, and recent studies show that it contributes to cancer. Newer practitioners are very concerned about radiation exposure.
Not only that, but many women like me (or like me before!) have dense breast tissue, and mammography often reveals no tumors in that tissue. Also, certain forms of cancer, like lobular, about 15% of cases, including mine, are impossible to detect early because they don’t form well-defined tumors until later stages. Mammography can give women a false sense of security that they can continue with unhealthy lifestyles and not have to worry about breast cancer. That is, until it’s too late.
Prevention, not frequent mammography, should be the emphasis. And for those who have been treated, rebuilding the immune system should be a lifelong goal.
I’ve been reading research since before I was diagnosed in 2002, and I want to pass on what I’ve learned to you and your loved ones.
1. You can take meaningful steps to avoid breast cancer, and all women can take them:
o Get enough sleep (easier said than done!). Studies show that this is a risk factor for breast cancer. The body and the immune system need daily recovery and repair.
o Get plenty of sun and vitamin D. Studies show that vitamin D, up to 5,000 units daily, is necessary for proper immune function. The RDA of 400 units is woefully inadequate.
o Support your liver. Studies show an increased risk of breast cancer after prolonged alcohol use. What they’re not telling you is how medications, like the seemingly harmless Tylenol®, can harm you. You can protect and restore your liver with a number of herbs and by limiting medications and alcohol.
o Maintain a normal body weight.
or Exercise. Cardiovascular exercise at least in moderation (but without overtraining) stimulates the immune system.
o Complement your health:
– Try flax seed oil, which may reduce the risk of breast cancer.
– Selenium and turmeric have tumor suppressing benefits.
– IP-6, an inositol-based substance, can increase natural killer cells in the body (those that attack mutated cells) by up to 300%.
– Nucleic acids, like RNA, help correct errors in cell replication and should be seriously considered by anyone at risk due to age or genetics.
These strategies are not expensive or time consuming. However, ingrained patterns of behavior are resistant to change.
2. If you have been treated for cancer with chemotherapy or radiation, you MUST rebuild your immune system.
Chemotherapy and radiation kill both healthy cells and cancer cells. They impair the body’s ability to resist another attack and hinder the natural process of identifying and killing cancer/mutated cells. The reason long-term survival rates for breast cancer appear to be improving is because thousands of women are diagnosed with another cancer within years of cancer treatment, and that second cancer is counted as the cause. immediate death. When immune systems are compromised, the body cannot defend itself against further attacks. In addition, many women find that their brains no longer work as well as they did before chemotherapy: this condition is known as “chemo brain,” or chemotherapy-induced cognitive impairment. The good news is that you can recover and it can help your immune system.
o Follow ALL of the above recommendations, with stricter adherence to the plan, and:
o Avoid soy and plastics (they emit gases). These can have undesirable estrogenic effects on the body.
o Drink filtered spring water, not tap water, which has added fluoride and chlorine.
o Restore your digestive system, which also affects immunity, by taking a broad-spectrum probiotic.
o Address your stress. If you had a stressful life before your cancer diagnosis, don’t go back into it.
o Add more immune-enhancing supplements like quercetin, magnesium, vitamin C, and a cordyceps mushroom complex.
o See a licensed complementary medicine practitioner and have your thyroid and adrenal functions evaluated. Chiropractic can also help in the healing process.
The mind is powerful. Healing and recovery begin in the mind and spirit. Believing that you can recover helps motivate you. Visualizing your new, revitalized body and mind can create new experiences that will enrich your life, not just extend it.