What More Can We Do Now to Prevent Breast Cancer?

 

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 are 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) are the smartest choices we can spend our time and money on.

In this article, in addition to discussing some of the more conventional concepts, we will also examine a few of the more cutting-edge ideas for preventing the devastating illness of breast cancer.   Moreover, I  live in one of most progressive, holistic and open-minded areas of the country.  So reaching beyond mainstream views to more creative ideas on health is one reason why many of us were drawn to the Asheville, NC area.

Before we get into the heart of this discussion, there is one potentially sensitive aspect of this topic that I’d like to address up front. On the flip side of any conversation about prevention, is a subtle but powerful emotion called guilt.  The word “prevention” to someone who has already become ill, sounds too much like “getting sick is my fault”.    So before reviewing what we can do to prevent this disease, I’d like to say to those women who have already developed breast cancer or any other illness for that matter…please don’t feel guilty.  First of all, illness is not always  preventable and secondly: other than the typical suggestions  we read about such as:  don’t  smoke, drink less alcohol, eat healthy fats etc,  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 these 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?

v  Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women in the US and it is the leading cause of death of women between the ages of 40-55.

v  Every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.

v  One woman in 8 who lives to 85 will develop breast cancer at least once during her lifetime.

v  Each year approximately 1 of every 5 women diagnosed will die from this disease

Risk Factors

Although 50% of women who develop breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, there are several risk factors that we know of that increase one’s chances of developing breast cancer.  They are

v  Gender (obviously women develop it more often than men)

v  Age: the older you are, the higher the risk (to a certain age),

v  Family or personal history of breast cancer,

v  Having dense breast tissue,

v  Long term estrogen exposure (meaning you started  menstruation early and or experienced a late menopause),

v  Hormone Replacement Therapy (of the non-bio-identical type)

v  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).

v  Radiation ( including chest xray and mammograms )

v  Heritage Ashkenazi  Jews (1 in every 300-600).

v  A heavy animal based non-organic diet,

v  Environmental pollution

v  Stress,

v  Smoking.

v  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 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.

Regardless of whether 30, 50, or 90% of the time breast cancer is preventable, way too many women are still being diagnosed!  Although most of us are getting screened for early detection either via mammogram and or thermography, as well as monthly self-breast exams, the numbers are telling us something is missing.

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) 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.   Dioxin for instance stimulates receptors on breast cells (in a way that is 1000 x stronger than our body’s own estrogen). Pollutants and synthetic hormones also sit on those receptor sites longer than a natural hormone.   Subsequently, the body has a much harder time eliminating these compounds.

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 utters, the cows are also given antibiotics.  So the resistant bacteria we are seeing that are not responding to even the strongest antibiotics is 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”

American Cancer Society Regarding Fiber: “The links between fiber and cancer risk are weak, but eating these foods is still recommended.”

Compare to Cutting Edge: Dr Resa Johnson (a chiropractor in Asheville who offers nutritional counseling) feels quite strongly that fiber should be an essential component of any comprehensive breast cancer prevention strategy because fiber binds to estrogen in the colon and helps the body eliminate it.  Dr. Johnson recommends organic nuts, seeds, vegetables (especially cruciferous ones), whole grains and fresh ground flax seeds 2-4 tbsp per day as great sources of fiber.   Flax seeds have the added benefit of providing the anti-inflammatory Omega-3 essential fatty acids and the lignans in flax help shift the downstream metabolites of estrogen to healthier breakdown products.

From my perspective, the news about broccoli sprouts should be on the front page of every newspaper and cancer research website. It turns out that they are a powerful source of a cancer- fighting compound called sulforaphane.  When researchers at Johns Hopkins looked at anti-cancer compounds, they found that broccoli sprouts had 30 -50 x more concentration of sulforaphanne than what is in mature broccoli. The usual recommendation is 200-400mcg of sulfuraphane daily from either broccoli sprout extract or ¼ to ½ cup of the sprouts. The benefits of these, says Dr Biddle, can be augmented by adding indole-3-Carbinol or DIM (Di-indolyl-Methane) which also have anti-cancer properties.

American Cancer Society Regarding Hormones: We all have heard by now of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study which showed that daily use of combined HRT (estrogen and synthetic progestins) increases a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer by about 5% to 6% with each year of use.

COMPARE to Cutting Edge: Many naturally-oriented physicians understand that there is a significant difference between synthetic and bio-identical hormones.   Additionally since we need adequate amounts of progesterone (produced by our ovaries during ovulation) to protect us against excess estrogen (which can be damaging to our breast tissue), some of these same physicians are questioning the long term effects of taking birth control pills that interferes with our body’s own production of progesterone.

After menopause our fat cells continue to produce estrogen, but our ovaries stop producing progesterone. So at this stage of a woman’s life (and even earlier for some women) the protective effect of natural progesterone is no longer available.  This may be one reason why post-menopausal women and women with blocked or low progesterone levels may be more prone to breast cancer, and why some forward-thinking researchers and clinicians recommend  bio-identical progesterone to help prevent breast cancer.

Finally, there is more to the hormone story: It turns out the ratio of our stronger estrogens to the weaker ones and the balance of estrogen’s downstream metabolites are relevant factors that many physicians are beginning to examine in relation to women’s predisposition for breast cancer.

According to an article by women’s health educators James and Linda Brenner: “Damage to the cells of the breast does not occur with one assault but rather an accumulation of insults by carcinogens  to DNA before a normal cell is transformed into a cancerous cell.”  So although there is no magic bullet:  limiting our exposure to toxic chemicals and hormone disrupting xenoestrogens,  exercising, consuming a diet high in antioxidants and cruciferous vegetables, watching out for low progesterone levels and de-stressing our body and mind are all key factors for prevention.

We could go on comparing the standard recommendations coming out of cancer institutes versus those from credible cutting-edge health care practitioners  as we look at areas such as:  electro-magnetic fields from cell phones and computers, toxins in dry cleaning products, makeup and household cleaning products, the role of  anti-oxidant supplements such as Resevertrol and Acai berries, the importance of not wearing restrictive bras which constrict  the  lymphatic drainage of toxins from the breast tissue, etc, but  we’ll have to wait for future articles to be able to cover all these important topics.

The current situation is that 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 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.

And finally, let us not forget the importance of listening to our inner guides! Tayria Ward, Ph.D. works in the field of depth psychology at her retreat center near Max Patch, NC  and in private work, listening to and bringing forward those obscured inner voices. ”I have observed that many women diagnosed with breast cancer use the opportunity to re-evaluate their careers, relationships and life circumstances, and often find they have been putting off changing situations that stress them and keep them from fulfilling their truest desires. Why wait for an illness to make these changes? If the psyche or spirit is listened to and it’s promptings are valued, life changes are a natural result, stress is reduced and health increases at every level,”

Wendy, a now healthy breast cancer survivor and patient coordinator at Asheville Integrative Medicine puts it all in perspective:  ”The advice I share with women, (and I wish I had prior to beginning my journey with cancer) is: to trust yourself and take care of your body and mind.  I wish I knew then what I know now about the importance of eating lots of organic raw fruits, sprouts and vegetables and the healing power of juicing.  Asheville has incredible holistic physicians who work with you to optimize your health and we have a great raw food community offering meet- ups to teach and encourage the role of raw foods in preventing illness. The best strategy I know for preventing cancer or any illness is to listen closely to your inner guide and take care of your body and mind by doing what makes you happy.”

Tagged as: Preventing Breast Cancer