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Prevent and Treat Breast Cancer Naturally
by author Lorna Vanderhaeghe, BSc

The first two thoughts most women have when they are diagnosed with breast cancer are “Will I die?” and “Will I lose my breast?” So frightening is the diagnosis of cancer that many people launch into treatment before exploring all of the options.

In this third part of a four-part series on breast cancer, I look at the natural medicines that can be used alone or with conventional medicine to treat this common cancer. I will focus only on the natural medicines that have been shown to be effective in clinical research. Dr. Michael T. Murray’s How to Prevent and Treat Cancer with Natural Medicine (Riverhead Books, 2002) is a wonderful guide to evaluating the current mainstream cancer treatments and learning how to combine these natural medicines with effective lifestyle strategies to beat cancer.

The Best Strategies for Beating Breast Cancer

Understand your disease:

Learn everything you can about the personality of the cancer you have: how large is your tumour; how quickly is it growing; has it spread (metastasized)? Get a journal and write down your questions and the answers your doctor provides so that you can refer to it later. Read Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book (Perseus Publishing, 2000) to learn more about staging of the cancer, biomarkers, estrogen receptor tests, cancer genes, mainstream treatments, and how to interpret all of this information.

Ask your oncologist about all the treatments available:

A thorough understanding of treatment options is essential. In the case of breast cancer, these could be lumpectomy (removal of the tumour only), mastectomy (removal of the breast or breasts) combined with radiation or chemotherapy (a term used for dozens of different cancer drugs), or chemotherapy and radiation and no surgery. Discover the long-term side-effects and risks of the treatment you choose. Ask what the difference in survival rates are among the various treatment options. Dr. Susan Love states, “70 percent of breast cancer patients would do as well or better with lumpectomy and radiation. Yet overall, 30 percent are getting lumpectomy and radiation…the rest are getting mastectomy.”

Join a caring support group:

An important study conducted at Stanford University’s School of Medicine convincingly showed that breast cancer patients who attended regular weekly support groups doubled their chances of survival. Surround yourself with those you love and those who love you. End toxic relationships.

Manage your stress:

A 2000 study published in Psychosocial Medicine showed that when stress management and relaxation techniques were taught to women with breast cancer, lower cortisol levels resulted. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is known to cause a decrease in activity of the immune cells that fight cancer. Those who were taught the techniques also reported that having breast cancer made positive contributions to their lives: they experienced a greater sense of purpose and meaning, a shift in priorities, and better family relationships. Conversely, patients on the waiting list to learn these techniques demonstrated none of these improvements.

Get a second opinion:

No matter how much you trust your oncologist’s advice, look for a second opinion. Caring doctors have no problem with this request; they want you to feel confident about your treatment choice.

Take natural medicines:

Oncologists often warn their patients not to take vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, herbs, and other nutrients before or during chemotherapy, yet there are many natural medicines that clinical research has shown are beneficial.

There are two substances I would put on a list of natural medicines not to take during chemotherapy: (i) Supplements containing soy plant estrogens for those taking hormone inhibitors such as Tamoxifen for estrogen-receptor positive cancer. Limit soy consumption to a maximum of four servings of fermented soy per week (fermented soy in the form of tempeh, miso, and soy sauce). (ii) Iron supplements: anemia can often develop as a result of chemotherapy, but unless you have a serum ferritin test showing you have true iron-deficiency anemia, do not take iron supplements. Too much iron in the blood can promote tumour growth.

See the chart for the many beneficial nutrients that can be taken with chemotherapy.

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Lorna Vanderhaeghe, BSc, has been researching nutritional medicine for over 20 years and has written several books, including the best-selling No More HRT: Menopause Treat the Cause (Fitzhenry, 2002).

Source: alive #260, June 2004

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