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BREAST CANCER

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, one in nine women will get breast cancer before she is Eighty-five.
What Is Breast Cancer?
Cancer is aberrant tissue growth - normal tissue cells that grow wild. Our tissue cells grow and divide. Old cells are sloughed off and expelled. However, when cells lose their ability to control their growth, they divide without any rhyme or reason quickly, resulting in an excess growth of tissue known as a tumor. Benign tumors, such as those involved in Fibrocystic Breast Disease, are not cancerous. Malignant, or cancerous, tumors spread to and overtake healthy tissue. Some malignancies also spread through the blood, seeding new tumors elsewhere in the body. Recent research has found that cancerous tumors generate their own free radicals, promoting even more rapid cell mutation. Hence, early detection is indeed the best safeguard against breast cancer.
Dr. James Balch explains the different types of breast cancer:
• Adenoid cystic carcinoma, malignant cytosarcoma phylliodes, medullary carcinoma and tubular carcinoma. These and several other relatively uncommon types of breast cancer tend to be less aggressive than the other forms.
• Infiltrating ductal carcinoma. This is a cancer that arises in the lining of the milk ducts and infiltrates (invades) the surrounding breast tissue. Approximately 80 percent of all cases of breast cancer are infiltrating ductal carcinomas.
• Inflammatory carcinoma. In this type of cancer a tumor arises in the lining of the milk ducts and as it grows, it plugs the lymphatic and blood vessels. The skin thickens and turns red, and the breast becomes extremely tender and looks infected. This type of cancer spreads very quickly due to the rich blood and lymph vessel supply associated with the inflammatory reaction.
• Intraductal carcinoma in situ. This is a localized type of cancer in which cancerous cells grow within the ducts. This type of cancer may not invade other tissues.
• Lobular carcinoma. A less common form of breast cancer, lobular carcinoma -- breast cancer that arises in the lobes -- accounts for about 9 percent of breast cancers. Lobular carcinomas occasionally occur in both breasts simultaneously.
• Paget's Disease of the nipple. This form of cancer occurs when cells from an underlying cancerous tumor migrate to the nipple. The symptoms are itching, redness, and soreness of the nipple. Paget's disease always signals the presence of primary ductal carcinoma elsewhere in the breast tissue. (Please see below for an updated posting regarding Paget's Disease)

Who Is At Risk?
All woman over the age of 20 should perform monthly self-exams. Women over the age of 40 should have yearly exams by their physician and a mammogram everyone one or two years. Women over age 50 should have yearly mammograms. Any woman who is at risk, particularly those women with family history of breast cancer should have annual exams and mammograms no matter what their age.
Take the Risk Test: (add up the plus signs that apply to you)
My Age is: Under 40 +1 40-49 +3 50 and over +6                                                Your Total: ______
My Ethnic Group is: Hispanic +1   Oriental +2    Black +2    White +3               Your Total: ______
My Family History Is: No breast cancer +1    mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother +3      Your Total: ______
I have had: No breast disease +1     Previous breast cancer +3                                       Your Total: _____
My Pregnancy History (first live birth) is: Before Age 18 +1 18 - 34 +2
                                                   35 or older +4    No live births +3
Your Total: _____
Add up your figures. On a scale of 0 to 20, the closer your score is to 20, the higher your risk of getting breast cancer.

How Can You Protect Yourself?
Differences in lifestyle, diet, genetics, environment, and immune function all effect the cancer risk factor. Some of these factors you control, particularly lifestyle and diet.
Here are some suggestions to improve your risk factor:
1. Exercise daily. Walk, run, ride a bike, swim, play. When you exercise, you oxygenate your tissues and oxygen is life sustaining.
2. Reduce your intake of fat. A high fat diet dramatically increases your breast cancer risk.
3. Eat more ocean fish. Breast cancer has been linked to iodine deficiency and eating more ocean fish is a healthy way to increase your iodine intake naturally.
4. Lose weight if you are overweight. Obesity has been linked to the development of breast cancer because hormones produced by the adrenal gland are converted into estrogen and are stored in fat tissue. The more fat tissue you have, the more likely you are to have a higher estrogen level. Estrogen stimulates cell growth in the breast.
5. Eat a diet that includes grains, nuts, seeds and fiber. Fiber keeps your system working in optimum condition.
6. Eat plenty of broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage and cauliflower because these vegetables contain a substance known as Phenethyl Isothiocyanate (PEITC), which has been found to slow the growth of tumors. Also include carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and squash in your diet because these vegetables contain a high concentration of Beta Carotene, known to be an excellent antioxidant.
7. Eat strawberries, grapes and blueberries and thoroughly chew the skins. The skins of these fruits contain Ellagic Acid which helps deactivate carcinogenic agents.
8. Include plenty of onions and garlic in your diet. If you cannot tolerate the strength of garlic, take it in supplement form.
9. Add beets and beet juice to your diet. A delicious Cancer Risk Fighter drink is mixture of beet, carrot and cabbage, mixed with water, if the taste is too strong.
10. Avoid processed meats, such as hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked or cured meats because they contain carcinogenic agents.
11. Avoid chemicals such as hair sprays, cleaning compounds, fresh paints, pesticides and anything in aerosol cans. Chemicals promote the formation of free radicals.

Preventative Vitamins and Supplements.
Antioxidants are by far the best protection against cancer formation because (1) they destroy cancer-causing free radicals; (2) they boost and support our immune system, enabling it to seek and destroy mutated cells before they turn into cancer; and (3) they reduce the "stickiness" of cancerous cells so they cannot adhere to organs and glands.
The antioxidant leaders are Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Beta Carotene, Bioflavonoids, Vitamin A, Selenium, substances known as OPC's, which is an acronym for the French term Oligomeres Procyanodoliques. OPC's are found in the supplement Pycnogenol and in Grape Seed Extract.
CoEnzyme Q10 primarily functions as a vitamin-like substance that converts food to energy. However, secondary to its primary function, CoQ10 is also a powerful antioxidant and oxygenator.
Garlic has been used as a powerful antibiotic and research has shown that it enhances immune function.
Essential Fatty Acids, such as those found in Black Currant Oil, Borage Oil, and Flaxseed Oil are essential for proper cell reproduction.
Vitamin B Complex improves circulation, builds red blood cells, aids liver function and helps relieve stress. Also, the addition of Vitamin B12 will help improve energy and alleviate anemia.
Green Tea has been used for thousands of years in Asian cultures. Statistics have shown that Asians have a lower incidence of dying from cancer than their western peers. The consumption of green tea, along with other dietary factors, ranks high in contributing to these statistics. Green tea contains a high content of polyphenols, which have amazing antioxidant potential. These polyphenols (collectively called "catechins") are: epicatechin, epicathechin gallate, epigallocatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate. Green tea can be taken as a drink, or in supplement form, Green Tea Extract with catechins.

UPDATE ----- UPDATE ------ UPDATE ------ UPDATE ------ UPDATE ------ UPDATE

This poignant posting was received in mail box and warrants sharing with you.
Breast Cancer Alert - Paget's Disease
as written by Juanita Bush

"In Nov. 1999, I lost my sister (Betty Botts of Troy, Al.) to a rare kind of breast cancer.
She developed a rash on her breast similar to that of young mothers who are nursing.
Betty's previous mammogram had been clear, and the Dr. treated her with antibiotics for infections.
After 2 rounds it continued to get worse and her Dr. sent her for another mammogram and this time it showed a mass. A biopsy confirmed a fast growing malignancy; chemo was started in order to shrink the growth; then mastectomy; then a full round of chemo; then radiation.
After about 9 months of intense treatment she was given a clean bill of health Betty had one year of living each day to its fullest then it returned to the liver area.
She took 4 treatments and decided that she wanted quality of life, not the after effects of chemo.
We had 5 great months together, and she planned each detail of the final days.
After just a few days of needing morphine, she slipped away saying she had done what God had sent her into the world to do and now it was her time to go.
I still have tears as I write. Her message is the one below, please be alert to anything that is not normal and be persistent in getting help as soon as possible.
Juanita Bush
Betty's message reads:
Ladies, please take note:
This is a rare form of breast cancer, and is on the outside of the breast on the nipple and aureola.
It appeared as a rash which later became a lesion with a crusty outer edge.
I would not have ever suspected it to be breast cancer but it was.
My nipple never seemed any different to me, but the rash bothered me so I went to my doctor for that.
Sometimes it itched and was sore, but other than that it didn't really bother me.
It was just ugly and a nuisance, and could not be cleared up with all the creams prescribed by my doctor and dermatologist for the dermatitis on my eyes just prior to this outbreak.
They seemed a little concerned but did not warn me that it could be cancerous. Now I suspect that there are not many women out there who know a lesion or rash on the nipple or aureola can be breast cancer.
What are the symptoms?
Mine started out as a single red pimple on the aureola.
One of the biggest problems with Paget's disease of the nipple is that the symptoms appear to be harmless.
It is frequently thought to be a skin inflammation or infection, leading to unfortunate delays in detection and care.
The symptoms include:
1. A persistent redness, oozing, and crusting of your nipple causing it to itch and burn. (As I stated mine did not itch or burn much, and had no oozing but it did have a crust along the outer edge on one side).
2. A sore on your nipple that will not heal. (Mine was on the aureola area with a whitish thick looking area in center of nipple).
3. Usually only one nipple is affected.
How is it diagnosed?
Your doctor should do a physical exam and should suggest that you have a mammogram of both breasts done immediately
Even though the redness, oozing and crusting closely resemble dermatitis (inflammation of the skin), your doctor should suspect cancer if the sore is only on one breast.
Your doctor should order a biopsy of your sore to confirm what is going on.
They will take a sample of your breast tissue in that area to test for cancer. If the cancer is only in the nipple and not in the breast, your doctor may recommend just removing the nipple and surrounding tissue or suggest radiation treatments.
Had my doctor caught mine right away, ..... perhaps they could have saved my breast, and it wouldn't have gone to my lymph nodes. ..... "

Sources - Nutritional Desk Reference, Third Edition, Robert Garrison Jr. MA,R.Ph. and Elizabeth Somer, MA, RD;
                 All About Antioxidants, Richard A. Passwater, Ph.D;
                All About Green Tea, Victoria Dolby, MPH;
                 Prescription for Natural Healing, Second Edition, James F. Balch, MD and Phyllis A. Balch, CNC
                 The Doctor's Complete Guide To Vitamins and Minerals, Mary Dean Eades, MD

Disclaimer: The information presented is for information purposes only. It is based on scientific studies or traditional usage. Consult a health care professional before using supplements or making any changes in prescription medications. The information and statements contained herein are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any dis-ease.

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