Experts: One-third of breast cancer is avoidable March 28, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health, healthy living, Mammograms.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, exercise, health, healthy foods, healthy living, lung cancer, mammogram, prevent cancer
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By Maria Cheng, AP, Mar 25, 2010
BARCELONA, Spain (AP)–Up to a third of breast cancer cases in Western countries could be avoided if women ate less and exercised more, researchers at a breast cancer conference said Thursday, renewing debate on a sensitive topic.
While better treatments, early diagnosis and mammogram screenings have dramatically slowed the disease, experts said the focus should now shift to changing behaviors like diet and physical activity. The comments added to a series of findings that lifestyle changes in areas such as smoking, eating, exercise and sun exposure can have a significant effect on all sorts of cancer rates. (more…)
“Is Eating Sugar Really That Bad for Us?” January 30, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, sugar.Tags: breast cancer, cancer, chemotherapy, faith, healthy foods, healthy living, positiveness, sugar, surgery
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Those of you who read my blog know that I became personally convinced that my sweet tooth played a major role in my breast cancer. I’ve posted quite a few times on this subject already, but have come to accept that there will be no end to it while we continue to tolerate the way the “food” industry both blatantly and insidiously adds more and more sugar (and all kinds of artificial sweeteners, as well) to more and more food products in order to sell more at the expense of the general public’s health.
It’s hard, but it’s not impossible to drastically reduce your sugar intake. I was really a sugar “junkie” even when I knew how bad it was–though I didn’t yet know the cancer connection. This great article, which I’ve shortened a bit, is quoting experts who know their stuff. Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, the fairly well-known cofounder of Doctors Without Borders, who also diagnosed his own brain cancer about 15 years ago is definitely someone worth listening to. (more…)
Drastically Reducing MRSA Deaths January 6, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: drugs, healing, health, hospitals, infections, MRSA, saving money
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With less pressure from pharmaceutical companies, this problem could be greatly controlled. Norway did it. We can, too!
Killer superbug solution discovered in Norway
By Martha Mendoza and Margie Mason, Associated Press, Dec. 31, 2009
OSLO, Norway–Aker University Hospital is a dingy place to heal. The floors are streaked and scratched. A light layer of dust coats the blood pressure monitors. A faint stench of urine and bleach wafts from a pile of soiled bedsheets dropped in a corner.
Look closer, however, at a microscopic level, and this place is pristine. There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked. (more…)
Good News for Us Older Folks! January 6, 2010
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: aging, book, learning, memory
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I’ve often heard, but didn’t really believe the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” Someone has done some research to find out if it’s true of humans and came up with some interesting results–good news! Check out this article:
How to Train the Aging Brain
By Barbara Strauch, NY Times, December 29, 2009
I love reading history, and the shelves in my living room are lined with fat, fact-filled books. There’s “The Hemingses of Monticello,” about the family of Thomas Jefferson’s slave mistress; there’s “House of Cards,” about the fall of Bear Stearns; there’s “Titan,” about John D. Rockefeller Sr.
The problem is, as much as I’ve enjoyed these books, I don’t really remember reading any of them. Certainly I know the main points. But didn’t I, after underlining all those interesting parts, retain anything else? It’s maddening and, sorry to say, not all that unusual for a brain at middle age: I don’t just forget whole books, but movies I just saw, breakfasts I just ate, and the names, oh, the names are awful. Who are you? (more…)
Two Books Celebrate 150th Anniversary December 31, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: book, Darwin, Dickens, faith, God
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Dickens vs. Darwin
Sleep Problems and Breast Cancer Connection? December 26, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, health.Tags: breast cancer, chemotherapy, healthy living, sleep, sugar, tumor
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It looks like I’ll have to give a bit higher percent credit to my sleep problems as a contributing factor to my breast cancer. I’ve assigned a large percent to my sugar addiction in my younger years and chemicals from all sources, but in this latest article, Olivia Judson informs us of the consequences of a little light in the middle of the night: “Exposure to light in the night has been linked to breast cancer; consistent with this, women who are totally blind have a lower incidence of breast cancer than those who can see even a little bit.” Read her whole article below. (more…)
Amazing Wild Elephant Behavior! December 24, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in faith.Tags: faith, God, Jesus
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This is quite amazing:
Is Sugar a Poison? December 6, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, faith, health, prayer, sugar.Tags: breast cancer, faith, God, health, honey, prayer, sugar
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I just can’t resist this topic! Sugar used to be my happiness, but now I know it was destroying me. Here’s another blog post on the subject:
As many folks around the world fight the battle of the “bulge” and obesity along with the plethora of diseases that go with it, it’s good to know that there are solutions. If one is truly concerned about their health, here’s one item that, if avoided, would likely radically improve their health and reduce their weight at the same time: refined sugar. Most of us already know this. From childhood we were told to limit our sugar intake. Even though we know we shouldn’t eat as much sugar as we do (“did” in my case, as I cut it out over a year ago) the hardest part (even if we really want to limit our sugar intake) is exercising the will power. If you know it is negatively affecting your health and you got a really good scare or two (breast cancer, in my case), these two factors combined can give you quite a bit of strength to resist the temptations to eat things sweeten with refined sugar. (more…)
Sugar–Again! November 5, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in breast cancer, cancer, faith, health, healthy living, mastectomy, sugar, traditional herbal medicine.Tags: breast cancer, faith, health, healthy foods, healthy living, herbal medicine, Jesus, mastectomy, radiation, radiation therapy, sugar, traditional herbal medicine
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Is It Worth It to Get Vaccinated Against H1N1? October 18, 2009
Posted by mygiftofcancer in cancer.Tags: flu, flu season, flu shots, flu virus, H1N1, health, influenza, swine flu, vaccination, vaccines
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I have not felt inclined to get flu shots, although my Japanese friends look at me like I’m crazy when I say so. But today I finally found an article that backs up my hesitation. This article is long, but worth reading–at least some of it to get the gist and to see the basic thinking and questions raised.
Does the Vaccine Matter?
By Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, The Atlantic, November 2009
Drive too fast along Red Lion Road, beside Philadelphia’s Northeast Airport, and you will miss the low-rise cement building where the biotech company MedImmune has been quietly pumping out swine flu vaccine at about a million doses a week. (more…)