A new “awareness” about breast cancer

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and pink ribbons are everywhere to remind people to be aware of breast cancer.

Walks, runs, and other events are conducted to increase everyone’s awareness.

I might sound cynical, but all of this “awareness” has gotten us absolutely nowhere in terms of successfully preventing breast cancer from occurring.

While incidence rates decreased up to seven percent in the early 2000s, (when the truth came out about synthetic hormone replacement), the rates have remained stable since about 2003.

One in eight women still is at risk of getting the disease in her lifetime.

And according to the American Cancer Society, about 270,000 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer during 2016, and about 41,000 will die from it.

Clearly, we need to make a drastic shift in what we’re aware of, and that needs to be a shift toward…

Prevention of breast cancer!
Screening technology can get more sophisticated, advances in surgical procedures can continue to be achieved, but they both only address breast cancer once it has occurred!

And even if you are fortunate enough to have breast cancer detected at an early stage and successfully treated, the fact remains that your body has been an environment where cancer has flourished…and unless you do something to change that, it may show its face again in the future.

Let’s look at what cancer really is, and ways that you can dramatically slash your risk.

It’s no mystery
Cancer is not the mystery that it seems to be.  It’s actually quite simple.

With cancer, the DNA becomes damaged in one or more of your cells.  The cell begins to act erratically and reproduce itself WAY too quickly, forming a tumor.

Plus the rate of natural cell death (apoptosis) for the damaged cells decreases which allows the tumor to flourish.

This DNA damage can be the result of toxins in food or the environment, cigarette smoke, or exposure to other carcinogens.  Genetic mutations are also a possibility, especially mutations to the BRCA-1, BRCA-2 or p53 genes.

However, since only five to eight percent of breast cancers are related to genetic mutations, it’s not a death sentence if you do have one.  There is a lot you can do to fight genetics, and how healthy your lifestyle is determined which of your genes lie dormant and which are triggered into action.

Damage does not mean diagnosis
Having DNA damage in your breast cells is not a guarantee that you'll develop breast cancer.

Because you also have to provide the right body environment for it to thrive.

And that cancer-friendly environment is created when you:

• Have weak immune system functioning
• Are low in essential nutrients
• Have inflammation in your cells and
• Have an acidic blood pH

This is where you can make a tremendous difference in whether or not you will be among the one out of eight women who will face the disease!

Here’s how:

1- Beef up your immune system
A healthy immune system detects and engulfs cancer cells and destroys them, so clearly you don’t want to be without its protection.

Five of the best ways you can boost your immune function are to:

• Avoid refined carbs, sugars, and sodas
• Supplement with a top-notch, multi-strain probiotic formula
• Reduce stress
• Get enough sleep
• Use antibiotics only if absolutely necessary

2- Correct nutrient deficiencies

Both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society estimate that at least 35 percent of all cancers are diet-related.

Having a nutritious whole foods diet is a MUST here.  Plus a complete multi-vitamin formula with antioxidant support can help ensure all of your nutrient bases are covered.

3- Get omega-3 essential fatty acids
Cancer is an inflammatory process, and Omega-3 fatty acids are Nature’s perfect anti-inflammatory.

Plus Omega-3 EFAs have been shown to help stop cancerous growth and metastasis by actually halting the nourishing blood supply to the tumor!

Fatty fish like wild salmon is a good source of Omega-3 fatty acids, but if you’re not a fish fan or just want to make sure your body has what it needs, a pharmaceutical grade fish oil formula can help.

4-   Keep your pH slightly alkaline
Your body was designed to function optimally in an environment where you have a slightly alkaline blood pH (about 7.365).

But a swing into the acid range can make your cells and tissues unable to function properly, and that can include the development of cancer.  Studies have shown cancer thrives in an acidic environment, but cannot survive in an alkaline environment.

Drinking enough water, avoiding refined carbs, and concentrating on fresh fruits and vegetables are key to a healthy pH.  Also, keep the booze under control and limit your consumption to one or two glasses.

Rethink mammograms too
Mammograms only detect cancer once it has occurred--they do nothing to prevent it.

And even if you have a negative mammogram, you don’t necessarily have a clean bill of health—you still might have breast cancer, but the tumor just isn’t large enough to be detected.

Plus studies show that mammograms are frequently incorrect (about 20 percent false negatives and 20-50 percent false positives), and they expose you to dangerous cancer-causing ionizing radiation!
A much safer, proactive approach is thermography.

Thermography doesn’t provide an “internal picture” like a mammogram. Instead, it measures the infrared heat emitted by your body and translates that information into thermal images.

Thermography can detect signs of physiological changes due to inflammation and/or tumor-related blood flow up to 8-10 years before mammography or a physical exam can detect a mass!

I encourage you to discuss thermography with your doctor.  I use thermography and will never have another mammogram.  Unfortunately, it is not covered by insurance, but the cost is around $150-$200.

Focus your breast cancer “awareness” where it really matters most—PREVENTION!