Topic: Cause of cancer

graceths ~  I've just skimmed the article, and while I'm not refuting it, I think it's awfully simplistic.  I for one have always been very active and never overweight.  I've always eaten a very wholesome, natural diet, and supplemented with high quality nutritional products.  I use only natural cleaning products (no chemicals), have never smoked, and drank no more than an occasional glass of wine.  I lived in the mountains (Vail, Aspen) for years, so had an abundance of clean air and water -- and I still developed breast cancer.  What this article fails to mention, and what I think is far more dangerous are the hormones women are prescribed throughout our lifetime -- from birth control pills to HRT.  Oh, and stress.  I think those 2 things are mega factors that were totally overlooked in this article. 

I know when I was first dx'd, I would be in a supermarket and notice terribly unhealthy looking women with shopping carts full of soft drinks and potato chips and mostly packaged foods -- things I never ate -- and I just thought it was so unfair, because they didn't get bc; I did.  And for the most part, the women I've met who are also fighting bc are neither overweight nor unhealthy.  In fact, many of them are extremely fit.  So while I think it's always better to be as healthy as possible, I just don't buy the notion that you can prevent cancer -- especially bc, which is what I know most about -- entirely with lifestyle choices.  Maybe diabetes and in some cases heart disease, but not bc. 

On the other hand, having fought bc now, I believe and hope that some further lifestyle changes I've made will help me prevent a recurrence -- starting with getting the excess hormones out of my body, and including enough serious exercise to have lost 8 lbs. from my already-slim frame.  But I feel like what I'm doing now is kind of above and beyond what most people consider a healthy lifestyle, and definitely more hard core than the recommendations in this article.  JMHO ... Deanna

I would not even bother.  When I was first diagnosed I remember sitting in my doctor's office going over these theatrical statements about risk factors.  My risk factor - having boobs and being female........ that is the number one!

Lifestyle factors do play a huge role, but I definitely think that hormones are the key for many of us. I have never been overweight, have been fit and healthy in every other way my whole life. Maybe I didn't eat quite as many fruits and vegetables as I should have, but I certainly ate far better than almost everyone I know. Yet, I was was the one to get cancer. I agree too, Deanna. I would be at the grocery store and see what people were buying and think... this is all just so unfair.

I think you're also on the mark, Deanna, regarding the hormones and stress. I'm pretty sure the major risk factor for me was the 18+ years I was on birth control pills, coupled with lack of vitamin D, too many hormones from dairy products, and some super stressful things that happened in my life just prior to my diagnosis. They say that one episode of stress can flood our body with more hormones than all the hormone laced beef you can swallow.  Here's another interesting thing. I read about one oncologist who says that every single woman in his practice who had breast cancer also had root canals. Interesting if there is a possible link. I had a root canal about 5 years prior to my diagnosis.Hmm.  It's quite a tangled web of possibilities. You can go crazy thinking about it.  

 DeAnn

I am 31 and weigh 99 pounds. I have always been thin. I have been eating well and have stayed fit since 18. I started exercising regularly and lifting weight after graduating high school. I drink wine occassionally.I have never had a root canal. No family history of breast cancer. I have been super healthy all my life. Basically, according to this article I should never had gotten cancer. But I did. And I don't sit here wondering why. I did take birth control but so did my Mom and sisters. As my doctor told me it was the luck of the draw. So I will continue to eat red meat on occassion, as well as wine, cheese and milk. The way I see it my family eats and drinks the same things and none of them have cancer so it isn't going to stop me from having what they have.

Considering that they have found cancer in mummies and fossil, I wouldn't put too much credence into the theory that it is a "modern" disease.

So true Pitanga.  Our ancestors have died for many "causes unknown" or have died from something else like a heart attack and probably had cancer as another underlying disease since yearly physicals were not done routinely as they are now.  Sometimes we criticize modern medicine; however, ppl are living much longer lives also increasing the cost of healthcare [another topic].  How many of us would have been survivors only as recent as 10 years ago?

No worries, Vilma! I totally get your point, and that is kind of what I was getting at in my post, but didn't do a very good job of it. That there are lots of possibilities and nobody really knows for sure. You could point to things all day long and still not know the answer.

Good point, Pitanga. Maybe we are just living a whole lot longer now and we have more opportunities to develop cancer. 

I guess maybe I like thinking that it boils down to nutrition and lifestyle because that is something I  have control over. The whole random crapshoot is the scary part.

Ah well. I'm just trying to live a day at a time and be thankful for each day.  I do feel better since I changed my dietary and exercise habits, so even if it doesn't prevent cancer, I at least feel better each day. No more seasonal allergies, and I am so very thankful for that!  Of course, now that snow has arrived in my part of the country, I wouldn't have had to put up with them for too long!

DeAnn

I think I didnt finish my though process in that post.

What I was trying to get at is that because of wanting to stay in control, it is tempting to try to find a way of feeling in control of the disease we are facing, even if it is an illusion.

Vilma, I dont think I understand what you meant. You gave more reasons why we feel out of control. To me that sounds perfectly in agreement with what I said. But it sounded like you are disagreeing? Or is there something I am not getting?

Absolutely! and try though I might to surrender myself to the idea of changing what I can and accepting the inevitability of the rest, the gray area between the one and the other is the source of a whole lot of angst.  

I'm waiting for the sister study to start showing results.  In my mind it's not so much about what we did to get here, it's all about what they're doing that keeps them out of places like this.  My sister once mentioned to me that she ate one apple every day at work for 25 years.  I was thinking about that recently when I saw some research about apples. 

My next thought was nah, apples keeping BC away?  Anyway my sister has 2 sisters with BC and there she still is, free of this disease at age 74.  Just in case, I've been eating an apple a day too.  What the heck. 

You know, you got me thinking.  It seems like perfectly healthy kids get cancer for no apparent reason and we are much older and have been exposed to more things. 

It was interesting to me that at my 25 th high school reununion, there were 30 girls in my class.  Four of us have had breast cancer already.  One of us has had 4 types of primary cancer in her body.  And another girl has lupus.  And that's just the people we know about. 

I too lived pretty healthy, not overweight etc.... no famly hx although my dad had prostate and my uncle melanoma.  My personal theory is farm chemical -- possibly in water?  Or maybe birth control pills ( progesterone type that I took for endometriosis), also maybe exposure to chlorine chemicals at work as another gal I worked with got BC at same time as me?  Or maybe I was a DES baby-- my OBgyn said I had a misshaped uterus.... or maybe a combo of all of these things. 

I think it is valuable to me is ask why -- mostly for my daughters' sake.... you are right that the why me doesn't help me much.... just hope that I can help my kids live healthy.

Lets all continue to live long and as well as possible,

Wendy

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i completely agree with you.

 i think its critical to be on the right diet.  in china, this is no red meat and no dairy; and no sugar. no alcohol. and see the other posts ive made for the rest.

 once this very strict diet is in place, then the anti cancer, herbs, supplements, other plant treatments can begin.

i do believe the chinese can cure this disease, i have heard anecdotal evidence that was very convincing.

the western idea of a 'healthy' diet is often very different from chinese medicine's idea of one.  even vegetarians and vegans may not be following the 'healthy diet' they suggest.  it is very strict.

The article is gone now but I get the gist.

I thought I had no risk factors. NO ONE in my family has ever had cancer. Until a few years ago, I was super-healthy... exercised... have been eating mostly organic since college.

I did have one gigantic risk factor though. Not having children... and I've had four miscarriages... which (cruelly) put me at much higher risk of bc. (And guess what, out of my closest girlfriends, TWO of them were diagnosed with breast cancer in their late 30's/early 40's... and they are the two who, besides me, have never been able to have children.)

Add to that some serious depression/despair for over a year (due to the miscarriages) and eating crappily for the first time in my life, and I guess I can see why I got it.

I don't know if the article mentioned these, but here are other risk factors that affect many otherwise healthy people:

 - drinking and/or cooking with and/or bathing in tap water (horrible stuff, full of poisonous flouride and chlorine)

 - using products with parabens (in most cosmetics, shampoo, soap, lotions, etc.) - royally screws with your hormones

 - getting all the vaccinations our society demands we get - those are chock full of carcinogens now

 - not sleeping 7-8 hours at night (oh yeah, that's another risk factor... I used to pull a lot of all-nighters then nap during the day... terrible for melatonin levels)

 - eating microwaved food

 - spending 8-10+ hours a day indoors, where carcinogenic offgassing occurs (particularly in new offices and homes)

 - radiation from sitting in front of a computer monitor all day, from airport travel, etc.

 - wearing synthetic or non-organic natural fiber clothing, sleeping on non-organic sheets (those pesticides in the cotton fields don't magically disappear once fabric is made!)

 - having multiple sexual partners throughout your life, increasing the risk of undetected viruses that can lead to cancer

 - stress, anxiety, depression- of course, the hormone thing (I thought that didn't apply to me since I was only on birth control for a few months -- I often blame those few months for all my miscarriages, and who knows, maybe it led to this too)

 - having a less than optimal immune system for various reasons (traveling a lot, not getting enough sunshine, etc.)

 - not consuming certain micronutrients such as nitrilosides which offer protection against cancer

 - consuming meat, dairy, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, synthetic vitamins and medications, processed/packaged foods (chock full of cancer-causing chemicals); too many cooked foods, too much non-organic food; not enough leafy greens, etc. (basically, I agree with Fairyfloss about the Chinese diet... and yes, there is solid evidence to support that hypothesis)

I have read that all of us have cancer cells that come and go... but most people's bodies naturally protect against it, so they never know they have it. That theory would explain why cancer was found in ancient bodies. The theory that nitrilosides (found in fruit seeds, bitter almonds, sprouts, and certain other foods that most people don't consume much of) have been deleted from our modern diets, thereby reducing our natural protection against cancer, also makes sense.