Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer

Since October is breast cancer awareness month, I’ve asked my friend Julie to write a guest post. You may know Julie. She’s a frequent commenter on my blog and Polish Housewife’s facebook page. We’ve been friends for over 30 years.

I can still remember Skyping her to see how she was doing after a breast biopsy. We were both so confident that things would be  fine. . . the diagnosis was cancer.

Several years later, Julie is fine; she is more than fine. Julie is an awe inspiring cancer warrior now. She has become so well informed about things related to her health, and I can tell you that she really lives this. She talks the talk AND walks the walk.

Without further ado, here’s Julie with some dos and don’ts to help you reduce your risk of breast cancer:

 

Breast Cancer Awareness month never used to make much of an impact on me. I didn’t ever give it much thought at all until May of 2010, when a new spot on my annual mammogram turned out to be malignant cancer. Now, not only is every month Breast Cancer Awareness Month, every day is!

I led a fairly healthy lifestyle before my diagnosis, but with the help of my naturopathic oncologist and the Phoenix Cancer Support Community, I have changed what I put in my mouth, on my body and in my home. It all matters to my health now and I’d like to share a few quick hints that you can easily incorporate into your life. Little changes over time add up to big results.

3 Do’s:

Drink green tea. Green tea is great for your body and your skin. A compound in it may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. Try for 3 cups a day, but any is better than none. Did you know if you have a sunburn, that putting 2 or 3 green tea bags in a bathtub full of water will help your burn heal? That’s how healing it is to your skin!

Eat 2 white button mushrooms every day. They help to naturally lower your estrogen levels and estrogen feeds many breast cancers.

Eat 2 Brazil nuts every day. They provide your body it’s daily dose of selenium, which helps your body prevent development of breast and other cancers.

3 Don’ts:

Cut down on refined sugars, bad fats and alcohol. They all cause an inflammatory response in your body and cancer cells love the heck out of inflammation.

Read labels and don’t buy processed food, period. If there is even one ingredient listed that you can’t pronounce or haven’t the slightest idea what it is, put that package back on the shelf. Eat food as close to it’s natural state as possible.

Read labels of personal care products. Avoid phthalates and parabens, both of which are endocrine disruptors, mimicking estrogen in the body. See above, estrogen feeds cancers.

For more information:

Ewg.org is a wonderful resource to help you locate products which are not harmful to your body. Loads of great information on this site, it will open your eyes!

“Anticancer, A New Way of Life”, by Dr. Servan-Schreiber is the single best, practical advice book I read. I can’t recommend it enough.