Breast cancer has new enemy

andrea — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:34:30 +0000

Cynthia Nixon. My Mother. Kylie Minogue. My Grandmother. Sheryl Crow. Christina Applegate. The woman in the grocery store.

All of these women are breast cancer survivors, and there are hundreds of thousands more that could be added to the list. Unfortunately, there are also hundreds of thousands who didn’t win their fight against breast cancer.

That is why scientists continue to search for a cure. Earlier this week, a breast cancer cure was announced.

As we know, cancer comes in many forms and there are many ways to treat it, ranging from chemotherapy to more natural herbal approaches. Regardless, many times they don’t work. The higher the stage of breast cancer, the less likely it is that the cancer can be beat.

For years, cancer has been an unbiased, indiscriminate threat to everyone. The American Cancer Society, through the generosity of fellow Americans, have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to find a cure for cancer. Yearly all over the country, it hosts the Relay for Life, a huge fundraiser for the cure and an emotional one at that.

Still, with all the millions of dollars raised for funding research to end this horrible epidemic, there hasn’t been very much headway.

As a person who lost their father at a very young age to leukemia, when my mother was diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer I began to try to imagine life without her. She quickly began chemotherapy treatments, which made her too sick to go anywhere or walk around. Soon she was completely bald, weak and would check into the hospital almost once a week.

Looking at my mother as she stared back at me, looking almost like an alien with a bald head and black sunken eyes, I became angry at the world for not finding a safer more reliable cure. The chemotherapy was killing her as it had aided in the death of my father.

This week, a new cure was announced.

Scientists from the University of Chicago published their findings in the journal, Cell, that showed that vitamin A can restore a cell to its proper, healthy processes. This means that when a cell is over producing and becoming malignant, this vitamin A derivative can make it stop. This vitamin A product is called retinoic acid and is a natural, proven way to stop cancer cells that are going crazy.

This discovery is especially beneficial for breast cancer patients because this specific acid works the same way as estrogen does to affect cells, just in a positive way.

According to the American Cancer Society, estrogen is responsible for the growth of two of the three forms of breast cancer. The hormone sometimes alters specific genes that can cause cells to become malignant. Retinoic acid also alters genes, but instead of creating an imbalance, it restores balance to the cells while stopping overgrowth.

Natural News reported that the study also showed that the stronger response the tumor gave from the vitamin A derivative, the greater chance of survival and less of a chance of relapse.

If you or someone you know is currently fighting breast cancer, or if you want to learn more about breast cancer, check out the American Cancer Society, or our post What everyone should know about breast cancer.

With this one discovery, maybe your life will be saved.

What everyone should know about breast cancer

andrea — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:55:30 +0000

After struggling with breast cancer for three years, my mother walked the survivors lap in her local Relay for Life with my grandmother. They both were able to beat breast cancer, which makes them luckier than many other women.

May is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but as a woman with breast cancer in her family, I’m constantly aware of the risks that I face in my future.

Over the last two years, I’ve been learning all I can about breast cancer, how to prevent it and what causes it. Don’t think that just because you don’t have a history of breast cancer in your family that you’re not at risk. You are. Every woman is at risk. The lifetime risk of any woman getting breast cancer is 12 percent. Of course there are factors that increase your risk. Even without considering these factors, one out of every eight women will develop breast cancer at some point in her life.

The factors that increase your risks are age, ethnicity, hormone levels and genetics. According to “The Breast Cancer Prevention Cookbook” by Hope Ricciotti, M.D., and Vincent Connelly, women younger than 30 have a slim chance of getting breast cancer. At age 40 the odds increase to one in 217, and over age 50, the odds are one in 50.

As for ethnicity risk factors, Native Americans and Asians have lower rates. According to the National Cancer Institute, African American women have a higher incidence rate than whites and also have a higher mortality rate.

Hormone levels have to do with how long a woman is exposed to estrogen throughout her lifetime. Women who start their period earlier and go through menopause later are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. This is because the tissue in the breast is very sensitive to estrogen. The longer the tissue is exposed to it, the more likely the tissue is to become dense.

The last factor is genetics. According to Connelly and Dr. Ricciotti, about 10 percent of women with breast cancer have strong genetic ties. Most of these cases come from the mutation genes BRCA1 or BRCA2.

Believe me, I’m not saying all of this to scare anyone. We’re actually to be lucky to have had such great medical advances and breakthroughs in technology to keep breast cancer in our control. The best thing to do is to get regular mammograms, regardless of how unpleasant they are. Also, if you’re younger and are worried about your risks of breast cancer, there is a test that you can have to check for the BRCA genes. Just ask your doctor about it.

If you’re not interested in doing either these, something you can do is keep yourself as physically healthy as possible. This includes maintaining a healthy body weight and eating right.

There are some beneficial foods and nutrients to work into your diet to prevent breast cancer. It also should be mentioned that these nutrients are better used through your diet and not by taking a supplement. These foods and nutrients include:
- Olive oil
- Omega-3 fatty acids: You can work omega-3 fatty acids into your diet by increasing the amount of fish that you eat. If you’re not a fishy person, another great way to do this is with flaxseed. You can get flaxseed at your local health food store and you can use it for cooking and baking, (and it actually tastes good). One warning with this is to limit your intake of fish with elevated mercury levels. These include swordfish, fresh tuna and king mackerel. As an added bonus, omega-3 fatty acids also decrease the risk of heart disease.
- Antioxidants: These are good for preventing all kinds of cancers. You probably wouldn’t have to do much or anything at all to work these into your diet. They’re naturally found in many fruits and vegetables (which everyone should be eating daily, right?). There are three sources of antioxidants that are beneficial to decreasing your risks of breast cancer: beta-carotene, vitamin E and vitamin C.
– Beta-carotene can be found in broccoli, cantaloupe, carrots, grapefruit, spaghetti squash, spinach, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and watermelon.
– Vitamin E can be found in nuts, peanut butter, vegetable oils, whole grain breads and cereals and wheat germ.
– Vitamin C can be found in cantaloupe, grapefruits, kiwi, oranges, strawberries and tangerines.

Sounds easy enough, right? It’s really not too hard. If you’re worried about how to incorporate these foods into your daily meals, I suggest picking up “The Breast Cancer Prevention Cookbook,” mentioned previously. I really learned a lot from it. And, of course, there’s always the good ole World Wide Web.

So, Happy Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Know that there are preventative measures you can take. Tell a friend, share a recipe, learn something new, enjoy your life. Most of all, take care of yourself!

26 Magazine » Cancer

Breast cancer has new enemy

What everyone should know about breast cancer