There is so much awful news and information out there about breast cancer. These days it seems that every magazine, newspaper, radio show, and piece of mail has a headline declaring that every woman's risk of developing breast cancer is increasing. There is a numbing feeling of inevitability in all this information we hear and read that more and more women tend to think about breast cancer as a 'when' rather than an if.
There is so much frightening information about the disease out there. The stats available are horrible and this bring one major question to mind; 'what can be done to prevent breast cancer?' The bulk of medical advancement in the area of breast and indeed most cancers, involves what should be done after, and not essentially before, getting the disease. There is more to preventing breast cancer than the ritual yearly mammogram. Of course this may help detect the breast cancer at its early stage, but that is about the best it can do. It won't prevent you from getting the disease. To prevent breast cancer, we need to be more proactive, we need to take individual and collective action.
The first step towards proactively preventing breast cancer is to understand the causes and risk factors of breast cancer and what decreases breast cancer risk. However, there are few conclusive answers to these queries, partly because most research focuses on eliminating breast cancer after - not before - it occurs. Medical research has validated so few risk factors for breast cancer that almost 70 percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer are not associated with any clear cut risk factor.
To make matters worse, our sex, age, reproductive history, family history, exposure to radiation (such as fallout from above-ground atomic bomb tests), race, culture, and height are factors beyond our control. When we're told that these factors play crucial roles in the cause of breast cancer, we can be left with feelings of hopelessness and panic. For instance, being a black woman or being from a family with history of breast cancer, puts you in the forefront of those at risk of breast cancer. These are things we don't decide for ourselves.
When we include risk factors that are considered not well substantiated, but which are clearly contributing to breast cancer incidence, including ingestion of and exposure to prescription hormones, hormone-mimicking organochlorines, prescription drugs, petrochemicals, and electromagnetic fields, as well as unwise lifestyle choices such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol immoderately, wearing tight bras, or not exercising, then we can find that there are indeed many ways we can reduce our chances of getting breast cancer and in essence preventing it.
Individually, we can prevent breast cancer by buying and eating organically grown food, filtering our water, building powerful immunity, living wisely and vigorously, being in touch with our breasts, using natural remedies for menopausal problems.
Try out the following tips:
- Aerobic exercise 3-4 times a week
- Maintaining a positive mental attitude
- Breathwork and deepening body-awareness
- Expressing your feelings to keep your energy flowing
- Eating healthy foods and taking the right supplements
- Avoiding toxicity
Try as much as you can to avoid the following and you will be as far from breast cancer as you humanly can:
Any medication containing acetaminophen
Products such as Tylenol, Sudafid, Bromo seltzer, vicodin, and many others which drive down the glutathione levels in the body. Glutathione is an essential antioxidant and detoxifier.
Aspartame (not to be confused with aspertate) has been proven to cause cancer in rats. It is a common ingredient in many no-sugar products such as yogurt, ice cream, desserts and carbonated beverages. Splenda is also harmful.
Toxins. Use toxin-free, organic products. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly with soapy water to remove chemical residues. Better yet, buy only organic products and non-GMO (non-genetically modified) foods. Read labels (veggies and fruit will have an 9 to indicate organic and an 8 for non-GMO).
Active computer screens should be at least 18 inches away from your body. You need to be at least 36 inches from your active television screens.
It is obvious that several factors that are known to predispose someone to breast cancer are not completely within our control. It makes more sense therefore, to be very keen about your breast. This serves a dual function. Even when it does not completely protect you from cancer, it allows for early detection of the cancer when it does occur. No one knows your body as well as you do. That's why it's essential to examine your breasts at the same time every month - so you can detect any changes that might occur. When you do the self-examination, you are reassuring yourself that your body is still in great condition
Breast Self Exams still remain the number one method for detecting changes in breast health. Although, finding any symptoms does not really mean you have cancer but when you have it, early detection means your survival probability is very high. Very high! It also means you have a broad range of alternative and complementary treatment options.
When we talk about breast cancer, the second worst killer after lung cancer, knowledge is not just power, it is your life!
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Breast Cancer
