All too often these days whenever we hear the word breast the word cancer immediately follows. Breast cancer has become a 21 st century phenomenon that has inspired marketing everything from wine to cars. Massive events such as “Walk for the Cure” have increased the level of awareness of this deadly disease to an unprecedented height.
Yet despite the billions of dollars, decades of research and a global humanitarian crusade dedicated to developing prevention and a cure, breast cancer is still a threat that countless women face and fear everyday. Obviously there is something missing. Scientists, the medical co9mmunity and even the drug companies propound that breast cancer is a very complex problem with no single solution.
Complicating matters further is the fact that women are NOT being given critical information that would help them to have healthier breasts. Healthy Breasts, just like any other organ of the body, don't get cancer or other debilitating diseases when they are healthy.
Unfortunately, most women barely think about their breasts, never mind think about the health of this most precious part of the body. We wash them in the shower everyday, we put them in a cage we call a bra and rarely think of them except for an annual exam at the doctor or a routine mammogram appointment.
Can we do better than that? Do we really need to? The answer is YES to both those questions but lets start with “Do we really need to”?
DID YOU KNOW?
• By the year 2020, 70% of all breast cancer cases will be in developing countries. That is of serious concern because women in developing countries have less access to education, medical resources or community support in a culture that often stigmatises a woman with breast disease.
• Everyday chemicals such as fire retardant and jet fuel are present in mother breast milk virtually without exception
• Chemicals that were banned 30 years ago such as PCBs are found in most breast tissues.
• Young girls are developing breasts as young as two because of the excessive hormones in the food we eat.
It's a serious problem. So what can you do to protect yourself?
70% OF WOMEN WHO DEVELOPE BREAST CANCER HAVE NO KNOW RISK FACTORS
So every woman MUST be proactive and take personal responsibility of her own breast health.
The Ten Secrets you NEED to know about breast health!
1. Never wear your bra 24 hours a day, according to Sydney Ross Singer, Author of “Dressed to Kill” The link between breast cancer and bras” Studies show that women who wear their bras 24 hours a day have a 125 fold (12,5000%) higher percentage of getting cancer than a woman who do not wear a bra at all.
2. Ensure that your bra is not leaving red marks on your shoulders as this is an indication that your lymphatic system is being compromised. Your Lymphatic system is an important part of your immune system and plays a crucial roll in breast health.
3. Wash all new clothes before you wear them as they have toxic chemicals on them (such as Fire Retardant) that are absorbed into your body. Also many undergarments are made in less than sanitary conditions in developing countries and they may have been tried on previous to you purchasing them.
4. Be mindful of what you put on your body in the form of toxic perfume, makeup, tanning lotions and antiperspirants, and body creams as everything is absorbed into the skin and filtered through the liver, thereby straining your immune system and diminishing your breast health.
5. Avoid anti-depressants. Researchers in Canada found that woman that took Paxal saw their risk of breast cancer increase 700%. Further studies show that Prozac not only promotes tumours but causes proliferation of malignant cells by blocking the body's innate ability to kill tumour cells.
6. Do not use birth control pills, they interfere with the normal hormonal balance of a woman and the increase of breast cancer in woman has skyrocketed since the introduction of the birth control pill.
7. Learn about Thermography as an option to mammography. Digital Infrared Thermography is painless, non-toxic and highly accurate. Safer and more effective than mammography, it has the ability to detect irregularities and possible “hot spots” years before they would ever be revealed with a mammography or breast exam.
8. Encourage young girls to exercise as it helps to delay puberty. Exercise has been shown to decrease the flow of estrogens and narrows the window of vulnerability to breast cancer. Clinical studies have shown that young women who are involved in regular exercise and vigorous aerobic exercise begin puberty at an older age and have nearly 200% decreased risk of developing breast cancer later in life. And of course get out and exercise yourself!
9. Find ways to deal with stress (not through medication) but including meditation.According to Dr Nan Lu a classically trained doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and Author of “Traditional Chinese Medicine” – Guide to healing from breast cancer. –he believes medication is the best healing exercise.
10. Learn how to do lymphatic breast massage as it helps the flow of lymph in your breast tissue and promotes healthy breasts.
n 1978, Israel experienced a public outcry and was threatened with legal action resulting in the banning of many toxic chemicals such as DDT and PCB's that were directly linked in a 1976 study with breast cancer in women. Once Israel banned these chemicals, they began noting a significant decrease in the level of toxic chemicals found in human breast milk. Over the next ten years the rate of breast cancer dropped shapely, with a 30% drop in mortality in woman under 44 years old, and an 8 % overall decline.