BREAST CANCER PREVENTION

Every 2-3 minutes another woman will find out she has breast cancer.

Most women think there is nothing they can do to prevent this disease. The fact is that only 10% of all breast cancer is genetic (inherited). 90% is preventable! Even if you are one of the 10%, you can still take steps that will lower your risk.

I am a breast cancer survivor. I wish I had known 10 years ago all of the information I discovered since my diagnosis. I am convinced that if I had, I would not have gotten breast cancer. Women are simply not being told about the causes of and ways to prevent breast cancer. Symptoms of health conditions that eventually lead to breast cancer appear many years prior to a breast cancer diagnosis; mine did. It is crucial that those conditions be properly identified and treated, before progressing to breast cancer.

I did extensive research once I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My research convinced me that women clearly were not being given adequate information. I didn’t set out to write a book, but I eventually came to the conclusion that I had to share what I had learned; even if it helped only one other woman. In that spirit I wrote Empowered: A Woman-to-Woman Guide to Preventing & Surviving Breast Cancer.

Unfortunately this web site cannot contain all of the in-depth information and additional resources provided in the book. And neither this web site nor the book are meant to diagnose or prescribe treatment. But what can be offered on this site is some basic information about breast cancer risk, prevention and treatment options. I am on a mission to pass on information that you are unlikely to uncover on your own that could save your life, or that of someone you love. I want to pass on information that I believe would have prevented my own breast cancer, had I discovered this information earlier.

How does Breast Cancer start?

In very simplistic terms, breast cancer starts when the DNA (the control center) of a cell in your breast tissue or in your milk duct gets damaged. This damage can be caused by physical damage to the breast tissue, hormonal imbalances, radiation, viruses, toxins in your diet and environment and/or a diet that promotes cell damage and weakens your immune system.

Normally, a healthy immune system will detect and destroy these damaged cells before they can progress to becoming cancer. We have damaged cells in our bodies all of the time, but our immune system destroys them. But a weakened immune system will allow some of these damaged cells to go undetected and to reproduce more damaged cells and cancer gets its start.

Once you understand how breast cancer gets started, and that the key to preventing it is a healthy immune system, you will have the knowledge to make decisions regarding your diet and lifestyle that can actually prevent or promote breast cancer.

What you eat is the most important tool you have in preventing breast cancer. The evidence of this fact is now clear. Even if you’ve already been diagnosed, changing your diet is the most important step you can take to prevent a recurrence. Empowered provides information on dietary changes that have been shown to reduce breast cancer risk.

A fascinating new scientific discovery shows that specific genes that promote or prevent cancer can be turned on or off by something called epigenetics. Epigenetic changes occur when cells divide more often in order to repair damage. Anything that causes tissue damage---including physical injury, inflammation, exposure to toxins and a poor diet—can cause epigenetic changes. So a bad diet (which will also cause inflammation and is full of toxins) can cause a gene that normally suppresses cancer cell growth to be turned on, thus allowing cancer to grow. And the reverse is possible. A woman with a genetic mutation linked to breast cancer can turn that mutation off. These epigenetic changes are also passed down to future generations. So how and what you eat now has an effect on the future health of your children and their children.

Sugars

One critical dietary change is to stop eating all refined sugars. By refined sugars I mean simple sugars such as white sugar, molasses, honey, fruit juices and sodas and simple carbohydrates such as all white breads, pastas, cakes, cookies and cereals. In Empowered, I fully explain how these sugars and more sabotage your immune system and feed cancer cells. Once you understand how damaging sugars are, you will want to reduce or eliminate them from your diet.

Plants

Vegetables are loaded with anti-oxidants and specific plant flavonoids. Many of these have been proven in studies to actually stop the growth of breast cancer cells. Certain spices contain special flavonoids called catechins. Many of these, such as those found in the spice Turmeric, have anti-cancer and immune boosting properties. Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Center have discovered and isolated Sulforaphane, from the broccoli sprout, that prevents breast cancer growth. There are many other substances identified in Empowered that can prevent breast cancer.

Protein

Not all protein is good for us. In the most comprehensive study ever done on nutrition, The China Study, by T. Colin Campbell, PhD, it was discovered that certain animal proteins caused cancer to grow dramatically. Vegetable proteins did not. It is important to reduce the amount of those specific animal proteins in your diet. In Empowered I explain specific ways to prepare vegetables to get their maximum benefit and which are the top breast cancer fighting foods.

Hormonal Imbalance

When we hear the word hormones, we think of just the sex hormones: estrogens and testosterone. While an imbalance in estrogens is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer, imbalances in other hormone levels such as Insulin and Cortisol also put women at higher risk. Women need to identify the symptoms of hormonal imbalances and seek the proper treatment. A thorough discussion of hormonal imbalances, where to go for hormone testing, the controversy over synthetic versus bio-identical hormones and safer treatment options is presented in Empowered. I’ll share with you my hormonal imbalance story and its connection to my breast cancer. Many women will relate to my symptoms.

Toxins and Fake Hormones

We are bombarded by toxins on a daily basis: in the air we breathe, in our food, in our cosmetics and in many of the products we buy and use. Many of these toxins are known carcinogens; they are known to cause cancer. Others are fake estrogens called xenoestrogens. These fake estrogens are extremely dangerous to women because they attach to estrogen receptors in breast cells. Increased estrogen is a leading cause of breast cancer. Avoiding the products that contain these xenoestrogens is a key step in avoiding breast cancer. Many of the worst of these toxins are identified for you in Empowered.

Vitamins and Minerals

Specific vitamin and mineral deficiencies will increase your risk of getting breast cancer. Did you know that most American women have an iodine deficiency? This is now being considered one of the underlying causes of hormonal imbalances and a direct link to breast cancer. There are only 4 labs in the US that can perform a 24 hour iodine loading test (the only test that can accurately measure your iodine levels). Empowered provides information on those labs and much more information on the link between iodine, breast cancer and metastasis. Iodine is not the only known deficiency that causes breast cancer cells to grow. There are other deficiencies covered that can easily be corrected by taking specific supplements in specific dosages.

Stress, Exercise and Sleep

Most women don’t understand the role that increased stress, lack of exercise and lack of sleep play in greatly increasing your risk of breast cancer. In Empowered I clearly explain how these 3 things puts you at an increased risk of getting breast cancer and how to correct them.

More than half of the book Empowered is focused on prevention; all critical and useful information for women who want to prevent breast cancer from occurring in the first place or who want to prevent recurrence or metastases. I want all women to understand that we are not powerless against this disease!!