31. Breast Cancer Diagnosis Breakthrough

     

         Recent research led by University College London has identified a cancer signature in DNA changes apparent in blood tests. These signal a possibly fatal breast cancer symptom up to one year earlier than current medical diagnosis techniques which may still test negative in current breast screening.

     “This may enable individualised treatment, which could even begin in the absence of radiological evidence in the breast,’ UCL’s Professor Martin Widschwendler, who co-authored the study, has stated.

     Such early detection and consequent early hormone treatment could mean a difference between life and death. It would also eliminate the possibility of over-diagnosis and subsequent debilitating treatment of slow growing but benign tumours that are frequently detected in mammography screening.  

     Further study and trials are necessary before this early detection process can be made available on the NHS or in USA.

     Latest statistics show that 1 in 8 women in UK and USA will be diagnosed with breast cancer at sometime in their lifetime. Breast and lung cancers are, in fact, the foremost cause of female cancer death in these countries.

     The incidence of breast and lung cancer is in fact increasing, thanks to the growth and ageing of the population, together with an increasing prevalence of risk factors associated with economic growth and urbanisation, such as smoking, obesity, diet, and physical inactivity.

     As with all cancers, the risk of developing breast, (or other), cancer depends on a number of factors that are possibly outside your immediate control.  

     You can however eliminate the breast cancer risk by cutting alcohol out altogether, or at least down to the national guidelines, to ensure that you are not one of the 12,000 new cases of cancer in UK each year caused by alcohol, which include cancers of the mouth, throat, larynx, oesophagus, breast, live and bowel.

     Post-menopausal women who are overweight or obese are also at increased breast cancer risk.  Since both alcohol and obesity significantly increase the risk factor for a large number of cancers for both sexes at any age, you can do yourself a big favour if you over-indulge on the booze and/or are overweight by changing your lifestyle.

1.    Cut down on the booze!

2.  Change your diet to lose weight!

     3.  Get out and stretch those legs! 

Ian MacWatt

Further Reading

GenomeMedicine

     Methylation patterns in serum DNA for early identification of disseminated breast cancer. Report on the UCL Study.

Science Daily 

     Lung cancer and breast cancer; the leading cause of female cancer death in developed countries.                                                                                        

World Cancer Research Fund

     Cancer Prevention

Stop Cancer

     Obesity and Cancer

BBC Online News

     Alcohol and Health.

Nature
     Alcohol damages DNA and increases cancer risk

Filed March 2018 Caring Cancer Trust

30. Breast Cancer Prevention - New Study

      Overweight women can reduce the risk of contracting breast cancer by losing just 7 pounds, (3.2kilo) according to new study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium this month. This is a modest weight loss with a significant effect. However if they lose 28 pounds, ((12.7 kilos), that risk is reduced by no less than 33 percent.

     The study tracking 61,335 women aged between 50 and 79 over 14 years was undertaken by the City of Hope Medical Centre, California and Harvard University, Boston.

       It has been known for some time that obesity increases the risk of breast cancer, as it does for cancer of the uterus. as is cancer of the uterus. Obesity in either sex can also lead to other cancers, including esophageal, stomach, liver, gallbladder and pancreatic cancers.

     Lead author of the study findings, Professor Rowan Chlebowski commented: ‘we found that relatively modest weight loss was linked to a statistically significant lower breast cancer incidence. That’s pretty remarkable.’

      The statistics also showed that women who gained excess weight during the study had 54 per cent greater risk of developing difficult to treat Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, which afflicts one in six women of diagnosed with this disease.  

     Statistics show that one in eight women in the UK are likely to develop breast cancer in the course of their lifetime, which equates to some 55,000 cases diagnosed annually. Furthermore, the numbers are rising as the population ages and become overweight or obese.

       Professor Ian Hampson of the University of Manchester Division of Cancer Sciences states: ‘ Together with smoking, obesity is now another well-established cause of cancer. Thus it is very clear that simple changes in lifestyle can very significantly reduce the risk of cancer.  The most remarkable thing about this new study is that such most changes in body mass can have such a profound effect.’

Ian MacWatt

Further Reading

WorldwideBreast Cancer

Know Your Lemons - What breast cancer can look and feel like.

University of Manchester Cancer Sciences

Overview

Pinterest

A detailed look at Breast Cancer

Stop Cancer

Cancer Prevention and Obesity

26. Turmeric and Cancer Prevention

     Turmeric root is one of the most important 'Stop Cancer' nutrients thanks to Curcumin, the root’s distinctive yellow pigment.

     Clinical trials have shown it to combat breast, prostate, liver, colon, lung and pancreas cancer among others. It actually stops cancer cells from multiplying by division and also triggers programmed cell death, the body’s natural and necessary way of ridding itself from damaged cells.  Curcumin has the ability to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. It is still not widely prescribed in cancer prevention or therapy as there is little financial incentive to do so.  Drug companies cannot patent natural substances, and without a patent there is no profit.

     You will receive many of the cancer prevention benefits of Curcumin however, by using turmeric root in your cooking. It has a light flavour and can be grated or chopped and added to recipes. 

     The possibilities are endless with this diverse spice.  Add to curries or to vegetables like rice or cauliflower, for both colour and flavour. Combine with a little black pepper and/or olive oil or coconut oil, to significantly increase the body’s absorption of Curcumin. 

     To make a healing tea, finely slice or grate fresh turmeric root. Add along with some grated or sliced ginger root to a teapot and steep in hot water. Sweeten your tea if desired with local honey or green leaf stevia. The longer you steep, the more intense the colour and flavour of your tea.  I make a batch each week and refrigerate it, to drink first thing each morning with a little added lemon juice.

Further Reading

Jnl of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research

Curcumin and Breast Cancer