Public debate on breast cancer in the United States has centered primarily on the best means of secondary prevention, that is, early detection. Experts agree on the benefits of self-examination, regular breast examinations by a health professional, and periodic mammography.

The issue of primary prevention of breast cancer depends on an understanding of the primary causes of the disease -- causes that have proved elusive and that remain controversial. According to Bodenheimer and Grumbach in Understanding Health Policy-A Clinical Approach , "Multiple risk factors for breast cancer have been defined. The most important are age greater than 65 years, a prior diagnosis or a family history of breast cancer, a prior diagnosis of atypical hyperplasia on breast biopsy, and having been born in Northern Europe or North America. Less significant risk factors include obesity, never having had children, age over 30 at first pregnancy, and prior radiation to the thorax. In addition, women with more years of ovulatory menstrual cycles are at greater risk, suggesting a hormonal influence on the disease."

In spite of all these risk factors, only one-fourth of the cases of breast cancer can be accounted for by them, making it difficult to construct a theory of breast cancer causation on the basis of these variables. It has therefore been suggested that unknown agents related to modern industrialization are the primary causes of the disease, while influences like female hormones, family history and obesity are merely secondary contributors.

Again, in Understanding Health Policy-A Clinical Approach , the authors state, "Another view that has been inadequately studied holds that environmental carcinogens are a possible explanation for the rise in the incidence of breast and other cancers. From the 1940's to the 1980's industrial production of synthetic organic chemicals rose from one billion to 400 billion pounds annually. Estrogens have been used as additives to poultry and cattle feed, and pesticide residues are difficult to remove from agricultural products. In a study of 14,000 women, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, breast cancer was strongly associated with exposure to organo-chlorine insecticides, especially the principal metabolite of DDT, which remains in the fat for years following exposure."

Reacting to concerns of Long Island women who asked why breast cancer rates were so high on Long Island, Congress voted in June of 1993 to fund a study to assess the possible relationship of the environment to breast cancer. The Columbia University School of Public Health Case-Control Study is currently under way to determine whether certain environmental contaminants increase the risk of breast cancer among Long Island women.

The possibility that environmental toxins, dietary fat, and estrogenic additives might be fundamental risk factors suggests that a complementary, or alternative, medical approach utilizing effective detoxification strategies and related lifestyle modifications might help reduce the incidence of breast cancer.

The body continually eliminates toxic elements through an elaborate system that involves the lungs, liver and kidneys. Women can significantly reduce their risk of breast cancer and other chronic diseases by pursuing a lifestyle that promotes health and by consuming foods that provide (1) the proper combination of essential nutrients for optimal functioning of the detoxification pathways and (2) adequate antioxidant protection against free-radical damage.

Developing a Health-Promoting Lifestyle

Such a health-promoting lifestyle should include, among others:

1. Good nutrition, including clear air and pure water

An article published by The American Institute for Cancer Research in 1997, "Food, Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective," stated that a plant-based diet and the avoidance of alcohol, together with the maintenance of recommended body mass and regular physical activity, may decrease the incidence of breast cancer by about 33-50%. Further research shows that reducing acidic foods (especially meat and dairy) and alkalinizing the system through an emphasis on fruits, vegetables and specific nutritional products can further reduce cancer risk.

There has been considerable speculation that dietary fat may be a significant risk factor. Although the overall evidence directly linking dietary fat to breast cancer is inconsistent and weak, it still seems prudent for women to reduce their fat intake as much as possible.

2. Adequate exercise

While a healthy diet provides high-quality fuel for the body's engine, the running of that living engine is also very significant. Exercise has many benefits: it enhances oxygenation of the blood and tissues, it helps eliminate metabolic and other types of toxins, and it increases health and vitality. One of the best and safest forms of exercise, which is also easy and practical, is brisk walking. You can quite easily make walking into a full-scale exercise for physical fitness. If you have any specific health problems, however, be sure to ask your doctor for an exercise program that is right for you.

3. Proper posture

Holding your body correctly facilitates proper nerve flow throughout your system. Since the nervous system is responsible for proper communication between every tissue and organ within the body, compromised nerve conduction can be a factor in virtually every disturbance within the system. It can also drain our vitality and weaken our resistance to disease. There is evidence that chiropractic adjustments can take vertebral pressure off nerve roots and thereby improve not only nerve transmission but immune function as well.

4. Sufficient rest

Rest gives our minds and bodies the chance to heal and regenerate. Growth hormone, a powerful rejuvenating hormone, is released during the first few hours of deep sleep. Also, the body's natural mechanisms for cleansing and detoxification occur maximally during sleep, when we are not eating and digesting food.

5. A positive, peaceful state of mind

Because the mental and emotional pressures of most people's lives hinder the body's efforts to maintain health and balance, it is extremely important to learn practical ways of managing and handling stress. The influence of the mind on health, now referred to as "psychoneuroimmunology," is really a modern version of an age-old concept that recognizes the vital relationship of the mind and body in health and disease. Herbert Benson, M.D., a pioneering researcher in mind-body medicine at Harvard University, has written extensively on the beneficial effects of meditation, which he refers to as the "Relaxation Response" as it relates to immune enhancement and disease.

Strategies for Women Receiving Treatment for Breast Cancer

Once a woman receives a diagnosis of breast cancer, complementary and alternative medical care can be made a part of her comprehensive treatment program. The addition of detoxification diets, along with periodic fresh fruit and vegetable juicing, can help reduce the impact of the tumor burden and help mobilize her inherent recuperative healing mechanisms.

A woman's requirements for nutritional supplements can be determined by analyzing her functional parameters such as her detoxification capacity, along with basic personal information. Such customized supplementation can support a woman while she receives breast cancer treatment.

Finally, a woman can make use of herbal and homeopathic medicines to further strengthen her constitutional state, increase her immune function, and significantly lessen the side effects associated with chemical or radiation therapy.

Of course, all complementary or alternative medical care practices that a woman who is undergoing treatment chooses to adapt must be done with the full knowledge of her oncologist. An increasing number of medical professionals are recognizing the potential benefits of these approaches and the value of incorporating them into a treatment plan.

From Healthology.com