Latest Cancer Info from a Friend on Facebook

I am unsure how true all of the below is as a friend shared this on Facebook recently but in light of the detox/cleanse I just did and knowing my family's history with cancer and knowing their eating habits and non-exercising habits....this all really hit home to me, even if just a bit of it is true!! YIKES! And it sounds like I am on the right track with working out and eating better.

 

Here's what she shared:

 

 

 

LATEST CANCER INFORMATION
from Johns Hopkins

AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY AND ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY …


... 1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime.

3. When the person's immune system is strong the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.


11. An effective way to battle cancer is to STARVE the cancer cells by not feeding it with foods it needs to multiple.

What cancer cells feed on:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Note: Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in colour. Better alternative is Bragg's aminos or sea salt.


b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soy milk, cancer cells will starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes t o nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells.

To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water--best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines will become putrified and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence, Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.

Anger, unforgiving and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment. Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.

Breast Cancer Awareness Store

I came across this on my facebook and thought I might pass it along to those here too as I do adore the Breast Cancer items!

The Breast Cancer Awareness Store

I wear the white socks I picked up from the grocery store with the lil pink ribbons and I do have the walking shoes already which I adore. I have several other items as well throughout the house with the breast cancer awareness ribbon on them or that are pink. Aside from being my favorite color, it also reminds me about breast cancer awareness. :)

And I am picking up the phone now to call and get a referral for a mammogram as I had to put it off due to being sick last year and missed my normal time. Not putting it off any longer tho'! :)

Focus on Nutrition for Cancer Patients

Focus on Nutrition for Cancer Patients

Fighting a battle with cancer can be overwhelming at times and there are many obstacles to overcome. While undergoing treatment, your body will go through big changes and you will need to adjust to them. After treatment, you will want to do everything you can to keep the cancer from recurring. A healthy diet can help you with all these challenges and can help you live longer.

Healthy Eating after Cancer Treatment

Cancer treatment has side effects that can cause eating problems. You may experience a change in appetite or your mouth and throat may be sore so that you have trouble chewing and swallowing. Your digestive tract may be affected and you may have diarrhea or constipation. Food may smell and taste differently and you may experience either weight gain or loss. During different stages of treatment patients may be recommended specific diets such as the clear liquid diet, full liquid diet or soft food diet. This can be suggested for people with all types of cancers going through chemotherapy like colon cancer, breast cancer and rare forms of cancers like mesothelioma and pancreatic cancer.

The American Cancer Society suggests that cancer patients eat a variety of foods that include five or more servings of fruits and vegetables. These are full of antioxidants that nourish and protect cells. All grains need to be whole grains and dairy products should be limited. Protein needs to be low in saturated fats, so pick lean meat, fish, eggs, seeds, beans, and nuts. Things to avoid completely or to eat very little of are fatty meats and refined sugar.

Preventing Cancer with Diet

There are certain natural ingredients in fruits and vegetables that have been shown to prevent cancer and to keep it from returning. These phytochemicals will support the immune system, repair DNA, support enzymatic function, and help to detoxify the body so disease-causing toxins are flushed out.

The Prostrate Cancer Foundation  has dietary guidelines to help prevent prostate cancer. One guideline is to watch the number of calories you consume and to exercise so that you maintain a healthy weight. Limit consumption of fat from dairy products and red meat. Suggested foods are fish which has omega-3 fatty acids, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, soy, and green tea. Cruciferous vegetables include bok choy, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cress, broccoli, kale, and rutabaga.

The American Cancer Society states that diet plays a part in preventing colorectal cancer. It is suggested that you eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains every day. You also need to avoid red meat and processed meat as there has been a connection shown between these foods and developing colorectal cancer. Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase the risk of colorectal cancer, especially in men, so it should be limited. 

Liz Davies  is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She wants to make a difference in people's lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz also likes running, playing lacrosse, reading, and playing with her dog, April.

 If you would like to contact Liz Davies with any questions, please feel free to write her at her email: healthylizd@gmail.com

Thank you Liz for a really great, informative, and helpful article!

Sharing A Pink Ribbon Story

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was in her 40s. She was very heavy, overweight and large breasted. I am uncertain as to why she let the lump go in her breast as long as she had but she did. Could be fear or not wanting to know or face it, I have no idea. My father found the lump and it was the size of a golf ball. My mother had very large, long breasts. After having four girls and already being a bit of a big woman coupled with her sweet tooth and lack of exercise and perhaps genetics, she became overweight.
I remember my father often challenging her to lose her weight by offering trips or a cruise and she would make an effort but eventually gave up. She would huff and puff just going up the street as she was so out of shape.

Unfortunately, the cancer, once found and diagnosed, had gotten into her lymph node under her arm and so they had to remove her right breast. I remember how devastated she was and how ugly she felt. Losing a breast of that size, threw off her sense of balance as well and then the chemo thinned her hair. She wore wigs until it grew in a bit more. She always had thin hair to begin with and the chemotherapy did not help. I remember her getting radiation treatments and how tan her upper chest got from it.

I remember the trouble she had in finding a fake breast to put into her bra. It was hard to find one the right size. Either she found one that was similiar in size but it had a lil pocket in it and so it would make this flop noise as it hit against her chest when she walked or it was a silicone gel type that was just too small and she was lopsided. It was a nasty scar too from what I remember.
Beyond the aesthetics, this took a toll on my mother's self esteem and I won't forget the anguish and pain she felt and how awful she felt about herself after the surgery.

She was alright health wise afterwards for about a year or so and then cancer reappeared in her legs as bone cancer. We were told, that it was only a matter of time and all they could do about the bone cancer was to try to slow it down and make her as comfortable as possible.

I remember the many visits to the doctors and hospitals for her. I remember her limping and using a cane or walker and she felt so limited as it hurt for her to walk. My mother was always so strong and always was doing things, keeping busy, but now, she could not and barely could get out of bed to go to the bathroom. We put a port-a-potty into the room for her and her bed was moved downstairs into the living room as she could not take the stairs.
She had seen a chiropractor for the pain and I remember being shown how to push my elbow into certain places on her legs and her buttocks, on pressure points, to try to help alleviate the pain. My mother would scream out there in bed when I did this and I hated it. It was awful. I always felt I was just causing her more pain instead of lessening it.

The cancer moved up from the bones in her legs and travelled up her spine and eventually got to her brain and she was placed into the hospital and then had tumors form on her skull.

I was 17, in Earth Science class when the call came. Before the teacher could tell me what it was or who it was for, I turned to my best friend Penny and told her, "That's for me, to tell me that my mother died."

I just knew.

I felt rather numb at the time. I was prepared for it as she was in the hospital and I had gotten to see her a day or two before. I was able to tell her I loved her and I remember she could not talk much with all the tubes.

It was very hard to watch my mother die like that. Waste away from cancer. To go from a woman who was always so strong to her body becoming so weak. Cancer is such a horrible disease and so hard on the body and mind with how debilitating it is, not to mention how hard it is on the loved ones to watch their family or friends die like that.

My mother died in 1982. She was 49 years old.

I am now 46 and I was told by my father and I can see for myself in the pictures of her, that I am built just like my mother.
I have had many mammograms and been getting them yearly now since I was in my 30s. I keep a close watch on my breasts and it's hard to check them for I have fibercystic breasts so I have to have the doc check them once a year as well as myself. I know that I am in much better shape than she was as I am more active, yet I do worry about getting cancer like she did. It used to be a theory of mine that the cancer fed on the fat in her body, although I do know that skinny people do get cancer too so that theory went out the window. But still, it is another driving point for me to keep up the fight with the battle of the bulge, just in case that has anything to do with it and also I believe if I am more fit and stronger, that my body might be able to keep it away or fight it better.

I do have a cyst in my right breast although it is not cancer, thank goodness. I've had scares but so far, so good.

It was my father's belief that my mother always wore bras that were too small and did not fit her properly and I try to be mindful of that as well, even if that sounds far fetched.
I also know my mother ate a lot of fish from rivers where there could have been mercury or poisoning within them that could have caused the cancer. No idea. We'll never know.

On top of this, my aunt, no blood relation, but was married to my father's younger brother, got the same type of cancer as my mother and she went through the exact same thing. She was built similiar to my mother as well and often we all went camping and fishing together as a family. My aunt died about 20 some years ago herself as the cancer ravaged her body and I think she had it even worse.

I can only hope that I will not get cancer or if I do, it will be caught soon enough so that it may just get removed and I will be ok and can be a cancer survivor. I used to always say as a kid that if I ever got breast cancer, after the grieving process of losing my breasts, I would then turn around and get several different sizes of breasts. One day, I could be the size 34A and wear the skimpy sexy outfits I never could and then the next day, I'd be a nice 38D and wear the hot outfits for larger breasted women too. My way of coping with the fear of it happening to me.

I know all I can do is to take good care of myself, get check ups with the doc regularly and encourage my daughter to do the same as she also, is built like me.

The whole experience with my mother, who never got to see me have kids, never saw me get married and I never got to talk to her about her pregnancies, her life, or other women things that I would have loved to have talked to her of now that I am a grown woman...all of that, made me wish to share of all the knowledge I can and have with my daughter before she goes out into the world. I know I can't give her experience as that is for her to live her life and do, but I can share all the knowledge and wisdom I can with her that I do have. For life is fleeting and sometimes you never know what may happen the next day. So many things I wish I could turn and talk to my mom about. To sit down with her and have a good conversation and ask her of her life. She was a very closed person, sadly. So there is a lot that I do not know and did not get to share with her.

I was never close to my mother when I was a young girl. But I am extremely close with my daughter now and I am all the more blessed for that and grateful. In a way, I like to think that my mother is watching and smiling to see me have this special bond with my daughter for it is what I wished we could have had, my mother and I. But I know she would be proud of my girl and that we are taking better care of ourselves.

This is why I have the penguin with the pink ribbon on this site in support of breast cancer awareness.
I also purchase pink things now and then in support of it and think of my mother.
I miss you mom.