8 Markers of Lifetime Health: Taking Control of Breast Cancer Risk

I have a family history of breast cancer? What can I do naturally to decrease my risk? I’m a breast cancer survivor. What can I do to decrease the likelihood of recurrence?

Create a healthy environment on a cellular level, so cancer is unable grow.

• Consume high amounts of anti-oxidants and plant nutrients

• Follow a low glycemic load diet (low in sugar and refined carbohydrates)

• Reduce Inflammation

• Keep your gut healthy

• Detoxify and Reduce your environmental toxin exposure

• Be conscious of your thoughts. Thoughts and psychological stress can have profound effects on the immune system

I try to lead a healthy lifestyle. How do I know if my diet and lifestyle choices are actually decreasing my cancer risk?

Below are some important markers that have been consistently linked in medical research to cancer risk, diabetes, atherosclerosis and several other chronic degenerative diseases. Measuring these markers can give insight into whether your current lifestyle habits are reducing your cancer risk.

• 8 Markers of Lifetime Health

  • 8 Oxo-Guanine (8-OHdG) - oxidative damage from environmental toxins: mold, radiation, chemicals, pesticides, and others; anti-oxidant status, DNA damage

  • High Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein - marker of inflammation and repair

  • Lymphocyte Response Assay - what foods and chemicals you can tolerate without stressing digestion, sleep, mood, cognition, and performance

  • Hemoglobin A1c - blood sugar, energy conversion, age related glycation end products. Studies have shown cancer is driven by sugar intake in the diet.

  • 1st Morning Urine pH - acid/alkaline status, mineral need

  • Omega 3 Index - essential fatty acid ratio of Omega 3:Omega6

  • Vitamin D - plays a significant role in immune system balance

  • Homocysteine - marker of inflammation, detoxification, heart disease risk

Are chemotherapy, radiation, surgery the only options to treat cancer? Are there holistic treatment options?

Holistic treatment of cancer is centered around an integrative approach that combines traditional cancer treatments with natural approaches in order to decrease side effects from treatment, create the conditions for health, and reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

How Can Functional Medicine Help With Breast Cancer?

Creating a healthy environment on a cellular level where cancer is unable grow. So often today in medicine the symptoms of cancer are treated with an equal aggression as the aggression with which it attacks the cells. The cellular nature of cancer makes it difficult to imagine how to possibly predict the onset of it and even more difficult to remove from the body. Addressing the root cause of the illness is how functional medicine seeks to treat illness. In the case of cancer specifically, this means creating a healthy base within the body to ensure the development of imbalances at the cellular level is avoided.

The imbalances that lie at the root of cancer formation are what functional medicine seeks to prevent - by enhancing immune function, ensuring optimum balance within the body is obtained, and making sure that things such as nutrition, physical activity, and environmental factors are all at their highest level of functional capacity. In short, the functional approach is creating the healthiest manifestation of the human body as possible. 

Ultimately, functional medicine aims at preventing the onset of cancer cell-growth within the body. There are also certain actions that can be taken to decrease the rate of cancer-cell growth in those currently suffering from the disease.. These include: improving gut health, cutting out sugar, eliminating food sensitivities, reducing inflammation, decreasing toxic exposure, changing the immune system by thought-process awareness

As each patient’s case will differ, functional health understands that generating awareness to your own stressors and particular needs is key to successfully removing and reducing the likelihood of developing symptoms altogether. 

What causes breast cancer?

An imbalance in the immune system where it cannot kill tumor cells that are growing. Factors such as radiation, chemical exposure, inflammation, nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities, infections can cause the immune system to become unbalanced.

Is breast cancer hereditary?

Breast cancer has a hereditary component. Genetic mutations can be passed down from one or both parents. However its important to remember cancer genes are influenced by environment and can be turned on or off by your diet and lifestyle choices.

KNOW THE STATISTICS

• Breast cancer is the second most common cause fo cancer death in women

• The chances of a woman getting ovarian cancer in her lifetime is 1 in 75

• Approximately 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime

• The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer is 1 in 20
  
  

References

1. Cancer.org

2. Atoum, M., & Alzoughool, F. (2017). Vitamin D and Breast Cancer: Latest Evidence and Future Steps. Breast Cancer: Basic And Clinical Research, 11, 117822341774981. doi: 10.1177/1178223417749816

3. Robey, I. (2012). Examining the relationship between diet-induced acidosis and cancer. Nutrition & Metabolism, 9(1), 72. doi: 10.1186/1743-7075-9-72

4. Cust, A., Stocks, T., Lukanova, A., Lundin, E., Hallmans, G., & Kaaks, R. et al. (2008). The influence of overweight and insulin resistance on breast cancer risk and tumour stage at diagnosis: a prospective study. Breast Cancer Research And Treatment, 113(3), 567-576. doi: 10.1007/s10549-008-9958-8

5. 8 Predictive Biomarkers For Lifetime Health from Dr. Russell Jaffe - PERQUE Integrative Health | PIH. (2019). Retrieved 12 October 2019, from https://www.perque.com/8-predictive-biomarkers-for-lifetime-health-from-dr-russell-jaffe/

6. Frydenberg, H., Thune, I., Lofterød, T., Mortensen, E., Eggen, A., & Risberg, T. et al. (2016). Pre-diagnostic high-sensitive C-reactive protein and breast cancer risk, recurrence, and survival. Breast Cancer Research And Treatment, 155(2), 345-354. doi: 10.1007/s10549-015-3671-1

7. Hope, C., Robertshaw, A., Cheung, K., Idris, I., & English, E. (2019). Relationship between HbA1cand cancer in people with or without diabetes: a systematic review. Retrieved 9 October 2019, from

8. Krone, C., & Ely, J. (2005). Controlling Hyperglycemia as an Adjunct to Cancer Therapy. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 4(1), 25-31. doi: 10.1177/1534735404274167

9. Krone, C., & Ely, J. (2005). Controlling Hyperglycemia as an Adjunct to Cancer Therapy. Integrative Cancer Therapies, 4(1), 25-31. doi: 10.1177/1534735404274167

10. Nour Eldin, E., El-Readi, M., Nour Eldein, M., Alfalki, A., Althubiti, M., & Mohamed Kamel, H. et al. (2019). 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine as a Discriminatory Biomarker for Early Detection of Breast Cancer. Clinical Breast Cancer, 19(2), e385-e393. doi: 10.1016/j.clbc.2018.12.013

11. Wu, L., Chiou, C., Chang, P., & Wu, J. (2004). Urinary 8-OHdG: a marker of oxidative stress to DNA and a risk factor for cancer, atherosclerosis and diabetics. Clinica Chimica Acta, 339(1-2), 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cccn.2003.09.010

Did you like this post? If so, click the “like” button below and share it with your friends.