Natural Ways to Promote Breast Health & Prevent Breast Cancer: Part 1


By Erika Dworkin, Board Certifi ed in Holistic Nutrition®


"Not counting some kinds of skin cancer, breast cancer in the United States is: The most common cancer in women, no matter


your race or ethnicity; the most common cause of death from can- cer among Hispanic women; the second most common cause of death from cancer among white, black, Asian/Pacifi c Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native women."


~ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/statistics/index.htm


"There is no one right formula for preventing breast cancer in every woman. The key to prevention...is being aware of the various factors that cause the disease and avoiding them as


much as possible, while at the same time being aware of what discourages cancerous growth in breast tissue and promoting that kind of lifestyle."


~ What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance Can Save Your Life, John R. Lee, MD


hile breast cancer causes more than 40,000 American deaths per year, the true lifetime risk of developing the disease is estimated at only 12% (1 in 8). Genet- ics do account for approximately 20% of all breast cancers, but the disease is recognized as one of long duration that allows for healthy decisions over a lifetime to diminish that risk and prevent it altogether. So, the good news is that you can begin making self- empowering lifestyle, environmental, and dietary changes right now to increase your chances of being free of breast cancer in the future. While breast cancer prevention is an enormous topic, the information below, and in Part 2 of this article, serves as a primer to help you start moving in the right direction.


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How Breast Cancer Develops Most of the cells of the human body continually divide, re-


generate, and die, and new replacement cells ultimately differenti- ate into their designated special tissue types. Slower breast cell division correlates with lower breast cancer risk. While there are multiple breast cancer classifi cations, the disease most commonly originates from the inner lining of milk ducts, or from the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. It generally develops when breast tissue cells, which lose their ability to differentiate and die at a genetically predetermined pace, divide and grow without control and accumulate into a mass of extra tissue called a tumor. A can- cerous tumor grows through the generation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis), which then divert the blood supply and nutrients from surrounding healthy tissues.


34 Natural Nutmeg - April 2019 More than one assault from carcinogenic hormones,


chemicals, viruses, traumas, and/or radiation, is usually necessary to damage a normal cell’s genetic material to the extent that it develops into a cancerous cell. By the time a malignant breast tumor appears as a lump, it may have been growing for 8-12 years.


Key Breast Cancer Risks While the breast cancer risk factors discussed below are


entirely in a woman’s control, others are not, including: (1) Age: most frequent in women over age 50; (2) Breast Tissue Density: dense breast tissue can resemble or obscure tumors in mammographic screenings; researchers in one study determined that their female subjects with at least 75% dense breasts showed fi ve times more likelihood of cancer than women with less than 10% density; (3) Genetics: risk at least doubles in women whose mothers, sisters, or daughters, had breast cancer before age 65; mutations in the tumor-suppression genes BRCA1 and BRCA2, found in only 5-7% of women diagnosed (often in Ashkenazi Jewish women), increases risk mainly in those whose female relatives have had breast or ovarian cancer; (4) Geography & Environment: most frequently develops in women in industrialized, highly polluted countries; and (5) Race: occurs less often in black, Hispanic, and Asian women than in Caucasians.


The Conventional Approach Traditional medicine focuses on early detection and reducing


the risk of dying from breast cancer rather than on its prevention. “Early-stage" invasive cancers are considered to be very treatable since tumors are relatively small and the cancer cells have not metastasized to other organs. To promote early detection, conventional practitioners generally recommend annual clinical breast exams, monthly self-examinations, mammograms, and other diagnostic tests (i.e., sonograms, MRIs, and digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI)/thermograms). Mammogram frequency guidelines can be confusing since many studies on which they are based are confl icting, various authoritative organizations periodically update them, and all do not completely agree on the best approach.


A patient-centered, individualized approach to early breast cancer detection would ideally take these considerations into account: (1) mammograms are X-rays, and thus involve the use of cancer-causing radiation (all X-rays have cumulative effects); (2) since mammograms do not detect 20-30% of all tumors, reliance on them may delay cancer diagnosis; (3) 80% of “suspicious” mammogram results that call for a biopsy do not lead to cancer


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