Breast Cancer: Information, Research, Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
The below provides a general overview on this topic and may not apply to everyone. Any treatment protocol should be discussed with a qualified healthcare practitioner.
Key Statistics & Overview
📊 Current Statistics
- • Most common cancer in women
- • 211,240 women diagnosed in 2005
- • 40,410 deaths from the disease
- • Rates tripled over past 60 years
📈 Risk Timeline
- • 1940: 1 in 22 lifetime risk
- • 2006: 1 in 8 lifetime risk
- • Overall cancer risk: 1 in 3
- • Higher risk for women born after 1940
🌍 Global Impact
- • EU: Woman dies every 7.5 minutes
- • #1 killer ages 34-54 in Europe
- • Similar increases in developed nations
- • Environmental factors suspected
🌿 Environmental & Lifestyle Factors
Bras and Lymphatic Drainage
Dr. Michael Schacter, M.D. notes that over 85% of lymph fluid from the breast drains to armpit lymph nodes. Tight bras can impede this flow, potentially trapping toxic chemicals in breast tissue.
Study Results (4,000+ women):
24 hours/day: 3 in 4 risk
12+ hours/day: 1 in 7 risk
Less than 12 hours: 1 in 52 risk
Rarely/never: 1 in 168 risk
☀️ Vitamin D Deficiency
Research from UCSD and Creighton University found that higher doses of vitamin D reduce disease risk by about half.
Recommended: 4,000-8,000 IU daily vs. current 400-600 IU recommendations
Benefits: Reduces risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, multiple sclerosis, and type 1 diabetes
☢️ Environmental Toxins
Known Carcinogens:
- • DES (synthetic estrogen)
- • Heavy metals (cadmium)
- • Dioxin exposure
- • Excessive antibiotics
Sources:
- • Cigarette smoke
- • Air pollution
- • Industrial chemicals
- • Consumer products
🔍 Prevention & Early Detection
Self-Examination Tips
- 👐 Use both hands on each breast, move fingers up and down (not circular)
- 👁️ Weekly mirror check for swelling, redness, warmth, or unusual tenderness
- ⚠️ Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) doesn't cause lumps - watch for visual changes
Exercise Benefits
Dr. Michelle Holmes' Harvard study of 2,987 women with breast cancer found:
Walking just 3 hours per week cut death risk by 50%
Advanced breast cancer patients benefited even more from regular exercise
🥗 Nutritional Approaches
Cancer-Fighting Foods
🥦 Cruciferous Vegetables
Contains isothiocyanates and indole-3-carbinol
Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts
🫐 Antioxidant-Rich Berries
High in cancer-fighting compounds
Strawberries, blueberries, cranberries
🌾 Whole Grains & Lignans
70% lower death risk in postmenopausal women
Dark bread, rye, flaxseeds
🧄 Anti-Cancer Spices
Turmeric (No. 1), ginger, garlic
Add 1/4 tsp turmeric to dishes
🍵 Green Tea
6-10 cups daily lower breast cancer risk
Powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory
🐟 Omega-3 Rich Foods
Flaxseeds, fish oil, walnuts
25g milled flax daily showed tumor-slowing effects
Additional Protective Foods
🍎 Fruits & Vegetables:
Apples (with peel), oranges, lemons, grapes, peaches
🍄 Specialty Foods:
Maitake mushrooms, seaweed (wakame), spirulina
🥜 Healthy Fats & Proteins:
Nuts, olive oil, eggs, quality fish
🌱 Superfoods:
Aloe vera, brown rice, beans, beet juice
Key Supplements
☀️ Vitamin D
250,000 colorectal and 350,000 breast cancer cases could be prevented worldwide with increased vitamin D intake.
🧪 Iodine
Can cause tumors to shrink. Japanese women's lower breast cancer rates linked to iodine-rich seaweed consumption.
⚡ Selenium
200 mcg daily cut cancer death rate in half in large clinical study. Available for ~10 cents per day.
🍊 Vitamin C
May help chemo and radiation kill cancer cells while protecting healthy cells. Minimum 1 gram daily with meals.
⚕️ Treatment Considerations
Tamoxifen Concerns
While Tamoxifen can reduce breast cancer occurrence, it increases risks for blood clots, stroke, and uterine cancer.
Alternative: Aromatase inhibitors (AI) showed 44% higher effectiveness for many women over 40
Chemotherapy Risks
Study of 3,093 women showed combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy multiplied leukemia risk by 28 times.
Important: 40% or more of cancer patients die from malnutrition, not cancer itself