OPTIMIZE YOUR HEALTH
Cancer Prevention

SEPTEMBER 2007

Cancer Prevention is the focus of this month’s newsletter. September is Ovarian and Prostate cancer awareness month. There is growing evidence that practicing a healthy lifestyle can reduce your cancer risk. The signs and symptoms, risk factors and screening tests for ovarian cancer are reviewed in the Medical News article. In this issue you will also find cancer fighting foods, benefits of exercise and effects of stress on cancer. This month’s newsletter will help you build your strategies to minimize your cancer risk.

MEDICAL NEWS
Ovarian Cancer Facts Everyone Should Know

Ovarian cancer is the 5th most common cause of death from cancer in women with an estimated 20,000 American women developing the disease and 15,000 dying from it yearly. Statistically, the highest incidence is in women over the age of 50. One in 55 women will be diagnosed with this disease in her lifetime.

Ovarian cancer is one of the most feared cancers in women due to the lack of accurate ovarian cancer screening methods and often the lack of symptoms indicating the diagnosis. Many women don’t have symptoms until the tumor spreads beyond the ovary into the surrounding tissue in the pelvis; by this time, it is already considered advanced stage disease.

Read more about risk factors, symptoms and screening for ovarian cancer…

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NEWS
At Least Cancer Isn't Affected by Stress...Is it???

We know that stress can increase blood pressure and contribute to migraines, but can stress increase the risk and spread of cancer? The short answer is, “Yes”. Recent research indicates that the hormones released during chronic stress change how cancer cells grow. The change is not for the better.

The invasive potential of ovarian cancer cells is enhanced when exposed to stress hormones (norepinephrine, epinephrine, and cortisol). Other research indicates that the interaction of stress hormones with cancer cells tend to create an environment that increases cancer cell growth, leading to the increased spread of the disease. Research investigating prostate cancer reveals the same stress-disease processes.

Learn more about how to decrease your stress…

EXERCISE NEWS
Exercise to Reduce Cancer Risks and Improve Prognosis

Lately it seems that exercise is the answer to nearly every health related issue. We cannot escape the realities that come with lack of exercise: obesity and lowered energy levels as well as lowered self esteem and increased incidence of disease. Can something as simple as exercise prevent cancer as well as improve the prognosis for cancer patients?

According to the Center for Disease Control, 20 percent of all cancers were related to obesity. The American Cancer Society has shown that men and women who devoted at least 30 minutes a day to dedicated exercise above and beyond the usual activities of daily life, at least five days a week, have a 30-40 percent reduced risk of developing cancer. It now seems that regular exercise even has a tremendous impact on improving prognosis as well by regulating hormones and proteins that may have deleterious effects on the immune system.

Read more…

NUTRITIONAL NEWS
True Colors of a Cancer Prevention Diet

The foundation of a cancer preventing lifestyle is sound nutrition. Most experts agree that a predominantly plant-based diet is key to providing cancer-fighting nutrients. A nutritional advisor for the American Institute for Cancer Research advises that two-thirds of the food on our plate should be plants.

Read on for a list of cancer preventing foods…

SUPPLEMENT CABINET
PhytoDefense: Colors to Enhance Immunity Against Cancer

Every day your body deals with all kinds of threats to your good health. Not only are you constantly exposed to germs, your cells are continually under assault from increased oxidative stress that can lead to premature aging and chronic, life-threatening diseases like cancer and heart disease. A healthy immune system is required to detect and repair or eliminate cells that have been damaged. Nature’s colorful fruits and vegetables provide antioxidants and phytonutrients to boost immunity and help prevent cancer. Read more...