What Causes Breast Cancer - Mammography Guidelines and Prevention
What causes breast cancer? The answer to this question involves the relationship between breast cancer and estrogen, and will significantly reduce your risk of getting breast cancer. It will also help you to make sense of the new proposed mammogram guidelines.
Mammogram Guidelines
I wrote this web page because of the recent concern about revised guidelines for mammograms. Women are very concerned and confused by this change and so I wanted to address this issue, and also the issue of breast cancer and estrogen.
Some women feel that this is part of a cutting back in funding for breast cancer detection and treatment that may be part the new health care bill being debated in congress.
I don’t know what politicians are thinking, but I will try to address this concern and suggest steps to deal with it. In a sense what causes breast cancer is not lack of screening, but rather a lack of knowledge about prevention.
The new proposed mammogram guidelines are based on statistics that show that for every 2,000 women that get mammograms there would be one life saved by this early detection, but 20 false positives that would expose the women to unnecessary cancer treatment such as radiation and or chemotherapy.
By starting mammograms at age 50 instead, only one additional life would be lost to breast cancer, but 20 false positives eliminated, sparing the 20 women the suffering of undergoing standard cancer treatment (radiation and/or chemo).
This is of course based on statistical analysis, but if you are the one woman who is impacted by an undetected cancer, then it is no longer about statistics, but about your life.
However as I will explain to you, there is another way to look at these new mammogram guidelines, and a course of action that can help increase the odds in YOUR favor.
Knowing what causes breast cancer will help you prevent it. When getting mammograms or being treated with radiation, protect yourself with good nutrition by increasing your intake of antioxidant foods and liquid antioxidants in supplement form because they are better absorbed by your body.
What Causes Breast Cancer?
Darn good question! The short simple answer is DNA changes brought on by abnormal cellular homeostasis. Actually there are many factors, but as you will see they are all related and can all be addressed by doing certain things, some of which you probably have not been told about!
Breasts are made up of fatty tissues, and fat is where toxins in the body are stored. Therefore if you have toxins from heavy metals, or environmental chemicals, your breasts will be affected.
Ironically estrogen, the same hormone that increases the risk of breast cancer also causes the type of cancer that men fear the most, prostate cancer.
Estrogen also is stored in fatty tissue, and it is a trigger for a number of cancers including breast, uterine, and prostate (yep, the “guy” cancer!)
Radiation from mammograms and other forms of radiographic screening like chest x-rays, ect., can also result in increased risk for breast cancer.
This is again because the fatty tissues of the breasts are very delicate structures and easily affected by free radicals that are generated by toxins and radiation. Ionizing radiation (from x-rays and mammograms) can also cause breast cancer.
With the new mammography guidelines, the silver lining so to speak may well be that women are exposed to much less radiation over time because they would be starting mammograms at age 50 instead of 40. This will result in less breast cancer not more!
The one additional (statistical) death per 2,000 women may not even occur! Also, if you add in the lifestyle changes, nutrition, and use of methyl donors that I will discuss on this page, there should be a significant drop in breast cancer due to the new guidelines if they are adopted.
Breast Cancer and Estrogen
Breast tissue is estrogen sensitive, just as is the male prostate gland. Cancer can be triggered by abnormally high estrogen levels in both the breasts AND prostate. Synthetic estrogens and xenoestrogens (environmental estrogens) have a very negative impact of the breasts and significantly increase your chances of getting breast cancer.
This is why synthetic estrogen therapy has been halted by mainstream medicine, and women affected by breast cancer have part of large class action lawsuits against major pharmaceutical companies who make and market these synthetic hormones.
If you are considering estrogen therapy and it is a medical necessity, then you need to read Suzanne Somers books regarding bioidentical hormone therapy.
Susan is a breast cancer survivor, and although many doctors do not like her because they are not used to a woman without medical training speaking out on breast cancer, she speaks from personal experience, which of course male doctors will never have!
Ok, now we’ve delved into what causes breast cancer and the relationship between breast cancer and estrogen, we know that synthetic estrogens, and environmental estrogens are bad, but what do we do?
Change The Odds in Your Favor
Please understand that nothing I am going to suggest to you somehow guarantees that you will never get cancer, but what I will tell you is that is will certainly lessen the chances that you will get cancer, and that is well worth the effort.
If you know what causes breast cancer, you can take very effective steps to prevent it. The information about the MTFHR gene is especially important, because that is where the issue of “family history” that you hear so much about comes into play!
Here are some recommended steps:
Eat a healthy diet which means….
Fresh fruits and vegetables – preferably organic, and always wash them carefully
Lean healthy proteins such as organic chicken, and fish, rather than red meat
Note: If you do eat red meat, make it organic (no estrogens) and free range (less fat). Always buy organic products to avoid hormones in pesticides and other chemicals.
Reduce grain consumption, especially wheat, and eat whole grains rather than processed ones
Consume healthy fats, especially the omega three fats
Cut carbohydrate consumption especially from processed sources like white flour, white sugar, and white rice
Screen for the MTFHR gene, and if you have it, then use methyl donors to improve methylation, reduce Homocysteine, and reduce risk of heart disease and cancer
The easiest way to tell if you carry the MTFHR genotype is to note when you eat asparagus whether your urine has a strong odor. If it does you have this defective gene and need to take methyl donors to protect against cancer (including breast cancer), heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease
Take a full spectrum multivatamin/mineral supplement, pharmaceutical grade fish oil, antioxidant, liquid antioxidants work very well, and extra vitamin-d on a daily basis
Exercise at least 3 days per week for 20 to 30 minutes using some form of strength training combined with interval training
Maintain a normal blood sugar level, and if you are a diabetic, reduce your need for insulin you need by maintaining better blood sugar control
Reduce stress and learn to relax with music, and stress reduction techniques like the “speed trace.”
Screen for and eliminate heavy metals from you body
Wow….was that list long enough? Sorry, but I wanted to include everything I could think of about what causes breast cancer and how to prevent it and not leave something potentially important out.
Summing It All Up
Ok, I know the above list seems long and complicated, but it isn’t meant to be a daily checklist of things you must do. Rather it is a collection of strategies that you can and should gradually implement in your life not only to protect against breast cancer, but to live a healthier happier life as well.
As a woman you already know just how strong and resourceful you can be when you need to. Somehow you get it all done, and integrate all of the things you have to do into your lifestyle and make it all work. There is nothing you can’t do, and you don’t have to live in fear of breast cancer!
What causes breast cancer? DNA damage from all the toxic aspects of our modern industrial life! The list above shows strategies for normalizing our lives to what they were meant to be. The side benefits are better overall health and more enjoyment of life.
You can prevent and if need be fight this disease. I have just given you some important information, but you have to take responsibility for your own health, and empower yourself. Women have been doing that since the dawn of time.
Do You Have A Personal Story About Breast Cancer?
Are you a breast cancer survivor? Has breast cancer affected you or someone close to you? Then please share your story with us.Let us hear about how you and your loved ones handled this crisis.
Tell us how you dealt with this disease and share any tips, remedies, or treatments that you feel have helped you to overcome breast cancer and thrive.
There is strength in numbers. Add your voice through your experiences and story story on this page. The personal wisdom you share may help another woman win her personal battle with breast cancer!
regarding bioidentical hormone therapy.
