Our Self
Explore your spiritual beliefs. They will help connect you with the energy that brings health to our bodies, minds and souls.
Ian Gawler, author of You Can Conquer Cancer, claims that integrating meditation and other healthy practices daily, extended his life expectancy from osteosarcoma (bone cancer) from 1 month, to 30 years. While scientifically unproven, this kind of evidence, that peace of mind can heal an unhealthy body, is rapidly emerging. One possible explanation is that a more serene state of mind is linked to lower secretion of adrenaline and cortisol, which means that immune cells are better able to fulfill their function of defense.
Mastering spiritual traditions such as yoga, meditation, tai chi and qigong, help one to rein in his or her inner being and bodily functioning. Studies show that this mastery is one of the best ways to reduce the impact of stress and to reestablish harmony in a person's physiology, thus stimulating the body's natural defenses against cancer and other diseases.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD and a former MIT biologist, insists that spending time alone daily is a "radical act of self love" that helps to harmonize the inner healing forces of the body.
WORK & PURPOSE
Work less! Slow down! Take a stress free vacation. There's nothing wrong with working long, hard hours as long as you love what you do and recharge by taking regular vacations and days off where you do absolutely zero work. Rest boosts our immune systems.
Discover your purpose and passions in life and live them! Some cancer centers find that patients who have not responded to conventional treatments, go into remission once they simply begin pursuing their passions. A research study at the University of California at Berkeley discovered that subjects who identified more with feelings of hopelessness (that their goals were impossible to achieve or that things in life will not change for the better) than with hopefulness, developed 160% more fatal cancers. Be hopeful.
Find out what makes you happy and what makes you unhappy. Define your sense of purpose. Plan for mental and physical nourishment, relaxation, and stimulation, and minimized the creators of stress (including people) in your life.
SOCIALIZE
Create a healthy social network with people you trust and admire and with whom you can safely share your emotions. Family is one of the most important things in life and can help keep us balanced and healthy. Nurture those relationships. The immune system may be better balanced with emotional states characterized by a sense of well-being and a feeling that we are connected to those around us. Actively cultivate these states and feelings.
LIVE STRESS FREE
In 2006, Nature Reviews Cancer observed that life stressors can give malfunctioning cells the opportunity to grow into cancerous tumors faster. Keep your stress in check. Consider practicing Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). No matter how healthy your body, home, or environment is, if your emotional health is poor, you are more susceptible to disease. See eft.mercola.com to learn this technique. A meta-analysis of 165 studies, published in 2008 by psychobiologists at University College London, concluded that psychosocial stress (a hybrid category including both stressful events and individual reactions to those events, notably feelings of helplessness) are correlated with a higher risk of cancer developing in healthy people and with lower survival rates in people who have cancer.
Feelings of helplessness cause the release of hormones that activate the body's "emergency" systems, such as the inflammatory response and the release of adrenalin and cortisol, which can facilitate the growth and spread of tumors. At the same time, stress slows down all the functions that can be "put on hold", such as digestion, tissue repair, and the immune system. Clearly, it is in our best interest to keep our stress in check and to maintain a positive outlook. Laughter, lightheartedness, and serenity can all contribute to reducing inflammation and thereby reducing susceptibility to chronic diseases such as cancer. Seek to cultivate these factors in your life.
Denial of one's true identity, such as sexuality, causes stress. Such stress may modulate immune function to increase inflammation (promoting cancer) and impair immune response to keep cancers in check. Seek to be true to yourself in all areas of your life.
Depression alters the composition of the blood, making blood cells less able to carry oxygen. This helps oxygen-hating cancer thrive. Thus, depressed people develop about 30% more cancers than non-depressed people. Do what it takes to bring happiness and purpose to your life.
Ian Gawler, author of You Can Conquer Cancer, claims that integrating meditation and other healthy practices daily, extended his life expectancy from osteosarcoma (bone cancer) from 1 month, to 30 years. While scientifically unproven, this kind of evidence, that peace of mind can heal an unhealthy body, is rapidly emerging. One possible explanation is that a more serene state of mind is linked to lower secretion of adrenaline and cortisol, which means that immune cells are better able to fulfill their function of defense.
Mastering spiritual traditions such as yoga, meditation, tai chi and qigong, help one to rein in his or her inner being and bodily functioning. Studies show that this mastery is one of the best ways to reduce the impact of stress and to reestablish harmony in a person's physiology, thus stimulating the body's natural defenses against cancer and other diseases.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD and a former MIT biologist, insists that spending time alone daily is a "radical act of self love" that helps to harmonize the inner healing forces of the body.
WORK & PURPOSE
Work less! Slow down! Take a stress free vacation. There's nothing wrong with working long, hard hours as long as you love what you do and recharge by taking regular vacations and days off where you do absolutely zero work. Rest boosts our immune systems.
Discover your purpose and passions in life and live them! Some cancer centers find that patients who have not responded to conventional treatments, go into remission once they simply begin pursuing their passions. A research study at the University of California at Berkeley discovered that subjects who identified more with feelings of hopelessness (that their goals were impossible to achieve or that things in life will not change for the better) than with hopefulness, developed 160% more fatal cancers. Be hopeful.
Find out what makes you happy and what makes you unhappy. Define your sense of purpose. Plan for mental and physical nourishment, relaxation, and stimulation, and minimized the creators of stress (including people) in your life.
SOCIALIZE
Create a healthy social network with people you trust and admire and with whom you can safely share your emotions. Family is one of the most important things in life and can help keep us balanced and healthy. Nurture those relationships. The immune system may be better balanced with emotional states characterized by a sense of well-being and a feeling that we are connected to those around us. Actively cultivate these states and feelings.
LIVE STRESS FREE
In 2006, Nature Reviews Cancer observed that life stressors can give malfunctioning cells the opportunity to grow into cancerous tumors faster. Keep your stress in check. Consider practicing Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). No matter how healthy your body, home, or environment is, if your emotional health is poor, you are more susceptible to disease. See eft.mercola.com to learn this technique. A meta-analysis of 165 studies, published in 2008 by psychobiologists at University College London, concluded that psychosocial stress (a hybrid category including both stressful events and individual reactions to those events, notably feelings of helplessness) are correlated with a higher risk of cancer developing in healthy people and with lower survival rates in people who have cancer.
Feelings of helplessness cause the release of hormones that activate the body's "emergency" systems, such as the inflammatory response and the release of adrenalin and cortisol, which can facilitate the growth and spread of tumors. At the same time, stress slows down all the functions that can be "put on hold", such as digestion, tissue repair, and the immune system. Clearly, it is in our best interest to keep our stress in check and to maintain a positive outlook. Laughter, lightheartedness, and serenity can all contribute to reducing inflammation and thereby reducing susceptibility to chronic diseases such as cancer. Seek to cultivate these factors in your life.
Denial of one's true identity, such as sexuality, causes stress. Such stress may modulate immune function to increase inflammation (promoting cancer) and impair immune response to keep cancers in check. Seek to be true to yourself in all areas of your life.
Depression alters the composition of the blood, making blood cells less able to carry oxygen. This helps oxygen-hating cancer thrive. Thus, depressed people develop about 30% more cancers than non-depressed people. Do what it takes to bring happiness and purpose to your life.
EXERCISE
Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity 5 or more days a week. Exercise increases your insulin receptor sensitivity and lowers your insulin and leptin (hormone signaling a feeling of satiety) levels. Exercise also improves the circulation of immune cells and your lymphatic system, which eliminate precancerous cells. Sweat, either with exercise or a sauna. Be sensible, don't over-do it, and replace your fluids and salts. Sweating is a great way to excrete cancer-causing substances such as toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants. Children need to play at moderate to vigorous sports at least 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more.
Drive less and cycle, walk, jog, and bus more. This increases physical activity, and reduces transportation-related pollution including carcinogens and greenhouse gases. Keep your weight in check as obesity is one of the highest risk factors for cancer. Know what a healthy body weight is for you and work towards it.
SUN
While moderate exposure to the sun is essential for the production of cancer-protecting vitamin D, don't overexpose yourself to harmful UVA rays. If your skin is the least bit red, you've over-done it. Sunglasses, UV protective clothing and a broad-rimmed hat are helpful.
Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps, as they are just as damaging as natural sunlight. Avoid midday sun when the rays are strongest. Also it doesn't make much sense to expose your skin to the sun when it is lower than 50 degrees above the horizon because you will not receive any valuable UVB rays, but you will expose yourself to the more dangerous and potentially deadly UVA rays.
SAFETY
Practice safe sex using a condom, to avoid exposure to infectious agents such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, and human papilloma virus. Infectious agents are responsible for almost 22% of cancer deaths in developing countries and 6% in industrialized countries.
Don't smoke. Tobacco smoking causes many types of cancer, including cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix. About 70% of the lung cancer burden can be attributed to smoking alone. Avoid second hand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke, as it has been proven to cause lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of second hand smoke.
Don't share needles as sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B & C, all of which can increase the risk of liver and other cancers.
SLEEP
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has declared that 'lack of sleep' is carcinogenic because not attaining peak sleep-hormone melatonin levels (produced about 90 minutes after you fall asleep) in your body results in higher levels of oestrogen and IGF-1 hormones. Elevated levels of both are known to increase cancer risk.
To reduce the related cancer risk arising from sleep disruption, minimize shift work and ensure that you have good sleep between shifts. Supplementation with melatonin is being investigated as it may reduce sleep disruption related cancers in shift workers. Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room for optimum rest, melatonin production, and prevention of chronic diseases including cancer.
Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity 5 or more days a week. Exercise increases your insulin receptor sensitivity and lowers your insulin and leptin (hormone signaling a feeling of satiety) levels. Exercise also improves the circulation of immune cells and your lymphatic system, which eliminate precancerous cells. Sweat, either with exercise or a sauna. Be sensible, don't over-do it, and replace your fluids and salts. Sweating is a great way to excrete cancer-causing substances such as toxic metals and persistent organic pollutants. Children need to play at moderate to vigorous sports at least 60 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more.
Drive less and cycle, walk, jog, and bus more. This increases physical activity, and reduces transportation-related pollution including carcinogens and greenhouse gases. Keep your weight in check as obesity is one of the highest risk factors for cancer. Know what a healthy body weight is for you and work towards it.
SUN
While moderate exposure to the sun is essential for the production of cancer-protecting vitamin D, don't overexpose yourself to harmful UVA rays. If your skin is the least bit red, you've over-done it. Sunglasses, UV protective clothing and a broad-rimmed hat are helpful.
Avoid tanning beds and sunlamps, as they are just as damaging as natural sunlight. Avoid midday sun when the rays are strongest. Also it doesn't make much sense to expose your skin to the sun when it is lower than 50 degrees above the horizon because you will not receive any valuable UVB rays, but you will expose yourself to the more dangerous and potentially deadly UVA rays.
SAFETY
Practice safe sex using a condom, to avoid exposure to infectious agents such as hepatitis B and C, HIV, and human papilloma virus. Infectious agents are responsible for almost 22% of cancer deaths in developing countries and 6% in industrialized countries.
Don't smoke. Tobacco smoking causes many types of cancer, including cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx, mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach and cervix. About 70% of the lung cancer burden can be attributed to smoking alone. Avoid second hand smoke, also called environmental tobacco smoke, as it has been proven to cause lung cancer in nonsmoking adults. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of second hand smoke.
Don't share needles as sharing needles with an infected drug user can lead to HIV, as well as hepatitis B & C, all of which can increase the risk of liver and other cancers.
SLEEP
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has declared that 'lack of sleep' is carcinogenic because not attaining peak sleep-hormone melatonin levels (produced about 90 minutes after you fall asleep) in your body results in higher levels of oestrogen and IGF-1 hormones. Elevated levels of both are known to increase cancer risk.
To reduce the related cancer risk arising from sleep disruption, minimize shift work and ensure that you have good sleep between shifts. Supplementation with melatonin is being investigated as it may reduce sleep disruption related cancers in shift workers. Sleep in a cool, dark, quiet room for optimum rest, melatonin production, and prevention of chronic diseases including cancer.
EARLY DETECTION & SCREENING
Women, in addition to annual physicals, be sure you are up to date with relevant tests and screenings like thermograms, pap smears and colonoscopies.
Men, in addition to annual physicals, be sure you are up to date with relevant tests and screenings such as PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) tests, manual prostate cancer exams and colonoscopies.
Have an annual clinical breast exam (CBE) by a doctor or other health care professional. The doctor will carefully feel the breasts and under the arms for lumps or anything else that seems unusual. This applies to both men and women. Women, perform monthly breast self-exams (BSE) several days after your period ends, when your breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender. Women, get checked for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) annually, as some HPV types can lead to cervical cancer.
For those with an average risk of colorectal cancer (no family history of the disease), ask your doctor for a simple fecal occult blood test (FOBT) that may identify precancerous polyps. For those with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (either a parent, sibling or child has been diagnosed with such) a colonoscopy is advised. Pre-cancerous polyps can be detected and removed during the procedure. A colonoscopy should be performed 10 years prior to the age the relative was diagnosed, i.e. if your parent was diagnosed at 50, you should have your first colonoscopy at 40 years of age. Consider visiting a dermatologist to get your body mapped to aid in the early detection of suspicious lesions. This whole body photography is rapidly gaining popularity as a tool for managing patients at high risk for melanoma.
Oral cancer is the eleventh most common cancer in the world. Be sure your dentist performs a visual oral exam at your semi-annual teeth cleaning appointment.
A reported 5-10% of cancer has a hereditary component, so it's important to know your family's medical history. Starting with your parents and grandparents, then your siblings, aunts, uncles and first cousins, learn each relative's health picture. Take heart, your genes are not your entire destiny. Your actions can still help to prevent cancer!
Women, in addition to annual physicals, be sure you are up to date with relevant tests and screenings like thermograms, pap smears and colonoscopies.
Men, in addition to annual physicals, be sure you are up to date with relevant tests and screenings such as PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) tests, manual prostate cancer exams and colonoscopies.
Have an annual clinical breast exam (CBE) by a doctor or other health care professional. The doctor will carefully feel the breasts and under the arms for lumps or anything else that seems unusual. This applies to both men and women. Women, perform monthly breast self-exams (BSE) several days after your period ends, when your breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender. Women, get checked for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) annually, as some HPV types can lead to cervical cancer.
For those with an average risk of colorectal cancer (no family history of the disease), ask your doctor for a simple fecal occult blood test (FOBT) that may identify precancerous polyps. For those with an increased risk of colorectal cancer (either a parent, sibling or child has been diagnosed with such) a colonoscopy is advised. Pre-cancerous polyps can be detected and removed during the procedure. A colonoscopy should be performed 10 years prior to the age the relative was diagnosed, i.e. if your parent was diagnosed at 50, you should have your first colonoscopy at 40 years of age. Consider visiting a dermatologist to get your body mapped to aid in the early detection of suspicious lesions. This whole body photography is rapidly gaining popularity as a tool for managing patients at high risk for melanoma.
Oral cancer is the eleventh most common cancer in the world. Be sure your dentist performs a visual oral exam at your semi-annual teeth cleaning appointment.
A reported 5-10% of cancer has a hereditary component, so it's important to know your family's medical history. Starting with your parents and grandparents, then your siblings, aunts, uncles and first cousins, learn each relative's health picture. Take heart, your genes are not your entire destiny. Your actions can still help to prevent cancer!
ACTIVISM
Contact local pediatricians and hospitals to find out if they have a policy on the use of talc on infants. If they don't, take action to educate them. Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos and has been linked to lung cancer. Studies also show that the risk of ovarian cancer is greatly increased with the genital use of talc.
Demand non-toxic alternatives from manufacturers that include toxic ingredients on their product labels by calling their toll free numbers. Not all products have ingredient lists, but if you suspect a harmful ingredient is present, possibly through its odor, make the call!
Write letters to cancer societies, health institutions, newspapers, media, and government offering suggestions on prevention strategies and asking them what is currently being done to shift the focus to prevention.
Join a cancer prevention action group. PreventCancerNow.ca, PreventCancer.com, BreastCancerFund.org and BCAction.org are all fantastic organizations doing the work of advocating for eliminating environmental toxins and promoting cancer prevention education.
Organize your own cancer prevention group. Get a copy of one of the following videos, invite you're friends to watch, and then discuss a plan of action: Blue Vinyl, A Civil Action, Chasing the Cancer Answer, Erin Brokovich, Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, A Healthy Baby Girl, If You Love Your Children: Children's Health and the Environment, The Insider, Rachel's Daughters, River of Broken Promises, Toxic Trespass: Children's Health and Environment, Food, Inc and Trade Secrets: A Bill Moyers Report. This list is by no means comprehensive! There are many inspirational and provocative movies on the market from which to choose.
Plan to leave a healthy legacy by making a generous bequest to a cancer prevention group.
Plant a tree as the foliage in trees acts as an air filter. If everyone in the world did this, imagine.
Contact local pediatricians and hospitals to find out if they have a policy on the use of talc on infants. If they don't, take action to educate them. Talc is closely related to the potent carcinogen asbestos and has been linked to lung cancer. Studies also show that the risk of ovarian cancer is greatly increased with the genital use of talc.
Demand non-toxic alternatives from manufacturers that include toxic ingredients on their product labels by calling their toll free numbers. Not all products have ingredient lists, but if you suspect a harmful ingredient is present, possibly through its odor, make the call!
Write letters to cancer societies, health institutions, newspapers, media, and government offering suggestions on prevention strategies and asking them what is currently being done to shift the focus to prevention.
Join a cancer prevention action group. PreventCancerNow.ca, PreventCancer.com, BreastCancerFund.org and BCAction.org are all fantastic organizations doing the work of advocating for eliminating environmental toxins and promoting cancer prevention education.
Organize your own cancer prevention group. Get a copy of one of the following videos, invite you're friends to watch, and then discuss a plan of action: Blue Vinyl, A Civil Action, Chasing the Cancer Answer, Erin Brokovich, Exposure: Environmental Links to Breast Cancer, A Healthy Baby Girl, If You Love Your Children: Children's Health and the Environment, The Insider, Rachel's Daughters, River of Broken Promises, Toxic Trespass: Children's Health and Environment, Food, Inc and Trade Secrets: A Bill Moyers Report. This list is by no means comprehensive! There are many inspirational and provocative movies on the market from which to choose.
Plan to leave a healthy legacy by making a generous bequest to a cancer prevention group.
Plant a tree as the foliage in trees acts as an air filter. If everyone in the world did this, imagine.
EDUCATION
Read Anticancer, A New Way of Life, New Edition by David Servan-Schreiber MD PhD.
Read The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World by John Robbins.
Read The Complete Cancer Cleanse: A Proven Program to Detoxify and Renew Body, Mind and Spirit by Cherie Calbom, John Calbom and Michael Mahaffey.
Read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, an important book on environmental causes of cancer and what we can do to change.
Read Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment by Sandra Steingraber.
Read Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? By Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Meyers.
Read Homes That Heal (and Those That Don't) by Athena Thompson for countless ideas on how to reduce the cancer hazards in your home.
Read The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis.
Read The Guide to Less Toxic Products at www.lesstoxicguide.ca for a comprehensive list of products to use and those to avoid in a variety of categories including personal care, household cleaners and baby care.
Read Anticancer, A New Way of Life, New Edition by David Servan-Schreiber MD PhD.
Read The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and the World by John Robbins.
Read The Complete Cancer Cleanse: A Proven Program to Detoxify and Renew Body, Mind and Spirit by Cherie Calbom, John Calbom and Michael Mahaffey.
Read Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, an important book on environmental causes of cancer and what we can do to change.
Read Living Downstream: A Scientist's Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment by Sandra Steingraber.
Read Our Stolen Future: Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence, and Survival? By Theo Colburn, Dianne Dumanoski, and John Peterson Meyers.
Read Homes That Heal (and Those That Don't) by Athena Thompson for countless ideas on how to reduce the cancer hazards in your home.
Read The Secret History of the War on Cancer by Devra Davis.
Read The Guide to Less Toxic Products at www.lesstoxicguide.ca for a comprehensive list of products to use and those to avoid in a variety of categories including personal care, household cleaners and baby care.