Awareness is your best friend when it comes to cancer. And during Breast Cancer Month, this can mean more than just making sure you get your mammogram. We all need to put in place a plan of prevention. Getting a mammogram helps you to catch your cancer at an earlier stage. But there are also things we can do to increase our chances of not hearing, “You have breast cancer.”
It’s more important now that ever before to be aware of chemicals and hormone disruptors that enter our bodies through our skin and our mouths. We now have over 3,000 chemicals in our food supply, with new chemicals being produced each year. Pesticides used in farming have been linked to lower sperm counts in men and higher amounts of xenoestrogens in women. According to Dr. Don Colbert, “These counterfeit estrogens are more potent than the estrogen made by the ovaries, and they can have a stimulating effect on breast and other hormone-related cancers.”
After a cancer friend was told by her oncologist that the chemo was not working and she only had months left to live, she asked, “What would you do if you were me?” His reply was telling: “I’d try eating all organic. The research is showing it may help.” Good advice, but sadly a little late.
The BreastCancer.org website is now bringing this information to light. Their report “Nine Steps to Eating a More Healthy Diet” says, “To reduce your exposure to pesticides, you might want to buy organically grown food and organically produced dairy products.”
Even the American Cancer Society, who for years had been denying the link between toxins and cancer, now says, “Compounds in the environment that have estrogen-like properties are of special interest. For example, substances found in some plastics, certain cosmetics and personal care products, pesticides, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) seem to have such properties. In theory, these could affect breast cancer risk.”
Breast cancer rates are only going up. I have no doubt that the increase in xenoestrogens is one of the reasons since nearly 80 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have estrogen-fed tumors as did I. I did not have any of the normal risk factors, nor did I have any genetics. But what was found at high levels in my body were hormone-disrupting chemicals and pesticides! So to beat cancer, we must all be aware of this new risk factor. And cutting back on these chemicals is one sure way to celebrate breast cancer awareness month. We can do that by eating organic and choosing wisely what we put on our skin.
What chemicals are you using that you now realize are increasing your risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer? Phthalates? Parabens? Pesticides? Herbicides?
Here’s to Your Health,
Ginny
PS. October 16th was my mother’s 5th birthday in heaven. Oh, how I miss her! But breast cancer was her ticket to heaven. And although she fought the good fight, she was more than ready to go. Let’s not forget the eternal perspective we have as Christians! So here’s to my dear Betty and all the lives she touched! Happy birthday in Heaven, mom!
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