If, as the figures show, one in three of us are likely to get cancer what can we do to prevent that happening? How can we reduce the risks to more acceptable levels? And, how can we do this while still leading what we would remotely consider a “normal” life? After all, we’d feel a bit cheated if we’d given up doing all the things we love and still get struck down, wouldn’t we?
And that’s the catch right there!
In your very next thought, almost instantaneously in fact, you’ve given yourself permission to carry right on doing all the things you already do and accepted that there’s really no point in changing anything, since whatever you do is unlikely to be enough and you may as well take your chances. It is truly amazing how quick our minds are to protect our personal stasis.
The point at which to interrupt things is what we choose to call a “normal” life. The fact is “normal” life, whatever that may be for you, is exactly what is killing us. This is the place to begin. Something different is called for.
Between 80% to 90% of all cancers are related to the three major risk factors: poor nutrition, bad lifestyle and bad environmental surroundings. In theory most cancers can be entirely prevented if the factors which cause them are controlled and eliminated. Some factors are less in our control than others, so the ones we can do something about is the obvious place to start. Here’s a pretty standard list of sensible suggestions:
1. ADOPT A HEALTHY NUTRITION STRATEGY
This means a low fat (20% of diet) high fibre (5-30 gms) diet. Avoid red and cured meats and eat free range and other meat wherever possible. Go low on dairy except low-fat yoghurt and milk. Fish is good, BUT - not fish canned in oil, fish like tuna, swordfish and halibut which contain high levels of mercury, farmed fish because of hormones and bacteria. What’s that leave? Good question. Then you need to avoid sugar big time. Cancer cells feed on the stuff. Same goes for almost all packaged goods, full of bad oils, sugar, salt, colourings, preservatives, etc. Do eat free range and organic wherever possible.
2. AVOID TOBACCO
You know this. Smoking is the second major cause of cancer and the number one cause of cancer-related deaths via lung cancer. If, despite all you know about the dangers, you do smoke, you would do well to use a potent formulation of antioxidants to lessen the effects.
3. AVOID ALCOHOL & LOWER CAFFEINE
More bad news. It’s not commonly realised but alcohol greatly increases the risk for cancers of the breast, mouth, throat, pancreas, liver, head and neck. And you don’t have to be a sot either. Ridiculously small amounts can do it.
But hasn’t it been shown that alcohol is good for you? Not exactly. It’s the extract of grape skins in red wine is what’s good for you, not the alcohol itself. Here’s the really bad news. Research shows that women consuming 2 -3 alcoholic drinks per week (not per day!) have 2 - 3 times higher risk of developing breast cancer, independent of any other risk factors. If you drink regularly, however moderately, just like the smoker, you need a first rate antioxidant formulation to counteract the ravages of free radicals.
OK, now for coffee drinkers. The news is not quite so bleak. Caffeine is linked to cancer of the lower urinary tract and bladder. The risk is greatest among those who drink 3 or more cups of coffee a day. That’s do-able I reckon.
4. MINIMISE RADIATION EXPOSURE
In practical terms that means X-rays are bad for you and can over time give you cancer. Most doctors and dentists could actually give you much lower dosage and still do the job. Ask them about it. Watch out too for electro-magnetic fields (EMF) in the home and office. That means electric blankets, computer monitors, copiers and poorly insulated electrical wiring, etc. Keep exposure to a minimum.
5. KEEP YOUR ENVIRONMENT CLEAN
Household and garden chemicals and other contaminants can fill the air with bacteria, mildew, viruses and radon gas, all carcinogens.
6. HORMONAL & SEXUAL FACTORS
Of course if smoking and drinking can give you cancer, why would it be any different with sex? Well, it’s not that bad. Sex itself is GOOD! Lord be praised! It’s just the stuff around it you need to watch. Particularly mucking around with hormones. The pill, estrogen in women: testosterone and steroids in men, can all promote cancer. Unsafe sex and promiscuity also have certain cancer risks along with all the other more obvious risk factors.
7. WATCH OUT FOR THE WARNING SIGNS OF CANCER
Early detection and treatment can save your life. Most cancers are survivable if they have not spread (metastasized). Watch out for:
- A lump or thickening in breast or testicles.
- Change in a wort or mole. Dry scaly patches or pimples that don’t go away.
- Persistent skin sore, sore throat and difficulties swallowing.
- Change in bowel habits. Urinary difficulties, constipation,diarrhea, gas pains and rectal bleeding.
- Persistent cough or hoarseness.
- Constant indigestion, nausea, heartburn, bloating and loss of appetite.
- Unusual bleeding from the vagina.
Keep a sense of perspective with all this though, or you’ll be driven to hypochondria every time you burp or break wind, should you ever do such things that is. If you don’t, watch out for stress....
8. EXERCISE
Nothing too hard here, as far as cancer benefits are concerned. Don’t knock yourself out. The equivalent of a 2-mile walk several times a week and some calisthenics will do nicely. Enough to raise body temperatures, boost the immune system and increase the supply of oxygen to all parts so the body will do nicely. These are all things that fight the proliferation of cancer cells.
9. MODIFY YOUR STRESS
Stress suppresses the immune system and that increases your susceptibility to cancer. Some stress is healthy. Bad stress is too much anger, emotional suppression, passivity, depression, and undue social conformity. All the usual advise about stress is absolutely right. Guided imagery, visualisations, meditation and all that good stuff. All of them easier said than done when you’re stressed out of course. In which case, try hot baths and hot sex with your beloved and see how you go.
10. GET A PHYSICAL EXAM & ASSESS YOUR RISK PROFILE
As noted, people diagnosed with localised cancer live longer. Get an annual check-up. Here’s what to consider:
- Lab tests: blood and urine assayed.
- Test stools for occult blood, which can indicate digestive tract cancers.
- Fiberoptic laryngoscope used to detect nose and throat lesions. Important for smokers and those who have regularly but involuntarily inhaled tobacco smoke.
- Fiberoptic colonoscopy to examine colon and rectum for polyps and inflammation, or by age 50.
- PSA test in the case of prostate enlargement, or by age 50.
- A once-off chest X-ray for those who used to abuse themselves and annually, but reserved only for high risk patients who continue to smoke, drink and generally abuse their health.
- Breast examinations should be carried out by women regardless of age. Men should similarly examine their testicles between the ages 20 - 40.
The point to remember about most cancers is that it usually takes years to depress your immune system to the extent that you become vulnerable to it. So maintaining a very healthy and aggressive immune system is about the best way you can find of avoiding cancer and living what one might call a reasonably normal life. It is also the door to optimal health and avoiding all the other nasty diseases we get as we age. Going to normal doctors won’t do that, not even close. You need to consult a top integrative doctor and do the various tests and treatments a good one recommends and that will keep your immune system and bacterial terrain in optimum shape. But that’s another story.
As things stand, what’s called a “normal” life leads to 1 in 3 of us getting cancer. That means, what we call a “normal” life is killing an awful lot of us. In this case comparisons are not only odious, they are fatal. There’s no justice either. Look at Joe Bloggs over there, he’s a low lecherous fellow, smokes like a chimney and been pissing it up for years. He’s 60 and as healthy and happy as Larry, with at least another 20 years in him by the look of him. You’re a lad of 48 leading a reasonably sober and healthy life and have just been diagnosed with cancer..... where’s the justice in that?
Sorry, it doesn’t work like that. Either you lead an “abnormally” healthy life (Good Luck!) or you need to take an altogether more serious look at preventative action, and most doctors, let alone the rest of us, haven’t a clue how to do that. You need to find the ones that do. Cheers!
