By Claire Bacon, ACN, CNC
The rising prevalence of Breast Cancer is a monumental problem. Even just mentioning the words Breast Cancer immediately strikes fear in the hearts of all women. All of us have a close friend or family member who has been touched by this disease. Breast Cancer death rates have been falling in recent years – and that’s good – but the rates of incidence have actually been rising. In other words, more people are getting diagnosed, and it’s happening at younger ages. Part of the problem may be that people aren’t aware of all the holistic strategies that can make a world of difference to your health!
People are getting diagnosed more often, and guess what – it’s not just women. A lot of men are getting breast cancer, too. I feel like it’s because we live in a toxic soup. And our world is getting more and more toxic, from things like farming chemicals, to air and water pollution. And our body’s defenses are at a real disadvantage – because of how our toxic and depleted farm soils. We simply are not nourished well enough for our immune systems and detox mechanisms to handle this huge body burden.
It sounds really discouraging, but of course there are things we can do to better our chances of staying healthy.
Understanding Hormonal Changes
As we enter our “perimenopausal years”, this may be a confusing time when slowly our menstrual cycles become less predictable, and we may seek more medical interventions. Many women seek out endometrial ablation to control heavy flow, or undergo hysterectomy for a variety of other problems. With female issues, often it’s an imbalance of estrogen to progesterone that’s to blame. But for so many women, we don’t always get an objective look at what our hormones are actually doing. Without a full understanding, how can we truly fix the problem?
Let’s say you’ve been feeling “not like yourself” lately. You’re more irritable than normal, you’re gaining weight, and having trouble sleeping. Maybe you’re having hot flashes during the day or sweating profusely at night. Whether or not your cycle is still going strong or petered out a couple years ago, consider doing a DUTCH Complete test.
A DUTCH Complete is a great way to check out your three different estrogens (Estrone, Estradiol, and Estrone) in relation to your Progesterone and Testosterone. In addition, you gain knowledge about your adrenal hormones, Cortisol and DHEA. The test shows you a deeper understanding of what your body is doing with the estrogen you’re producing or if you’re taking a prescription estrogen.
Do you have too much, or too little? Is your liver detoxing it properly, or is there a problem with it going down an unhealthy pathway? We can help you with the testing and interpretation to figure this out.
Another great way to gain more understanding is to use thermography. Whether or not you do regular mammograms, thermography provides a different kind of information, and can give additional peace of mind. Thermography can detect subtle heat changes that accompany breast pathology, whether it is cancer, fibrocystic disease, an infection or vascular disease. You and your doctor can then plan accordingly to further assess if treatment is needed.
Top 6 Ways To Prevent or Heal from Breast Cancer:
#1 Avoid Toxins on Your Skin and in Your Home
First, you want to avoid toxins in your personal care products – everything you use on your skin, as well as in your home. We’ve talked about this before! Think about all the lotions, creams, and soaps you have at home. Most of them contain some form of preservative or fragrance. Look for parabens, the words fragrance or parfum, or really long words that look like a chemistry experiment. Those things can enter our system through the skin and can build up in our fat cells. It’s just one more burden you’ll have to detoxify.
On top of your processed food, flavored coffees, makeup and lotions, also consider your dish soap, laundry detergent, floor cleaners, toothpaste, scented cat litter, toilet scrub, hair dye, alcohol, candles, nonstick pans, and air fresheners. Not to mention the mold, radon, and EMFs!
We truly live in a toxic soup. We don’t want you to be neurotic, but we do need to limit the exposures within our control.
#2 Maintain Healthy Blood Sugar Levels
Living in America, it’s a constant struggle to limit our sugar and carbohydrate consumption. It really is the top dietary measure you can take. If you’re wanting to optimize your health, you must eliminate all sugar from the diet. Processed sugars like corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup are the worst! To some extent, grains, starches, and even fruits can impair your sugar handling system, weakening the pancreas and increasing inflammation. Furthermore, excess sugar blocks your vitamin C receptors, which weakens the immune system.
On top of that, excess glucose causes fast turnover of cancer cells and is a top driver of tumor growth. This can be demonstrated by PET scan technology. With a PET scan, a sugary chemical cocktail is consumed, and the cancer tumors immediately absorb the sugar for fuel. The sugar molecule attaches to a radioactive isotope so the cancer tumors can be seen in the scan.
#3 Daily Exercise and Lymphatic Drainage
Next, let’s examine your daily exercise. Did you know, there was a study on 73,000 women over 16 years that showed walking just 1 hour a day can cut your risk of Breast Cancer by 14 percent. And if you do more, your risk gets cut more! This study showed that gentle physical activity might help normalize body levels of estrogen and insulin, both of which can fuel breast cancer. You really need to keep moving – not only to burn up the extra free glucose circulating in the bloodstream, but also to sweat and jog and bounce and let gravity really move the lymph.
#4 Antiperspirants and Sweating
Lastly, (or do this first, as well) ditch the antiperspirant. It’s way more important for you to sweat and have well-functioning lymph nodes than it is for you to feel dry every day. It’s easy to adjust your wardrobe so you don’t appear to sweat. It’s the aluminum in antiperspirant that can be so harmful to our system. You don’t have to smell bad! Yes – It may take a few months to do a complete armpit detox, but you can do it, and you’ll be healthier for it!
After you have successfully flushed toxins from your lymph nodes, you won’t have any odor and won’t sweat as much, either. It’s worth it to get started, now!
- Golden Phae stick,
- Piper Wai stick,
- Schmidt’s Sensitive,
- Alveda Herbal roll-on, and
- Real Purity roll-on deodorants.
#5 Increase Pancreatic Enzymes
Pancreatic enzyme deficiency often occurs in individuals who develop cancer. Two enzymes in particular are often lacking—trypsin and chymotrypsin. These enzymes are effective against inflammation and abnormal tissue growth. In the book, The Enzyme Treatment of Cancer and Its Scientific Basis, Scottish embryologist John Beard describes how certain enzymes secreted by the pancreas inhibit and destroy the growth of abnormal cells. Anytime someone presents with abnormalities like cysts, fibroids, or tumors, we suspect systemic inflammation and consider the use of enzymes.
#6 Support Your Immune System
We often say that every cancer case is a liver case (detoxification) and an immune case. Truly, it’s our immune system that keeps us out of trouble on a regular basis. Our immune system is patrolling all our tissues, every day, to make sure that abnormal or foreign cells get tagged, captured, and eliminated from the body. This process is called phagocytosis.
Phagocytosis is the process where macrophages, neutrophils, and other specialized cells eat up harmful bacteria and abnormal cellular matter. By removing these cells before they can multiply, phagocytosis helps prevent cancer from developing and keeps tissues healthy. It’s one of the body’s natural ways of maintaining balance and protection at the cellular level.
So, how do we promote phagocytosis nutritionally? By giving the immune system all of the raw vitamins, minerals, and herbal kick-in-the-pants when needed!
Vitamin C helps white blood cells work efficiently and protects them from damage while they engulf harmful particles. Vitamin D supports immune balance and helps macrophages function properly. Calcium assists in the internal signaling that allows immune cells to move and consume invaders. Other nutrients such as zinc, selenium, omega-3 fats, and quality protein also strengthen immune cell activity.
Supplement Spotlight on Breast Health
And of course, we have a few supplements that we recommend for breast health:
- Mammary PMG – is an extract that comes from healthy breast tissue. It helps to normalize tissue growth and repair, and helps to decoy an out-of-control immune system away from the breast tissue. It’s also really good for mastitis.
- Prolamine Iodine Plus – this is a pretty strong dose of iodine – 3 mg per tablet. Normally we talk about iodine in the context of thyroid support, but guess what – it’s also protective of breast tissue, too! Breast tissue actually becomes more responsive to estrogen in the system when it is lacking iodine. With that estrogenic stimulation, fibrocystic tendencies can form. So especially if you’re not in the habit of eating sushi or seaweed, or other types of seafood, having a good iodine supplement is essential.
- Burdock Complex – This product doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it should. It has the same herbs as the original Essiac Tea formula. A Canadian nurse, Rene Caisse, created the formula. These are: Burdock, Slippery Elm, Sheep Sorrel, and Rhubarb. These have a combined effect to help with intestinal cleansing, removal of toxins, and supporting a healthy immune system in the gut.
A few more favorites…
We have so many choices to help support immunity. Depending what specifically may be going on with you, some choices may be better than others.
- Calcium Lactate Powder or Calcium Lactate tablets to engage phagocytosis.
- Cataplex F tablets to support healthy cell membranes and reduce the risk of fibrosis.
- Immuplex to elevate overall immune strength.
- Lactic Acid Yeast to counteract yeast and fungal overgrowth in the gut.
- Cataplex C to power our innate immunity.
- Andrographis Complex to enhance respiratory health, protect the liver, and counteract parasitic infections.
Alternatively, if you’re having pill fatigue you may enjoy having a liquid herbal formulation, instead:
- Winter Liquid Blend: Mediherb Echinacea Premium 1:2, Burdock 1:2, and Astragalus 1:2, equal proportions of each. Ask Claire if you’d like a custom Winter blend made just for you!
The herbs in this blend are immune-enhancing, intestine-cleansing, liver-promoting, and liver-protective. The synergistic properties of the different herbs make this combination valuable when you’re in need of a multi-pronged approach. It’s beneficial to the mucus membranes throughout the body, helping to modulate immune activity and cleanse the waste products from the immune battlefield effectively.
Final Thoughts on Holistic Strategies
Although facing Breast Cancer is serious and daunting, there are many things you can do to improve your outcomes and quality of life. The top thing is to educate yourself! The information you feed your mind helps to conquer the situation in small steps.
When you have the right information, you can move forward confidently and without any fear!
