'C.A.U.T.I.O.N.' : The Ten Commandments of Cancer Prevention

As highlighted by Kenneth Bock, MD, in the foreword of The Unhealthy Truth, "The landscape of children's health has changed. No longer can we assume that our children will have a healthy childhood -- certainly not in the face of the current epidemics of autism, ADHD, asthma and allergies, childhood cancers, childhood obesity and diabetes."

"There is a growing body of evidence that supports the belief that the increased incidence of these childhood disorders arises from a genetic predisposition coupled with environmental triggers or insults. Environmental insults to which our children are increasingly being exposed include common chemicals (such as PCBs, flame retardants, plasticizers and pesticides), heavy metals (including mercury, lead, arsenic, cadmium and aluminum), countless types of food additives, and an ever increasing number of genetically modified foods. These environmental toxicants can increase oxidative stress, wreaking havoc on cellular functions at all levels." (The Unhealthy Truth, foreword by Kenneth Bock, MD).

According to the Breast Cancer Fund, one in eight women now has breast cancer. But only 10 percent of those cases can be linked to genetics. In other words, 90 percent of breast cancers being diagnosed today are being triggered by factors in our environment.

The American Cancer Society recognizes the tremendous impact that this is having on our families -- physically, emotionally and financially -- and developed this simple "C.A.U.T.I.O.N." reminder to help identify symptoms of the disease so that you can protect the health of your family:

C: Change in bowel or bladder habits

A: A sore that does not heal

U: Unusual bleeding or discharge

T: Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere

I: Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing

O: Obvious change in a wart or mole

N: Nagging cough or hoarseness

As highlighted in Premium Health, the 10 commandments of cancer prevention are:

1. Avoid tobacco in all its forms, including exposure to secondhand smoke.

2. Eat properly and try to reduce your consumption of saturated fat and red meat, which appears to increase the risk of colon and prostate cancers, while increasing your consumption of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

3. Exercise regularly.

4. Stay lean. Obesity increases the risk of many forms of cancer.

5. Limit alcohol to one to two drinks a day.

6. Avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.

7. Avoid exposure to industrial and environmental toxins such as asbestos fibers, benzene, aromatic amines, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).

8. Avoid infections that contribute to cancer, including hepatitis viruses, HIV, and the human papillomavirus.

9. Consider taking low-dose aspirin (men at the highest risk of prostate and colon cancer tend to reap the greatest benefits).

10. Get enough vitamin D. Although protection is far from proven, evidence suggests that vitamin D may help reduce the risk of prostate cancer, colon cancer, and other malignancies.

As always, prevention is the best medicine.

Source: The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It (Random House, May 2009) and The Ten Commandments of Cancer Prevention, courtesy of Premium Health News Service

 

 

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Comments

[LauraKlein]

What Robyn is saying is so right on. In an article on OrganicAut­hority.com­, Chief Scientist, Charles Benbrook of the Organic Center comments on the impact pesticides can have on a child's development. He states “Science has shown that exposure to even very low levels of several pesticides can disrupt the formation of the egg, damage the sperm and cause mutations in the sperm in ways that when the child is conceived, there are some genetic problems built into the coupling of the sperm and the egg,” Benbrook said. “A child with pesticides in their genetic makeup, this child faces problems later in life because their immune system, their neurological systems and in some cases their reproductive systems don’t develop in a fully healthy way. We know that the incidence of these developmental problems is increasing, in particular, those involving the reproductive system and neurological development. This is one of the things no doubt behind the big increase in ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also, autism. These behavioral problems in a lot of kids today are likely to reach back, for some of the kids, to what their parents ate and what they were fed as young children.”