A mammogram is not nearly enough
24 Oct
The Wellness Bitch is excited to welcome to the blog today Maureen McDonnell, a registered nurse with a strong interest in helping reverse the escalating number of children affected by chronic illnesses. After coordinating the Defeat Autism Now! Conferences for ten years, Maureen joined forces with Jill Urwick to form “Saving Our Kids, Healing Our Planet.” Her post is a real WAKE UP CALL for women, and men who love women, this Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
By Maureen H. McDonnell R.N.
I know some people like to wait until all the medical research has been done, the evidence is indisputable, and their physician conveys guidelines endorsed by the American Cancer Society or the AMA before making any changes to their lifestyle or diet.
Personally, I don’t have the time or the inclination to wait! Not when 1 in every 8-9 women is developing breast cancer, and not when good friends, colleagues and neighbors are being diagnosed way too frequently.
My sister (who has lost several close friends to breast cancer) lamented recently “it’s not a matter of ‘if’ anymore, it’s a matter of ‘when!’” Being Irish, stubborn, and a strong believer in the idea that there’s always more we can learn and do to optimize our health, I refuse to accept this doomsday philosophy. Knowledge about health is power, and being proactive about preventing illness (even when we and our physicians don’t have all the answers) is the smartest choice we can spend our time and money on.
Before I review what we can do to prevent breast cancer, I’d like to say to those women who have already developed the disease …Please don’t feel guilty. First of all, illness is not always preventable and second, other than the typical suggestions we read about (such as don’t smoke, drink less alcohol, eat healthy fats), much of the information that is coming out now for preventing breast cancer we just didn’t have access to a short time ago.
Additionally, despite billions of dollars spent on research, the medical establishment still doesn’t know the exact causes of breast cancer nor do they understand the specific interplay between genetic factors, environmental toxicity, hormones and diet and why some women are more vulnerable than others.
What comes to mind when you think about breast cancer prevention besides monthly self-breast exams and routine mammograms?
I, too, had to think for a moment when I asked myself that question. Because although the above screening techniques are essential methods for early detection of an already existing tumor (and therefore can improve the prognosis), they only find the abnormality or problem once it occurs. They don’t actually prevent breast cancer.
Given the current statistics, the question that begs to be answered is: What more can we do to prevent breast cancer from forming in the first place?
Let’s look at risk factors.
Although 50% of women who develop breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, there are several that we know of that increase one’s chances of developing breast cancer.
- Gender (obviously women develop it more often than men)
- Age: the older you are, the higher the risk (to a certain age),
- Family or personal history of breast cancer
- Having dense breast tissue,
- Long term estrogen exposure (meaning you started menstruation early and or experienced a late menopause),
- Hormone Replacement Therapy (of the non-bio-identical type)
- Not carrying pregnancy to term (When a woman carries to term, she has higher levels of progesterone in the last 2 trimesters which cause breast cells to mature. The more mature breast cells are, the less likely they are to develop cancer).
- Radiation ( including chest xray and mammograms )
- Heritage Ashkenazi Jews (1 in every 300-600).
- A heavy animal based non-organic diet
- Environmental pollution
- Stress
- Smoking
- Genetics: BRCA-1 gene mutation: > risk by 57% risk BRCA 2: > risk by 49%
Sounds a bit dismal, but here’s the good news:
The American Cancer Society says that 33 percent of all cancers are related to diet and physical activity issues. Other studies, however, have found that 50 percent of cancers are preventable with regular exercise and healthy eating habits. An even more optimistic view comes from Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn, MD, an integrative physician from Greensboro, NC who estimates up to 90% of cancers are preventable.
Part of the problem lies in the fact that the information coming out of our leading cancer institutes such as the American Cancer Society is too vague and focused on early detection and not prevention.
It’s time for women to look beyond these conventional guidelines to more cutting-edge research and concepts in order to develop effective strategies for preventing this illness. Let’s examine the difference between these two perspectives by comparing a few of the suggestions from the American Cancer Society with recommendations from credible alternative/progressive health care providers who advocate prevention.
Statements from the American Cancer Society regarding chemicals, pesticides and the relevance of organic and genetically modified food:
“Whether or not environmental chemicals that have estrogen-like properties (such as those found in some plastic bottles or certain cosmetics and personal care products) increase breast cancer risk is not clear at this time. If there is an increased risk, it is likely to be very small. Pesticides and herbicides can be toxic when used improperly in industrial, agricultural, or other occupational settings. Although vegetables and fruits sometimes contain low levels of these chemicals, overwhelming scientific evidence supports the overall health benefits and cancer-protective effects of eating vegetables and fruits. At present, there is no evidence that residues of pesticides and herbicides at the low doses found in foods increase the risk of cancer, but fruits and vegetables should be washed thoroughly before eating.”
“No convincing evidence has shown that any additive at these levels causes human cancers.”
“At this time, no research exists to demonstrate whether (organic) foods are more effective in reducing cancer risk than are similar foods produced by other farming methods.”
“There is no evidence at this time that the substances found in bio-engineered (GMO) foods…. are harmful or that they would either increase or decrease cancer risk because of the added genes.”
Cutting Edge Approach: Compare this information with the concepts taught by James Biddle, MD (an integrative physician in Asheville, N.C.) in his presentation on breast health when he explained that there are over 80,000 chemicals in use in the US and less than 12% have been tested for safety in humans. Some of these chemicals are referred to as Xeno-estrogens (or “alien”) because they mimic our own estrogen in their capability to stimulate estrogen receptors in a dangerous way.
Unlike the weak statement from the American Cancer Society, Dr. Biddle strongly suggests that women reduce their exposure to toxins (by using green cleaning and personal care products) and eating organically to avoid the damaging effects on breast tissue from hormone disrupting chemicals.
In addition to recommending adequate protein, he emphasizes the importance of eating more like a vegetarian (5 servings of veggies and fruit per day) along with healthy Omega 3 fats (flax oil, fish oil etc), high fibrous foods like whole grains and especially cruciferous vegetables including Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale. He also suggests eating foods that have a lower glycemic-index (to avoid blood sugar spikes which can trigger an inflammatory response).
It’s most important to eat organic dairy, Dr. Biddle, says because “every non-organic cow in this country has an estrogen pellet under the skin of its ear to get a 10 fold increase in milk production. The cows also excrete that estrogen into the milk. To prevent infections of the udders, the cows are also given antibiotics. So the resistant bacteria we are seeing that are not responding to even the strongest antibiotics are not just coming from antibiotics that physicians prescribe for humans, it’s due to the fact that 70-90% of the antibiotics used in the US are given to livestock.” (The overuse of antibiotics…that’s another article!)
Elizabeth Vaughn, MD suggests that the connection between toxins and breast cancer can’t be overemphasized: “Breast Cancer is the final stage of years of ongoing damage to the breasts from exposure to toxins and an impaired or overwhelmed immune system.”
The organizations we have placed in charge of our health are not responding quickly enough to the urgent need for cancer prevention solutions, and the recommendations they do give women are in many cases too weak, too vague, and too mainly focused on early detection. It is up to us to reach beyond mainstream recommendations and seek out physicians, researchers and sources of information that emphasize prevention. As women, we need to be better informed and proactive in our self-care so that more of us, as well as our sisters, mothers, daughters, aunts and friends, will be spared from developing this devastating disease.
This article is excerpted with permission from the author from “What More Can We Do Now to Prevent Breast Cancer?” originally published on www.sokhop.com
You say WHAT?!