Bonnie Camo MD
Natural Medicine & Homeopathy
Trebisacce, Italy
Breast Cancer Can Be Prevented
Angelina Jolie's recent decision to undergo a 'prophylactic'
double mastectomy due to her BRCA status, was her choice, but those who may wish to follow in her
footsteps should be aware that there are other options.
According to breast surgeon Susan Love of UCLA, at
least 30 percent of tumors found on mammograms would go away if you did
absolutely nothing. These tumors appear to be destined to stop
growing on their own, shrink, and even go away completely. Your immune system is always on the alert,
removing most cancer cells that develop before they are able to multiply. One
way to strengthen your immune system is to minimize your exposure to mammograms
and other sources of ionizing radiation.
You can strengthen your immune system by good diet
and lifestyle choices. First optimize your vitamin D3 level. Vitamin D is actually able to enter cancer
cells and trigger apoptosis, or cancer cell death. JoEllen Welsh, a researcher
with the State University of New York at Albany, injected vitamin D into human
breast cancer cells, killing half of them within days. Vitamin D was as effective as breast cancer
drugs like Tamoxifen, without the side
effects and at a cost of pennies. If
you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer you should have your D level checked
and maintain a level of at least 70 ng/ml.
Vitamin A also plays a role in preventing breast
cancer; your best sources are organic egg yolks, raw milk and butter, and beef
and chicken liver from organically raised, grass pastured animals. However, commercial red meat may be
a serious risk factor for breast cancer.
When animal protein is cooked, especially at high heat, like frying,
carcinogens are formed. Saturated animal
fat is converted into a carcinogen by bacteria in your large intestine. Animal fat is also the storage site for all
the pesticides on the food the animal ate, as well as the antibiotics,
hormones, and growth stimulants the animals were given. Grilling meat adds additional
carcinogens.
Fruits
and vegetables are “virtual anticancer pharmacies.” Phytochemicals in plants have many ways of
protecting you from cancer. Carotenoids
which give color to red, orange and yellow fruits and vegetables are potent
antioxidants and block different steps in development of cancer. All cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli,
cabbage and kale, contain indole-3 carbinole, which stops breast cancer cells
from growing, and converts estrogen into a non-cancer-promoting form. Broccoli also contains sulforaphane, which
promotes liver enzymes which destroy carcinogens and move them out of the
body. Of course, all these fruits and
vegetables should be organic, so you are not introducing more carcinogenic
pesticides into your body.
A
powerful anticancer spice is turmeric,
the
brilliant yellow-orange root used in curries and in Ayurvedic and Chinese
medicine for over five thousand years. Turmeric
is one of the most potent tumor-inhibiting foods,
destroys
toxins in the liver, is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, and
prevents DNA mutations that lead to cancer.
Herbs like black cohosh, artemisinin, and kelp have
anticancer properties. Green
tea is the number one anticancer beverage, full of anti-inflammatories and
antioxidants, such as polyphenols like ECGC.
Raw cannabis and “hemp oil” (not to be confused with hempseed oil, which
is highly nutritious, but not known to be a cancer cure) both look very promising,
for those who live in places where they are legal.
Avoid all forms of sugar, cancer’s
favorite food, as well as artificial sweeteners. Stevia is a safe sweetener.
Good
sleep is essential to good health.
During sleep the mind/body is repaired and purified. In darkness the pineal gland produces
melatonin, which promotes natural sleep and is a powerful cancer
preventer. The best melatonin production
occurs when you go to bed by 10 pm and get up by 6 am.
Exercise
lowers your risk of breast cancer, in part by helping prevent obesity which
increases your risk. Aerobic exercise
causes the brain to produce healing neuropeptides which reduce stress and
prevent depression.
The list of natural prevention methods should include
not wearing bras. There's lots of evidence for bras impeding the blood and
lymph flow that keeps tissues healthy, as documented in Dressed to Kill by Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer.