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March 1, 2010
THE SUNNY SIDE OF DISASTER
The sunny side of disaster, often the only glimmer cresting on a wave of despair, is the opportunity to rebuild and, thus, make the changes that have been put off, usually indefinitely, but that can now, at last, be incorporated into the rebuilding process.
Such a glimmer is beginning to shine through the disaster that is our current healthcare system. The glimmer is the mounting trend for the prevention of disease. More and more, I see the thread of this theme echoing across breast cancer websites. It does my heart good to see this transformation, this move toward the Pure Cure, prevention, for you see, women need not march inevitably, like Morgan Freeman’s penguins, to the dark side of the cancer planet where they are forced to huddle to protect themselves against the bitter winds of treatment. They can choose a different path, and we can help them choose it, a path where they are given the information they need to protect themselves and are encouraged to do so.
The different path, the path to breast health and healing, is mapped out by the following directions:
- Exercise regularly: 30 minutes, four times per week. Walking is perfect.
- Maintain ideal body weight: a plant-based, fat-free diet will help you achieve this and will clean out your arteries in the process.
- Do not smoke: ever. Stop if you are a smoker. Do everything in your power to kick the habit, and give yourself the biggest reward of your life when you’ve quit for good.
- Do not use oral contraceptives or synthetic combined hormone replacement therapy: these hormones all increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. The risk persists for years after the pills are discontinued. It’s not worth it. Don’t do it.
- Avoid alcohol: it increases the risk of breast cancer, even at ½ glass of wine per day – even red wine – by virtue of increasing circulating levels of endogenous hormones and, perhaps, by depleting the body of cancer-preventing nutrients.
When my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, in 1975, breast cancer struck one woman in fourteen. It now strikes one in eight! The number of cases around the world in increasing – only slightly decreasing in the United States a few years ago when women stopped using hormone replacement therapy – and will continue to increase until we learn how to stop it and choose to do so.
We already know five ways to prevent breast cancer. Let’s use the knowledge we already have to prevent this disease. Let’s work to get more information so that we can prevent all of it. And let’s do this now, now that our collapsing healthcare system demands new approaches and provides new opportunities for rebuilding our future. Let’s do it for ourselves, our daughters, our granddaughters, the men who loves us, our country and the world.
Regards,
Kathleen T. Ruddy, MD
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