Cancer, the name itself is shocking to the general population; what to speak of the victims! In the recent past, there has been tremendous research in understanding the behavior of cancers and effort to prevent the disease by various possible means, including preparation of vaccine. As far as our present understanding goes, the causes can be multi-factorial, ranging from environmental factors to genetic predisposition; for which a particular approach to prevent or cure the disease does not succeed. There have been many evidence based suggestions to prevent the disease to some extent or help in the early detection of it. Some of those small things are mentioned here;

Ultraviolet rays and cancers

Ultraviolet ( UV ) rays are of three types, basing on their wave lengths. Those are, C (200-290 nm), B (290-320 nm) and A (320-400 nm). Ultraviolet B and C are responsible for skin cancers like melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The white population is at more risk due to less amount of pigment in their skin called melanin, which is responsible for effective filtration of the UV rays. So, excessive exposure to sun light may do harm to them more easily, though no other race is immune to it.

Vitamin D and cancer

Ultraviolet rays from sun act on cholesterol to transform it to Vitamin D in the skin of individuals. This exposure is decreasing day by day because of the changing work culture, demanding indoor stay; resulting in lack of exposure to sun light. Vitamin D may prevent cancer of ovary, breast, pancreas and intestine; researchers point out. So, enough outdoor activity is to be encouraged, but clearly not in excess to cause harm to skin. About 10 minutes to 30 minutes daily exposure to intense sun with exposed limbs may fetch enough vitamin D for a person. Supplementation of vitamin 400 IU to 600 IU per day, depending on age may also be sufficient.

Sedentary life style Vs exercise

Now-a-days, more people remain in the indoors due to the nature of their work and follow a sedentary life style. It makes patient obese due to increase in fatty tissue, which has been linked to cancer of breast apart from its other harmful effects. It is said that exercise switches off the genes responsible for various cancers; decreases fat which is thought to fuel cancer cell to multiply. Adequate exercise may go a long way in preventing cancers and at the same time boost the immune system to fight against it.

Vaccines, communicable diseases and cancer

Long back, BCG vaccine was being tried to prevent melanoma; and did not succeed in a significant way. Viruses like Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), Ebstein Barr virus (EBV) have been incriminated to cause cancer cervix and certain lymphomas, respectively. Vaccination against these viruses may prevent these cancers to the extent held responsible. Hepatitis B and C may become chronic to cause changes leading to cancer of liver. Vaccination against hepatitis B may prevent a fraction liver cancer. H. Pylori infection of stomach is associated with cancer of stomach, and is transmitted through feco-oral route. Prevention of contamination of water and food though difficult to achieve; may be tried.

Tobacco smoking and chewing

Tobacco smoking and chewing has been clearly linked to cancer of cheek, tongue, esophagus, stomach, respiratory tract etc. Prevention of smoking at public places in US has been responsible for remarkable decline in the number of cancer cases in the last decade. But, it is yet to be enforced in letter and spirit in India and many other countries. Passive smoking is equally dangerous as direct smoking.

Circumcision and penile cancer

Jews, who follow the ritual of circumcision early in the childhood, are less likely to suffer from cancer of penis. The present proposition, not to deny circumcision to anybody, if otherwise not contraindicated may prevent some penile cancer.

Multiple childbirth, bad hygiene and cervical cancer

Multiple child births cause repeated tear of the cervix of uterus in female and may be responsible for cervical cancer. The trend of having many children in a family is being discouraged now a day. Use of unhygienic tampon and un-cleanliness may initiate sepsis in the genital tract of woman to cause cancer of cervix. Maintaining hygiene is not a costly affair, can be practiced.

Breast feeding, early menarche and late menopause

Breast feeding has been seen to prevent cancer of breast in mother. Early menarche and late menopause i.e. long reproductive life is linked to increase in incidence of breast.

Diet and cancer;

Non-vegetarian diet, especially red meat is associated with increase in incidence of intestinal cancer. The long colonic transit time of non-veg. diet facilitates the toxins to remain in contact with colonic mucosa for a longer period to induce changes in the cells. Smoked and charred foods contain nitrosamines, which may cause stomach cancer. Smoke from burning hydrocarbons may cause respiratory cancers. Junk food, tinned foods and fried foods promote cancer. Fibers in diet prevent cancer of colon by increasing the colonic transit time and adsorbing the toxins present in the food. Ground nuts and some other food may get contaminated by aflatoxin liberated from fungal infestation of nuts, and if taken may cause cancer of liver. Careful preservation, safe consumption may prevent some cancer of liver. Some chemicals like curcumin in turmeric; and some chemicals in pepper and certain other spices used in the preparation of food have cancer limiting effect.

Antioxidants

Some vitamins like E, D and C act as radical oxygen scavengers; prevent damage to the cells and mutations, may have a role in cancer prevention. Some other trace elements like selenium, chromium and zinc are said to prevent cancer. Ingredients like resveratrol present in grape seeds said to have cancer preventive property. Chlorophyll present in the green leaves and red skinned fruits may have antioxidant property to limit cancer formation.

Early detection of cancer is also termed as prevention of cancer. Self assessment for unusual mass in the accessible organs like breast and testes will ensure an early of treatment. This is not difficult. People having family history of cancer should go for screening tests in consultation with their doctors. That will ensure early detection of cancers. Reporting abnormalities in skin, bowel habit and voice for further assessment may be helpful in early diagnosis. Abnormal discharge from breast, vagina and other natural orifices may be warning signs of some of the cancers. Leading a little careful and active life; adhering to certain values and customs may prove beneficial for us. There has been a lot of work in the genetic front to understand the cancer.

In the near future, many more things are likely to come up. Deletion, replacement or modification of cancer genes early in the life may be able prevent cancer later on. Time may not be far away, when a genetic horoscope will be prepared at the time of birth of a baby in place of present horoscope, made according to the position planets. This genetic horoscope will tell the remedial measures to be taken in the place of remedial measures taken at present basing on the planetary horoscope and advice of priests.

Conversely, if carriers of this genetic variant have low levels of these vitamins and minerals, their risk of aggressive prostate increases substantially, as great as 10-fold, over those who maintain higher levels of these nutrients, they write in today’s issue of Cancer Research.

“This large prospective study provides further evidence that oxidative stress may be one of the important mechanisms for prostate cancer development and progression, and adequate intake of antioxidants, such as selenium, lycopene and vitamin E, may help prevent prostate cancer,” said Dr Haojie Li, a researcher at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

The new findings are based on an analysis of 567 men diagnosed with prostate cancer between 1982 and 1995, and 764 cancer-free men from the Physicians Health Study.

The initial goal of this study was to assess the effect of aspirin and beta-carotene on men’s health. Li’s team decided to check for variants of the gene that codes for manganese superoxide dismutatase (MnSOD), an important enzyme that works as an antioxidant in human cells to defend against disease.

The MnSOD gene is passed from parents to offspring in one of three forms: VV, VA or AA.

“Compared with men with the MnSOD VV or VA genotype, people with the AA genotype seem to be more sensitive to the antioxidant status,” said Li. “Men with the AA genotype are more susceptible to prostate cancer if their antioxidant levels are low.”

The study’s results found that a quarter of the men in the study carried the MnSOD AA genotype, half carried the VA genotype, and the remaining quarter carried the VV genotype.

The results indicated that the VA and VV men were at equivalent risk for developing prostate cancer across all levels of antioxidants in their blood.

But compared to MnSOD VV or VA carriers in the lowest quartile of selenium levels, MnSOD AA males had an 89 per cent greater risk for developing aggressive prostate cancer if they had low blood levels of the mineral.

On the other hand, MnSOD AA carriers with high selenium – those men in the highest quartile – had a 65 per cent lower risk than the MnSOD VV or VA males who maintained low levels of selenium.

“The levels of selenium in the highest quartile of these men are not abnormally high,” Li said. “Our range is neither extremely high nor extremely low.”

While similar trends were observed for lycopene and vitamin E when tested independently, the contrast in relative risk was most pronounced for the men who had high blood levels for all three antioxidants combined, said the researchers.

“Among men with the MnSOD AA genotype, we observed a 10-fold difference in risk for aggressive prostate cancer, when comparing men with high versus low levels of antioxidants combined,”said Li. “In contrast, among men with the VV or VA genotype, the prostate cancer risk was only weakly altered by these antioxidant levels.”

“Our study, as well as many other epidemiological studies, encourages dietary intake of nutrients such as lycopene from tomato products, or supplements for vitamin E and selenium to reduce risk of prostate cancer,” said Li.

Prostate cancer is one of the biggest cancer killers in industrial countries and affects more than 500,000 men worldwide every year. This number is expected to increase with the ageing population.

Similar interactions between dietary antioxidants and the variations in the MnSOD gene have previously been linked to risk for breast cancer.

For more information visit: Prostacet

Terra med Alliance News: The drug, when paired with a chemotherapy regimen, was even more effective in fighting ovarian cancer in cell lines in which signaling of the Src family kinases, associated with the deadly disease, is activated.

The study appears in the Nov. 10, 2009 edition of the British Medical Journal.

Ovarian cancer, which will strike 21,600 women this year and kill 15,500, causes more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system. Few effective therapies for ovarian cancer exist, so it would be advantageous for patients if a new drug could be found that fights the cancer, said Gottfried Konecny, an assistant professor of hematology/oncology, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and first author of the study.

“I think Sprycel could be a potential additional drug for treating patients with Src dependent ovarian cancer,” Konecny said. “It is important to remember that this work is only on cancer cell lines, but it is significant enough that it should be used to justify clinical trials to confirm that women with this type of ovarian cancer could benefit.”

Recent gene expression studies have shown that about one-third of women have ovarian cancers with activated Src pathways, so the drug could potentially help 7,000 ovarian cancer patients every year.

In this study, the UCLA team tested the drug against 34 ovarian cancer cell lines and they conducted genetic analysis on all cell lines. Through these analyses, the researchers were able to identify genes that predict response to Sprycel. If the work is confirmed in human studies, it may be possible to test patients for Src activation and select those who would respond prior to treatment, personalizing their care.

“We were able to identify markers in the pre-clinical setting that would allow us to predict response to Sprycel,” Konecny said. “These may help us in future clinical trials in selecting patients for studies of the drug.”

Sprycel is what is known as a “dirty” kinase inhibitor, meaning it inhibits more than one pathway. Konecny said it also inhibits the focal adhesion kinase and ephrin receptor, also associated with ovarian cancer.

The next step, Konecny said, would be to test the drug on women with ovarian cancer in a clinical trial. The tissue of responders would then be analyzed to determine if the Src and other pathways were activated. If that is confirmed, it would further prove that Sprycel could be used to fight ovarian cancer. In studies, women would be screened before entering a trial and only those with Src dependent cancers could be enrolled to provide further evidence, Konecny said, much like the studies of the molecularly targeted breast cancer drug Herceptin enrolled only women who had HER-2 positive disease.

“Herceptin is different because we knew in advance that the only worked in women with HER-2 amplification,” he said. “In this case, we don’t clearly know that yet. The data reassure us that the drug works where the targets are over-expressed but we need more testing to confirm this.”

The tests combining the drug with chemotherapy are significant because chemotherapy currently is the first line treatment for ovarian cancer patients following surgery. Because Sprycel proved to have a synergistic effect when combined with chemotherapy — both made the other work better — it may be possible to add the targeted therapy as a first line treatment if its efficacy is confirmed in future studies, adding a new tool to an oncologist’s arsenal. Adapted from materials provided by University of California – Los Angeles, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Terra med Alliance is a non-profit organization in the battle against leukemia  helps  children living with cancer and their families. Our goal is to make sure children battling cancer know they are not alone. For more information please visit www.terramedalliance.org.  Email at contact@terramedalliance.org

Cancer – either you have had it, may develop it at some point in time, or know someone who has had it or has it. Whether we like it or not, cancer affects each one of us directly or indirectly. Preventing cancer is easier than you may think. Through simple lifestyle changes, we can reduce our risk of developing many types of cancer.

Avoid smoking, whether it be active or passive smoking.
We hear at least a dozen times a day about the ills of cigarettes and the risks associated with smoking, including the risk of lung cancer. The reason for this is the fact that smoking is one such significant risk factor associated with cancer, which can easily be reduced. You would be surprised to know that smoking can increase your risk of developing a number of other cancers as well. Quitting the habit is much easier with the help of many rehabilitation centers, counsellors as well as websites providing the right kind of help that can help you give up the habit altogether.

Practice sun safety and recognize when skin changes occur.
Skin cancer is becoming more common, especially among young people. Wear sunscreen when outdoors, even if it is shady, and try to avoid going outdoors during the sun’s peak time, which is 10 am – 2 pm. Knowing your skin’s moles and spots is essential. Any changes you observe on your skin, need to be reported to your doctor as soon as possible.

Eat your fruits and veggies.
Fruits and vegetables, being rich in antioxidants, help in the repair of the damaged cells in the body. Especially, dark green leafy vegetables, and bright red and yellow coloured fruits and veggies, are your best bet. Also, as friuits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants, they aid in the prevention of various types of cancers.

Watch the meats you eat, especially smoked foods.
Research suggests that a diet high in animal fat can lead to the development of certain types of cancers. A diet high in smoked foods, salted fish and meat, and pickled vegetables, can increase your risk to cancer to a large extent.

Limit your alcohol intake.
Drinking excessive amount of alcohol regularly, increases your risk of developing cancer. Studies suggest that men who consume two alcoholic drinks per day and women who have one alcoholic drink per day, significantly increase their risk to certain types of cancer. Hence it is recommended that you consume alcohol in moderation.

Be sure to keep up on screening tests like the Pap, mammograms, and DREs.
Make sure you regularly undergo health checkups and screening tests like the Pap smear and mammogram if you are a woman, and a DRE (digital rectal exam) if you are a man. The Pap and DRE can detect cellular changes before they become cancerous, and the mammogram may be able to detect breast cancer early.

Exercise for cancer prevention.

Being overweight greatly increases your risk factor for developing cancer. Hence, exercising to maintain your ideal weight is one of the best defenses against cancer. Exercising doesn’t have to be boring, you can get into dancing, brisk walking or simply playing your favourite sport that requires you to be on your toes, for instance, tennis or badminton. Being physically active would ensure flexibility of the body and lasting good health.

Know your personal and family history pertaining to cancer.
Research tells us that some types of cancers can be genetic. Knowing your family history pertaining to cancer can help you make more informed decisions about your healthcare. It can also aid in genetic testing and counseling, so that you can find out if you carry a mutated gene that increases your risks of developing cancer. To read more about Top 10 Ways of Preventing Cancer by Medimanage.com

“Prevention” is promoted as meaning catching the disease early. Really. That also misses the point. Is it “prevention” if you call 911 when you come home and see smoke billowing from all your windows? Do we just live with a carpe diem philosophy and wait for the doctor to tell us we have a lump in our breast or a swollen nodular prostate? Is the cause of cancer a lack of one of the new cancer drugs? Is the cause of cancer really unknown, requiring endless research?

First, let me put to rest the propaganda that the war is being won. Since President Nixon declared the war (1971) and after over 200 billion dollars have been spent on research (remember, one billion is a thousand million), more Americans will die of cancer in the next 14 months than have died in all U.S. wars ever fought combined! (Where are the protest marches?) Soon, cancer will overtake heart disease as the number one killer.

Decades ago, early in the war, there were some dramatic successes such as with Hodgkin’s disease and some forms of childhood leukemia. There can be little doubt that debunking (surgical removal) of large cancers brings benefits. But the big killers such as colorectal, lung, prostate and breast cancer remain as threatening as ever. Survival gains are measured primarily in additional months (not years) added to life, not in cures. The placebo effect is by and large ignored. (People getting a sugar pill placebo in cancer studies have been known to lose their hair and some actually cure themselves by simply thinking they will be cured.) A percentage of people can experience remissions spontaneously and from simple lifestyle adjustments, but the cancer therapy is always credited with the cure. (Investigations, “Placebo Learning: The Placebo Effect as a Conditioned Response,” 1985; 2(1):23. O’Regan B, et al. 1993. Spontaneous Remission: An Annotated Bibliography. Sausalito, CA. Talbot M. 1991. The Holographic Universe. New York. Harper Collins Publishers. Townsend Letter, 2004; 251:32-3.)

Statistics can always be massaged to create the result desired. This practice is rampant in cancer research. Animal models (euphemism for real living and feeling caged creatures being tortured by the millions) do not prove effectiveness across species boundaries to humans. Neither do laboratory cell lines. That’s why all the “breakthroughs” based on tumor shrinkage never pan out. For-profit drug companies and National Cancer Institute grant-based research ignore metastases (the spreading cells of cancer through the body) in their positive reports. Instead they highlight and focus on more easily obtained lab results, such as “tumor shrinkage,” and on easily manipulated clinical data such as “five-year survival.”

Twelve new “improved” drugs introduced in Europe between 1995 and 2000 were no better than the drugs they replaced. But the prices were all higher, in one instance by a factor of 350 times. One new “revolutionary” drug, Erbitux(tm), found to “shrink” tumors but not extend the lives of patients at all costs $2,400 per week. Avastin(tm), another costly chemotherapeutic, by the best calculation, extended the lives of 400 colorectal patients by 4.7 months. Tamoxifin(tm) is proven to be effective in decreasing breast cancer. Risk is decreased by about 15% but what is not equally heralded is the fact that it increased the risk of endometrial uterine cancer by about 15%. (Patient Information: Nolvadex, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals)

Are such results worth the financial devastation and miserable life that chemotherapy, radiation and surgery impose? Is that the way to spend one’s remaining days? If such therapy does add a couple of months, are those couple of months really worth the poking, prodding, pain, unrelenting nausea, disfiguring, destruction of the immune system and increased susceptibility to other diseases? “Yes” would be a hard answer to justify.

In the face of a cancer diagnosis most people just throw up their hands in terror and surrender to the conventional cancer therapy death process. The feeling is that something must be done, and, since “doctors know best,” one must begin the “fight” by following the advice of the doctor. But fighting does not mean surrendering to the will of another person who has their own personal agenda and narrowed field of view dictated by the club they belong to. That misses the point. You must do something.

Here’s the on-point best approach: 1. Prevention means adjusting your life right now so that you are living in tune with your design. Cancer is, quite simply, the reaction of cells subjected long enough to an environment they are not designed for. The genetic apparatus loses its bearings, becomes insane, if you will, and regresses to embryonic infancy and just begins multiplying recklessly. What is the proper environment? It is that food, air, water and lifestyle you are genetically designed for. The proper healthy preventive living context is encapsulated in the Wysong Optimal Health Program(tm).

2. If you get cancer, don’t panic. First thing is follow #1 advice. Learn. Gather as much information as you can from all resources, not just what the medical establishment provides. We try to gather such information for you in The Wysong Directory of Alternative Resources.

3. Think about what has happened in your life that has caused the disease. It is caused, it does not just happen. Correct your life.

4. You take control of your own body and you make the decisions. Determine to set right what is wrong and do it. Taking control is essential to not feeling like a helpless victim and sinking into hopeless despair – a sure mindset to speed the disease along.

5. Think long and hard before submitting to unproven cancer therapies. If the doctor cannot prove effectiveness (at least prove that you will be better off with the therapy than without) and if you are not willing to take the risk of all the contraindications, then don’t submit because you think it is “all that can be done.” It isn’t. See #2 above.

All good things in life are hard. In our modern world, good health takes effort and attention. Preventing and reversing disease also takes effort – your effort. Begin today to take charge of your health and be the best you can be. Most chronic degenerative diseases have long latency periods, the time between when the disease begins and it manifests in overt symptoms. Most everyone reading this has such disease brewing within at this very moment. So take advantage of the window of opportunity and give your body a chance by living the life you were designed to live. That will not only prevent disease from gaining a foothold, but reverse disease that is incubating within.