What You Need To Know About Lung Cancer.

Cancer is a disease in which certain body cells don’t function right, divide very fast and produce too much tissue that forms a tumor. A leading cause of cancer deaths in both men and women is probably lung cancer. This is the number one cause of cancer deaths surpassing breast cancer as the leading cause of deaths in women. Cancers that begin in the lungs are divided into two major types, the non-small cell lung cancer and small cell lung cancer depending on how the cells look under a microscope.

Cigarette smoking is known to be a cause of lung cancer. The risk of developing the disease increases with the number of cigarettes smoked particularly if the person starts to smoke at a young age. The person’s risk of developing lung cancer may be reduced slightly if you smoke filtered and low tar cigarettes, but it is still far greater than that of a non-smoker. Lung cancer has always been more common in men, particularly those over the age of 40, as more men used to smoke than women. Considerably, there are a growing number of women having lung cancer since women have started smoking. About 90% of all lung cancer deaths among women are from smoking. The risk of lung cancer goes down quite quickly if the person stops smoking and after about fifteen years, the person’s chances of developing the disease are similar to that of a non-smoker. Passive smoking or the breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke, slightly increases the risk for lung disease and lung cancer, although the risk is still much less that if you smoke yourself.

Usually, the symptoms of lung cancer do not appear until the disease is in an advanced stage. Some are diagnosed early because they are found as a result of tests for other medical conditions. Screening examinations are done to detect a disease in people without symptoms of the disease. And since lung cancer usually spreads beyond the lungs before causing any symptoms, an effective screening program to detect the cancer early could save many lives. So far there is not screening test that has been shown to prevent the ill person from dying of the cancer. It has been concluded that the tests could not find many lung cancers early enough to improve a person’s chances for a cure. Because of this, lung cancer screening is not a routine practice for the general public or even for people at increased risk like smokers.

Symptoms of lung cancer could be continuing cough or change in a long-standing cough; a chest infection that does not get better; increasing breathlessness; coughing up blood-stained phlegm; a dull ache or a sharp pain when coughing or taking a deep breath; and loss of appetite and loss of weight. If you think you are having any of these above stated symptoms, then it is important to have your condition checked by your doctor even if you know that any of these symptoms may be caused by illness other than cancer.

Treatment for lung cancer could be through surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy which may be used separately or together depending on what your physician requires you to undergo with. Basically, the doctor will plan your treatment, taking into account your general health condition, the type of lung cancer you have and the size of the tumor as well as its stage. There are differences in the treatment for different people depending on their needs. You should not be afraid to ask your doctor and it often helps making a lot of queries about the disease and your condition from your doctor.

Symptons Of Testicular Cancer: Testicular Cancer Warning Signs To Watch For

If you are a male in the 15 to 40 age range, you should be aware of the various symptons of testicular cancer. As you may or may not know, while testicular cancer can affect anyone (including infants and those aged 60 and over), the 15 to 40 group is hit the hardest. On the bright side, if you do think you are experiencing some of the symptons of testicular cancer, you shouldn't fear going to the doctor and getting checked out. Testicular cancer have a very low mortality rate. Only 10 percent of men who have been diagnosed with the condition end up dying, and those who catch it in the earliest stage have a 95 percent chance of surviving.

Symptons of testicular cancer to be aware of include constant, dull pain in the lower abdomen or groin areas. Even if it comes and goes, you'd be better off safe than sorry going to get it checked out by your primary care physician. Also, if you notice that one testicle unexpectedly grows or shrinks you should be concerned. If sex is painful, there is blood in your semen or if you don't have much interest in sexual activity anymore, definitely talk to your doctor about it.

Nowadays, there is a wealth of information on the internet. If you're experiencing any symptons of testicular cancer, do a bit of research. Don't try to talk yourself out of visiting your doctor, and absolutely don't rely on the advice of internet strangers over your physician, but read up on it a bit. You might be surprised at what you can learn from visiting different forums and reading what people have to say. Up to 1 in 250 men in the United States will be diagnosed during his lifetime. Since the odds are already stacked against you, protect yourself.

Breast Cancer Treatment - Conventional & Alternative Treatments For Breast Cancer

Breast cancer statistics

As of this writing, statistics show that one in nine women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. While a woman’s chance of getting breast cancer increases as she gets older, she should always be on the lookout for subtle symptoms and act quickly if she suspects anything out of the norm as certain types of breast cancer have a tendency to spread quickly.

Breast Cancer Personal Check List:

A woman’s family history plays a significant role in determining her risk for breast cancer. A family history could be described as three or more relatives diagnosed with breast cancer, and families that have multiple generations of breast cancer patients are at an increased risk.

If you have family members with early-onset breast cancer or cancer in both breasts, suffer from a very cancer, or have mutations of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have up to an 85% chance of developing breast cancer by age 70.

This particular mutation typically occurs in Jewish women of Ashkenazi decent.

However, heredity is not the only risk factor involved in developing breast cancer. A woman’s lifestyle and environment can play a major factor in determining her risk for developing breast cancer. Some risk factors include:

1. High-fat diet
2. Excessive alcohol
3. Overweight/Obesity
4. Child bearing after 30 or no children at all
5. Menopause after you are 52

Understand however, some would be diagnosed with breast cancer without being part of any of these high-risk groups.

Breast cancer signs and symptoms

1. A lump in the breast with a tissue surrounding the breast
2. Breast tenderness
3. Swelling in the armpits
4. The appearance of your breast changes (what may appear to be higher than the other or change shapes)
5. Nipple changes (dimpled, itchy, flaking, inverted)
6. Discharge from the nipple (clear fluid or bloody discharge)

As stated earlier, even the slightest change should be met with a visit to your doctor as soon as possible, as breast cancer may spread to the lymph nodes and other parts of the body rapidly. Your doctor will examine your breasts and possibly prescribe a mammogram or breast x-ray just to be on the safe side.

If the mammogram shows any reason for concern, your physician will move forward with an ultrasound test. In this test, sound waves will be used to provide an image of the interior of the breast tissue. It's used to pinpoint the exact location of any mass that might be present, and it also helps to determine whether the mass is cancerous.

In most instances, a needle biopsy is used to confirm diagnosis. Needle biopsies come in two types. With fine needle aspiration, a needle is inserted into the breast lump. If the lump is just a cyst, you will have a discharge when it is pierced with the needle. If there is no fluid present, and a lump is determined to be a tumor, cells are removed to be examined. If however you receive a core needle biopsy, breast tissue cells will be removed and examined.

If the tumor size is less than 4 cm, it can typically be removed surgically via a lumpectomy (removal of the lump), followed by radiation treatment. If the tumor is larger than the 4 cm, then a mastectomy (removal of the breast and underlying tissue) is needed. After the mastectomy, you can opt to have the breast reconstructed or wait until a later date.

During surgery, your physician will remove lymph nodes from under your arm which will be examined for the presence of cancerous cells. Chemotherapy or hormone therapy with Tamoxifen will be the next course of action for women diagnosed with positive lymph nodes. Since there are a number of treatment options available for breast cancer depending on tumor size, lymph node involvement, and the presence of either positive or negative estrogen receptors, you should begin conversations about various options with your doctor as soon as possible.

Breast cancer and hormone therapy

Many women are opting for treating breast cancer with hormone therapy. Tamoxifen blocks the effects of estrogen on the breast, which will stop the growth of cancerous cells. Unfortunately, women taking Tamoxifen has been shown to raise the risk of uterine cancer, to make sure you are screened carefully before taking this drug.

Cancer, Diet and Global Warming With the Producer of Healing Cancer From the Inside Out

This interview is an excerpt from Kevin Gianni's Renegade Roundtable, which can be found at http://www.RenegadeRoundtable.com. In this excerpt, Mike Anderson shares on cancer, diet and global warming.

Renegade Water Secrets with Mike Anderson, is a medical researcher, author of The Rave Diet and film maker/producer of “Eating” and “Healing Cancer from the Inside Out.”

Kevin: So, Mike. If all this stuff isn’t working, what is?

Mike: Food. I site some studies in the film... the Office of Technology Assessment funded the Gerson Therapy. It beat the pants off conventional treatments. This was in different stages of melanoma. It just beat the pants off of conventional treatments. They don’t like these studies. They don’t want to fund them. It’s very hard.

Macrobiotics went in front of the NIH, National Institute of Health and they tried to get funding because they presented six terminal cases, cancer cases, where the cancers were totally reversed. They were all biopsied and they were all confirmed and everything. Now, wouldn’t you think that people should be interested in this? That they should fund more studies? No, they can’t get any money for anymore funding for any.

You know allopathic medicine doesn’t, their history is to shut down any nutritional approach because they are so threatened by it. Even, this was around the turn of the century, 2001 or so. It’s on the website, the Sushi Institute. Anyway, they're totally threatened because it does work. It is more effective. Instead of destroying the body, you're trying to build it up.

I specifically included Macrobiotics because they have a long history, 100- year history. In fact, the founder of Macrobiotics reversed cancer. But they have a long history of reversing cancers. So I look at Macrobiotics and that’s almost 100% cooked. Then I look at raw, and that’s 100% raw, uncooked. And I think the bottom line here is that, the common ground is that they are all plant-based, 100% plant-based. They are all organic. Organic is very, very important because organic food is much higher in micronutrients, the anti-oxidant families. Those are the ones that are going to fight cancer effectively. It’s a whole-foods organic diet and that’s it. Whether it’s raw or whether it’s cooked is partly personal preference, in terms of case and stuff.

Kevin: You knew that this film was going to cause some waves. So, one, how did you prepare for it? Two, what kind of feedback have you gotten from people who were not happy?

Mike: I actually did not prepare very much for it. What I did was try and make it as credible as I can and close the loop on all the arguments. To make it as tight as possible. I’ll tell you a story. I don’t know if Brian Clement wants me to tell this or not, he was interviewed in the film, but he and his wife watched it for seven hours, seven hours looking for a loophole. They were primarily looking at some angle conventional doctors could use to attack me and they couldn’t find it. So my approach was just make it as tight as possible and as credible as possible. As a result of that, I haven’t had much negative feedback except that people don’t want to talk to me.

I have been on KPFK, they are a nonprofit, local station here in L.A. I've been on there and they were very receptive and so was the audience. I mean, people are hungry for this new. But getting it out there is very, very difficult.

People will say, “Oh, my gosh. You should be on major news shows,” and stuff like that. And I say, “Well, have you looked at the sponsors of those news shows? They'll never have me on.” You know, you've got meat and dairy and drugs and I’m preaching against all of those. So, it’s difficult to get it out, but word of mouth is extraordinarily strong; it’s pushing this whole thing. And thanks to shows like your and others, more and more people are getting on the bandwagon.

I was at the Raw Spirit Festival in Sedona this weekend and I had a lady and her husband come out, specifically to see me. They flew out from Tampa. And it was because they saw “Healing Cancer” a month ago. Her father started off with colon cancer, it spread to his liver, now it’s in his lungs. He’s had one round of chemo; he couldn’t take it anymore. So they were looking for something. They put him on the diet and within a month all of his cancer markers had dropped dramatically. They were just thrilled by the whole thing. They wanted to fly out and just thank me because of it.

The strange thing is most people they have it in their mind that cancer is this dreaded disease that kills people. Well, you know, cardio vascular disease kills over twice as many people a cancer, that’s a pretty scary disease. But people have it in their minds that cancer is more scary, but it’s not. It can be controlled through food. People have this idea that, well, gee, cancer’s a dangerous disease you need strong medicine. You need something that will make people’s hair fall out and make them throw up all day for days on end and make them just sick. That’s strong medicine. You need just the opposite. You need something that’s going to build up the body. People, if they'll get off this toxic diet they're on and get on a good diet, they'll see miraculous things happening. Not just with cancer, but the whole body will be healing.

Kevin: Let’s talk a little bit about the Rave diet. There’s a lot of people who are on this call who don’t know what that is. So, let’s give a little bit of information on that and...

Mike: OK. I wrote the book primarily because people were asking me for something to accompany the “Eating” DVD. Because after they see the “Eating” DVD, they'll say, “OK, I’m ready to change my diet, but what do I do?” And even though I list, at the end of the film, all kinds of books, and on the website even more, they wanted something from me. So, I put it together primarily as a very short, it reads very easily, very short guide, if you will, to how to change to this diet.

I have a transitional diet, too, because sometimes it’s difficult for people to go on the full Rave diet. So I have an easier transitional diet so they can evolve into it. One guy, for example, it was too much for him because he had been eating processed foods all of his life and he had horrendous gas because of all the fiber. So I tell people, “Ease up on it. You can go slowly,” you know, unless you have some terrible disease you're fighting. But what it stands for, Rave is an acronym, it means no refined foods. The A is no animal foods, the V, which gets me in trouble with most people all the time, means no vegetable oils; the E means no exceptions and exercise. There are a number of sub-rules within that. It’s not just that acronym alone. Like, eat at least half of your food uncooked type of thing. Also ingredients lists, it’s got a whole explanation of how to read ingredient lists and so forth. But it’s done very well.

Kevin: No oil. Let’s talk about that.

Mike: OK. I got this primarily, started out if you look at Ornish, Essylstyn, Furman, a lot of doctors who actually reversed heart disease and have studies to prove it; they all specifically exclude vegetable oils. There are clinical studies, it tears up the arteries. Essylstyn says it’s as good for your arteries as roast beef. If you look at nutrient scales, the key to a good diet is getting the maximum amount of nutrients per calorie that you can. If you look at vegetable oils, they have the lowest nutrient value of any food on the planet. It’s all fat, very few nutrient values per calorie on it.

It’s a refined food, on top of it; the molecules in vegetable oils are unstable. They produce free radicals. It’s a promoter of some cancers, particularly skin cancers, and on and on and on. So, I just say there are substitutes for it. If you're cooking and you want to brown potatoes or something, use applesauce or apple juice or vegetable broth or something. You have to cook it slower, but it browns just as good. So, that’s the schtook on vegetable oils. I’m telling people in the beginning with this, “Hey, you get on this you can reverse your heart disease.” I’m not going to go against all the doctors who have proven successfully
through tests that you can reverse heart disease. They all exclude the vegetable oils.

Kevin: Yeah, I think it makes sense to follow the research of people that you have mentioned, like Furman and Essylstyn and these guys, instead of recreating the wheel on a theory.

Mike: Right, right. I have to follow; these guys are my heroes. I can’t challenge them and I want to, if someone comes out with a study of heart disease reversal which specifically includes vegetable oils, then I’ll take a second look at it, as will they. But so far that hasn’t happened.

Kevin: Who do you think you've learned the most from?

Mike: Geez, I don't know. That’s hard. Everyone’s saying the same thing, essentially, in different ways and they're doing their own thing. In the beginning, there were John Robbins, the emotional aspect of it, environmental, in particular. He was huge. McDougall, he was huge, too. He was giving all this reinforcement to the health. Then, of course, Fuhrman and Ornish and a number of others, Esselston. I would say probably McDougall and, in the very beginning, McDougall and John Robbins.

Kevin: Great. You mentioned global warming, again, and I think we should probably talk about that because it was an added portion of the film, “Eating.” What are some of the implications of the way we eat, as related to global warming and the environment?

Mike: It’s methane, that’s the major thing that’s been overlooked. I’m no expert in it, but what I did was summarize what the experts have said. It’s hard for people to visualize this, but there are hundreds of millions of cows, and other livestock out there, that emit methane, both through the mouths and their rear ends. It goes into the atmosphere and methane is a powerful heat-trapper, much more powerful than carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide will stay in the atmosphere much longer, but methane really traps heat. Studies have shown that, in fact, methane has caused nearly half of the global warming to-date. The number one source of methane is the animals we raise and eventually eat. So, the good thing about methane is that it only stays in the atmosphere for eight years. If people would cut back on their consumption of animal products, you could recycle out very quickly. There could be a more immediate impact on global warming, on cooling. That’s not going to happen, but, say, everyone in the world cut back 1/3 of their meat consumption and reduced the livestock accordingly. That could have a major impact on global warming, and quite soon. Whereas carbon dioxide that stays in the atmosphere for so long. It’s not going to have such an immediate impact on it and that’s what we need is an immediate impact, because we’re right there, as they call the tipping point.

Diets And Cancer: 3 Reasons Why You Could Be Creating More Cancer Cells To Your Body Everyday

A lot of people believe cancers just happen. Cancers develop if you follow an unhealthy diet full of cancer causing food over a prolonged period of time. Certain food have a lot of cancer promoting substances called carcinogens. In this article, we shall explore 3 common types of carcinogens present in a typical person's diet, what food we should eat and shouldn't eat to prevent cancer.

Acrylamide In Food: Should I Be Worried?

Acrylamide has been used in industries that specialize in the creation of plastic, manufacturing of food packaging and treatment of contaminated water. Unknown to most of us, scientists recently discoverd that acrylamide can be created during high temperature cooking methods like microwaving, frying, roasting and baking. Acrylamide has been attested to cause cancer in animals but no concrete link has been found to indicate this happens in human beings even though acrylamide is extremely unhealthly for our bodies. French fries have been tested to contain the greatest levels of acrylamide, followed by certain brands of potato chips, breakfast cereals, cookies, brewed coffee and toast bread according to the US FDA/CFSAN 2006 Exposure Assessment for Acrylamide.

Sodium Nitrate: Why You Should Avoid It

Sodium nitrate is a standard food additive of processed meat. It is used to prolong the reddish color of meat to make it look more delicious to eat at the expense of your health. During the digestion process of sodium nitrate, nitrosamine is created and this is what promotes the development of cancer cells. Sodium nitrate can be found in processed meat like hot dogs, bacon, ham, bologna, luncheon meat and pepperoni.

Trans Fat: The Worst Fat In The World

Trans fat or trans-fatty acids (TFAs) ranks as the worst kind of fat. The problem with trans fat is because it was transformed from it's vegetable oil form to a semi-solid state through the use of hydrogen. Some companies do this to save money, to improve flavor stability and to extend the shelf life of their products. Our bodies do not readily take in these hydrogenated oils and it takes a lot of extra energy to try to digest it effectively, as a result, sections of it sticks to our arteries if we do not burn it off through exercise. What's worse, trans fat promotes the development of bad cholesterol and reduces the levels of good cholesterol, increasing your risk of heart disease. Trans fat is frequently found in hydrogenated oils, commercially deep-fried food, food with vegetable shortening, partially hydrogenated oils and pastries.

Eating To Prevent Cancer

It is ideal for all of us to restrict or eliminate our consumption of processed food that contain the 3 carcinogens above and other unhealthy substances such as salt, sugar, cigarettes and alcohol. However, it is not easy for people to choose to have a healthy body over the enjoyment of good food. The decision is up to you to decide which is more important to you. At the minimum, consume as much organic vegetables, fruit and meat as you can. Having a diet made of antioxidants, fiber and nutrients from raw vegetables and fruit should help you steer clear from cancer. As a general rule, eat what nature intended us to eat and avoid man-made food.

Breast Cancer Statistics – How Breast Cancer Survival Rates Increased 50%

Breast cancer statistics show that over 1.2 million persons will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year, according to the World Health Organization. For breast cancer and prevention, it has long been known that regular physical activity has been shown to decrease the likelihood of having breast cancer. What has not been known or studied has been the effect of regular physical activity on the breast cancer survival rates or likelihood of death in women that already have breast cancer. That is, until now.

The breast cancer statistics and findings as reported by the American Medical Associations Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in May 2005 were astounding! Certain participants in the study of women with Stage I, II or III breast cancer achieved a 50% reduction in the death rate from breast cancer.

Here are these breast cancer statistics: the journal reported that in the study 2,987 female registered nurses had been diagnosed with breast cancer during the years 1984-1998. What the study found was that the women who had physical activity equivalent to walking at a steady pace of 2.0-2.9 miles per hour for 3-5 hours a week had a death rate of only 50% of the death rate of women who had physical activity equivalent to walking less than one hour a week. The conclusion of the breast cancer statistics in the study was that physical activity after breast cancer has been diagnosed may reduce the risk of death from breast cancer. The study found that there was little evidence of any relation between increased physical activity and increased benefit.

It’s time to dust off those walking shoes!

As a physical activity, walking can be done almost anytime by anyone anywhere. All that is needed is a good pair of walking shoes. Walking is fun and reduces stress. As for injuries, walking has the lowest injury rate of all the various kinds of exercise.

You can walk with a partner, friend, family member or dog, maybe even a neighbors dog. Or you can walk with your favorite headset and music. If you are walking outdoors with a headset, keep one ear open to hear the sounds around you.

As for basic walking tips:

· As you begin regular walking, take it easy. Standard advice is to check with your physician before starting any exercise program. If it has been years or decades since you walked regularly, perhaps you can begin with 5 minutes of walking and slowly increase your time and distance.

· Walking at a pace of 75–95 steps a minute will have you walking at a speed of about 2-3 miles per hour.

· Walk with your head up, looking out in front of you. Do not walk looking down right in front of you except to navigate any obstacles.

· Really take it easy the first 5 minutes of walking to warm up. Afterwards, gently stretch for 5–10 minutes while your muscles are warm.

· Practice good walking form. Your arms should swing naturally in the direction you are walking, not from side to side across your body. Your foot should strike the ground on your heel, then a rolling motion forward toward the ball of your foot, then pushing off with your toes.

And here are some basic walking shoes tips:

· Buy your walking shoes from a sporting shoes store with large selections. Doing so will give you plenty of choices. And buy your walking shoes later in the day when your feet will be larger.

· Buy cushioned, supportive walking shoes. To see if a shoe is supportive, do this test: take a shoe and turn it upside down. Holding each end of the shoe, try to fold it. If you find the shoe bends in the middle, then that shoe is not a supportive shoe. A supportive shoe should bend where your foot normally bends, near your toes.

· You should allow the width of your index finger between the end of your shoe and the end of your longest toe, or about one-half inch.

· Buy two pairs of walking shoes, one for home and one for the car or workplace. And if one pair gets wet, you can use the other pair that day.

Walking is the closest thing to the perfect exercise. In today’s fast-paced society, regular walking can be a welcomed break from the stress of the day. Maybe you will get to know your neighborhood or neighbors better. There may be walking trails you have never seen but wanted to.

Wherever and however you choose to walk, not only can the experience be fun, you will know you are being good to your body in a variety of ways. Besides the incredible breast cancer statistics and findings of the breast cancer study, walking helps with weight control and bone strength, elevates mood, helps build and maintain healthy muscles, joints and heart. With so many great health benefits, why not get started walking today.

About the author

Olinda Rola is President of InfoSearch Publishing and webmaster of http://www.safemenopausesolutions.com - a website of natural treatments for a variety of health problems. For information about preventing breast cancer, breast cancer treatment and related articles, visit the website to read more.

Breast Cancer Survival Rate - Stage 2 Breast Cancer

The 5-year breast cancer survival rate for stage 2 breast cancer diagnosed in the U.S. varies according to size of the tumor and whether or not cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.

If the breast cancer is under 2 centimeters in diameter and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm (the axillary lymph nodes), it is stage IIA breast cancer and the survival rate is 88%-92% (American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute).

If the breast cancer is between 2-5 centimeters but has not spread, it is also called stage IIA.

If the breast cancer is between 2-5 centimeters in diameter and has spread to the lymph nodes, it is called stage IIB breast cancer and the 5-year breast cancer survival rate is 76%-81%.

If the breast cancer is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread beyond the breast, it is also called stage IIB

Up to 29% of diagnosed breast cancer is Stage 2 breast cancer for white women and 36% for black women. An average of 62% of all breast cancer is diagnosed when it is still localized to the breast area or Stage 1 breast cancer. If the cancer is detected early enough, such as Stage 1 breast cancer, then the 5-year breast cancer survival rate is as high as 98%-100%. Early detection is the most important way to save the lives of cancer patients.

Fortunately for breast cancer patients, there has been a great deal of effort put into providing information about early detection. Early detection and improved treatments are the primary reason for increasing breast cancer survival rates.

Women can help themselves with monthly self-examinations done at the same time every month. When a woman is 20 she should make sure that she gets a clinical examination at least every three years. After the age of 40, the clinical exams should be part of her annual health check-up, along with her mammogram.

Women can also help themselves with healthy habits that may help breast cancer prevention, such as regular moderate exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding excessive alcohol. These, and other healthy habits should be maintained for life since the risk of breast cancer increases with age.

Breast Cancer Survival Rate - Stage 1 Breast Cancer

With very early detection, the breast cancer survival rate is excellent. The American Cancer Society reports a 5-year survival rate of 98% to 100% for Stage 1 breast cancer after treatment.

Stage 1 breast cancer is less than 2 centimeters in diameter and has not spread beyond the breast tissue itself.

Currently, 63% of breast cancer for U. S. white women is detected and diagnosed while it is still localized to the breast tissue as Stage 1 breast cancer. Only 53% of breast cancer in U. S. black women is diagnosed while the breast cancer is still localized.

The difference in early detection rates between white women and black women is usually attributed to economic disparity and the lack of health insurance. It also helps explain the fact that in the U. S., breast cancer incidence for black women is 11% lower than for white women, but the breast cancer death rate for black women is 35% higher (NCI, SEER, 2007). The death rate increases when breast cancer detection and diagnosis are postponed while the cancer spreads.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute predicts that approximately 178,480 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2007. The annual death rate from breast cancer is around 41,000 in the U.S. North American white women have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world.

Improving breast cancer survival rates by early detection requires regular observation, monthly self-examinations, and following medical recommendations for examinations and testing.

Monthly self-examinations should be done at the same time each month. Clinical examinations by a health care provider should start by the time a woman is 20 years old and continue at least every three years until age 40. After age 40, the clinical exams should be included in the annual health check-ups. Annual mammograms after age 40 will help detect breast cancer at the earliest stages.

Since 1 in every 8 women will face a diagnosis of breast cancer in their lives, improving the breast cancer survival rate should also include breast cancer prevention by reducing risk factors. Some breast cancer risk factors like genetics and family history can’t be changed, but they account for only a small percentage of breast cancer cases. Factors that have shown an increase in breast cancer include overweight, hormone therapy, and increased alcohol consumption. Factors that may help breast cancer prevention include breast feeding, maintaining a healthy weight, and regular exercise.

About the author

Sharon Jones has over 40 years training and experience in science, mainstream health care, and alternative health care. Her website is http://www.green-tea-health-news.com.

Support Cancer Research, Wear Cancer Wristbands

Cancer is a very serious illness. This dreaded disease has caused many deaths; cancer is a disease that’s characterized by uncontrollable cell division and the danger of these mutant cells to invade the neighboring healthy cells and infect them. There are many types of cancer and most of them are deadly which can cause death, while there are some treatments available; there has been no known cure that’s potently effective just yet. Some treatments can kill the cancerous cells while some control the symptoms such as pain. Millions every year gets afflicted with different types of cancer and millions more die every year all over the world. Cancer has been a serious predicament in the medical world and there are concerns on the probability of finding a cure soon.

There are some major efforts being done to correct this but funds have been dwindling making these researches an effort that needs the aid of many people. Many foundations, colleges and other medical groups are doing intensive scientific endeavors to understand fully the development of cancer and what possible treatments, therapies and cure could be done to prevent cancer and its growth. They are called cancer research. In cancer research they discover new methods of treating cancer with the development of new technology and new discoveries about the disease. With proper funding, cancer researches would be able to flourish and hopefully find the perfect cure.

Many organizations have been doing their best to help fund this research facilities, doing fund raising projects and programs for public awareness. It is essential for the public to take notice of this programs because anyone from anywhere can be afflicted with cancer. Gradually, more and more people have found ways in doing both, raising funds for cancer and spreading awareness. When doing such, you hit the head of a nail twice making it more beneficial for cancer victims. Any method is appreciated as long as it spread awareness and help bring in money to aid cancer research. The current popular method is by selling cancer wristbands, which are inscribed with inspiring and informing statements.

Cancer wristbands have been the craze lately, many are wearing them because they are cool and fashionable and yet they help out in finding a cure for cancer. Remember the ribbons everybody used to wear for AIDS. Cancer Wristbands now are what the AIDS ribbons were then. This stretchy cancer wristbands, usually made from either from rubber or silicone, are a great way to do fundraising. They are one size fits all and don’t cost too much. There is a 100 percent profit in cancer wristbands, which may be donated to cancer researches and also boost cancer awareness. In doing so, you not only get a cool looking cancer wristband, you are also helping out the countless cancer victims all over the world.

Many say that this trend started out when Lance Armstrong came out yellow “LiveStrong” wristband to promote and fund cancer research. That promotion had all the right ingredients to capture the people’s interest. Present was the revered American icon asking the people for help, the item was very affordable, was a good conversation peace and it showed that if you were wearing it, you were concerned about other people and their needs. It was also for a cause everyone wanted to help in and deserved all the help t can get. Soon enough, everyone was wearing them, from high profile people, to entertainers with big names straight to the president.

After that, many cancer wristbands went into the market spreading the word, many organizations joined the bandwagon and produced their own cancer wristbands. It has come to be that the color of the cancer wristband represented which type of cancer was to be benefited; for example, pink bracelets were in aid for breast cancer. Messages and statements would be inscribed in the bracelets empowering the knowledge of the people about cancer and tugging their hearts and the hearts of others to help out for the worthy cause.

Cancer wristbands are not only cool, they also help out, many small organizations can help out by browsing the internet and order them from reputable manufacturers who pledge assistance for every cancer wristband you purchase. You may also do your own fundraising; some sites offer very low prices for wholesale purchases so that you can sell them at a markup price so you can have earnings to donate to research facilities. Be aware, support cancer wristbands to help cancer research.

About the author

Michael Sanford updates his website with up to date cancer info at http://www.cancer-resource-center.com

Breast Cancer, Prevention Is The Cure

October has been Breast Cancer Awareness month since 1985. In the coming days, pink ribbons will emerge in abundance, symbolizing the efforts of educational and fund raising events that take place to find the “cure”, and offering hope to those already diagnosed. These local and national events will generate millions of dollars. As the “Race for the Cure” continues, how can women incorporate preventative measures into their daily lives? Prevention is the hope that you will not be one of the growing numbers of women being diagnosed with breast cancer each year.

Women are repeatedly told that “early detection is the best protection”. Early detection is vital if you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, but this is not the same as prevention. While researching for this article, I realized that “early detection” is often confused with actual “prevention”.

Sue Macleod, a breast cancer survivor and health care professional, observes that since the petro-chemical era of the 1930’s, the incidence of breast cancer has risen from 1 in 50 women to 1 in 8 by the year 2000. To date, research continues to explore the links between breast cancer and the environment. The study, “State of the Evidence: What is the Connection Between Chemicals and Breast Cancer?” presented by the Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action explores and summarizes the research about links between breast cancer and the environment. The document points out that we can no longer ignore the increasing evidence that repeated exposure to certain chemicals are contributing to the rising incidence of breast cancer each year. Chemicals such as parabans, pesticides, cleansers and pharmaceutical drugs act like estrogens in our bodies. This is troubling, because a woman’s vulnerability to breast cancer increases as her lifetime exposure to estrogen increases.

The mounting evidence linking synthetic chemicals to the rising rates of breast cancer is empowering women to make healthy choices in their everyday lives. These choices are preventative.

What can be done to prevent breast cancer and minimize risk?

• Choose 100% pure, synthetic chemical free cosmetics. Individuals can make healthy choices regarding the personal products they use daily. Many of these, including lotions, cosmetics, shampoos and conditioners, contain chemicals that have been linked to breast cancer. According to industry estimates, on any given day, a woman may use as many as 25 different cosmetic and personal care products containing more than 200 different chemical compounds. Avoid rubbing these toxic cocktails into your skin by choosing healthy, organic and natural products.

• Be a more informed consumer. Ask critical questions about “pink ribbon promotions” before you purchase a product. The cosmetic industry has been criticized for raising money for breast cancer research by promoting products that may actually contribute to the rising tide of breast cancer. See www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org for ways to demand safer products from cosmetic companies.

• Include high dietary intake of carotenes: dark leafy greens and green and yellow produce.

• Eat foods rich in Vitamin E and Selenium: sunflower seeds, freshly ground wheat, olive oil, flax oil, garlic, onions, and mushrooms.

• Reduce consumption of animal foods that contain hormones, such as milk, chicken, beef, and pork.

• Increase consumption of organically grown foods.

• Create sufficient consumption of Vitamin D: sunlight, 10 minutes daily; sardines and tuna.

• Discover what really moves you and keep moving: gardening, yoga, dance, walking, etc.

• Reduce or eliminate the use of plastic containers for food storage.

• Avoid unnecessary radiation; radiation is cumulative over a lifetime.

• Avoid using pesticides (weed killers, insecticides, etc) in your yard or home.

Join community action groups that support organizations that are investing in research that focus on cause and prevention. Support the “race for the cause”.

So when you see those pink ribbons emerge this month, consider that they proclaim “Prevention is the Cure”. Laura Weinberg, co-president of The Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition says it best, “The old pink ribbon is hope for the future. This pink ribbon is saying there is something we can do today.”

Resources:

Breast Cancer? Breast Health, Susan Weed
State of Evidence, www.bcaction.org, www.breastcancerfund.org
Pathways to Prevention, The Breast Cancer Fund
Stop Cancer.org
Cancer risk: Could beauty products have an ugly side? Sue Hutchinson, San Jose Mercury News, September 20 2005.
Use With Discretion, India Statesman, Women’s Feature Service, September 4, 2005

About the author.

Pamela Cronan-Maddox, herself an ovarian cancer Survivor, is the visionary and president of The Alchemist’s Apprentice, Inc. http://www.alchemistsapprentice.com., an online apothecary dedicated to providing 100% pure, organic and healthy personal care products.

Cancer: Will There Ever Be A Cure?

It is no wonder there are so few (if any) “natural cures” for devastating diseases. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I would say it’s because the medical industry doesn’t want to find “natural cures.” If a natural cure were found for cancer, for example, oncologists and the whole traditional “cancer fighting” network would be looking for another specialty. Or another line of work.

The pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want to find a natural cure for cancer because there is no profit in a cure. Big Pharma makes its money selling products that at best only manage symptoms that are not life threatening but on going. Anyone with high blood pressure is a financial bonanza for the drug companies. Those unfortunate individuals will take profitable “management medication” until they die. Got it? Management pays. Cures do not.

However, I am not a conspiracy theorist. But I am a thinker. And I think this: There is a lot of stupidity and far too many “experts” who have been educated beyond their intelligence who are in charge of how and what research gets done, and what the public is told and led to believe as unimpeachable.

This is what I am getting at: A recent press release, “Study doubts antioxidant benefits for heart risk women” told about a study that concluded that women at high risk for heart disease are unlikely to see any benefit from taking antioxidants C,E, or beta carotene.

The study was conducted at prestigious Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Right there you know the findings of this study are to be taken as the Word of God. And that’s exactly the effect it has when an uninformed, wary populace learns about the study conclusion.

And what is the study conclusion?

“There was no overall effect of ascorbic acid, vitamin E or beta carotene on the primary combined end point or on the individual secondary outcomes of myocardial infarction, stroke, coronary revascularization or cardiovascular disease death,” wrote the researchers.

That’s a mouthful. They could just as well said that the supplements were useless, but that would not have sounded scientific enough.

Here’s what really happened: Women with a history of heart disease and a whole host of other health issues were chosen for the study. They were not “at risk” for heart disease – they had heart disease. In other words, they were very sick puppies.

Here’s why the study didn’t produce positive results: The women were randomly assigned to take 500 mg of vitamin C or a placebo every day, 600 units of vitamin E or placebo and 50 mg of beta carotene or placebo every day.

Anyone with even a smattering of knowledge about what supplements can or cannot do would know that the doses given could not produce a cure or even a major benefit for anyone with severe heart problems. The doses given in the study are doses that health-aware people take every day, knowing that prevention is the key to staying healthy.

This type of useless study is nothing new. The medical industry along with Big Pharma continue to spend time and money on research that is doomed to fail from the get go. You can’t expect to cure very sick people with severe health problems with dietary doses of supplements. It ain’t gonna happen – ever. But this kind of worthless research serves a purpose – it perpetuates the fiction that supplements are useless, and worse – possibly dangerous.

I recall telling a woman that I take 2,000 units of vitamin E daily. The woman rolled her eyes and said, “That’s dangerous. My doctor would never go for that.” For sure. Most traditionally trained doctors don’t know squat about supplements, and don’t want to know. Those with enough intellectual honesty and curiosity to ask questions run the risk of the scorn of their peers, which in the medical profession is a fate worse than death.

Many people won’t take supplements unless they are recommended by their physician who may have only minimal training in nutrition. All most traditionally trained doctors know is what “research shows” – research of the type done at prestigious universities, hospitals and by the pharmaceutical industry.

Bottom line: Be a thinker. Understand that supplements in dietary doses cannot be expected to cure. But when they are taken in adequate amounts before a disease state begins, they can be life savers.

The Key To Curing Cancer Today

The key is to LIVE in the present moment, but know that you are creating your future in this moment. What you are looking for is balance in your thinking. In other words, living in the present moment while giving thought to something you desire and expecting it.

The idea of choosing what you desire and following your dreams can bring you closer to curing yourself of cancer. What stops many people from developing health is that they are afraid that their way of doing something it will not be good enough or accepted. They compare what comes from them naturally with what is considered the norm. We spend much of our days following and doing what we have come to believe we need to do, rather than what truly excites us and what would, for that very reason, end up bringing us the joy we seek.

We must truly expect to experience enormous joy and happiness in our lives yet the first concern we have in the morning upon wakening is to be on time to a job that does not bring us joy and excitement! If seventy percent of your days are filled with activities that do not bring you joy, excitement and love, then the remaining thirty- percent cannot compensate for that. Your life will be spent in unhappiness and stress, both aspects which have been shown to depress the immune system and bring on disease.

The more time you spend doing things that do not truly bring us joy and excitement, the more growing unhappiness, and this ends up bringing us more stress and disease.

All change comes from the inside. Trying to change things using the outside-in approach is always doomed to failure. As you begin to search for and follow your joy and excitement you may feel this process appears a bit selfish. To start healing yourself of cancer and disease, you must start by allowing yourself the freedom to find your joy and excitement.

Following your joy is not one large step, like quitting your job and spending your days sitting under a tree. That is not following your joy - that is escaping. There is a big difference between following the things that truly excite you and doing things to escape from a life that does not bring you joy.

The trick is to find, in the present moment, the things that would bring you the most excitement, and then do whatever you can to follow that excitement, even in the smallest way. This causes a chain reaction that brings you more opportunities to do what you love to do.

Whenever you follow your joy it will turn out to be the most rewarding thing at the end. When you follow your true joy, wherever that leads you, and even if it changes from time to time, then the details will work themselves out on their own.

You do not have to know the details or how do anything to become health. All you have to do is focus on what you want. You need to trust yourself and the Power within you that you can truly follow your joy and do things in a way that bring you joy and have it all work out.

The greatest obstacle to happiness is not living in the present moment and not following your joy. The solution is to do just the opposite. If you find yourself focusing on the past or the future, remind yourself that the present moment is all there is, and then surrender to what is and see how life suddenly starts working for you.