Alternative Medicine and Breast Cancer Prevention By Cathy Wong

The most common form of cancer among women in the United States (other than skin cancer), breast cancer typically begins as a malignant tumor in the breast ducts or in the glands responsible for producing milk. In some cases, breast cancer spreads to distant areas of the body.

Breast cancer affects one in eight women during the course of their lives. The disease may also occur in men, but incidences of male breast cancer are fairly rare.
Causes of Breast Cancer

Although no one knows what causes breast cancer, these factors may increase your risk for the disease:
personal or family history of breast cancer
reproductive and menstrual history (such as beginning periods before age 12 or going through menopause after age 55)
being overweight or obese
lack of physical activity
consumption of alcohol

Breast cancer risk increases as you age, and most cases occur in women over 60. The disease is more common among white women than Latina, Asian, or African-American women.
Breast Cancer Symptoms

Performing self-exams of your breasts each month can help you detect any changes that may signal breast cancer. These changes may include:
a lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area
nipple tenderness
a change in size or shape of the breast or nipple
scaly, red, or swollen skin on the breast, areola, or nipple

Nipple discharge may also be a sign of breast cancer.

In addition to performing monthly self-exams, you should visit your doctor regularly for clinical breast exams. Women who are over age 40 (or who have certain risk factors for breast cancer) should also receive mammograms every one or two years.

Breast Cancer Treatment

Treatment options for breast cancer are based on a number of factors, including type of breast cancer, breast cancer stage, the cancer cells' sensitivity to hormones, and the patient's overall health. Treatments may include breast cancer surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted drugs, or a combination or therapies.
Alternative Medicine for Breast Cancer

A number of natural therapies may help relieve side effects of conventional cancer treatments, ease stress, and enhance quality of life for people coping with breast cancer. Talk to your doctor about using the following:
acupuncture
guided imagery
hypnosis
massage
meditation
tai chi
yoga
Breast Cancer Prevention

Although there's no surefire way to prevent breast cancer, the following may reduce your risk:
exercising for at least a half-hour on most days of the week
limiting your use of postmenopausal hormone therapy
maintaining a healthy weight
limiting your consumption of alcohol

Preliminary research suggests that these natural substances may also aid in the prevention of breast cancer:

1) Curcumin

An animal-based study published in 2009 shows that curcumin (a compound found in the curry spice turmeric and available in supplement form) may help reduce breast cancer risk for women undergoing hormone replacement therapy during menopause. The study's authors suggest that women receiving a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy could potentially take curcumin to protect against the development of progestin-accelerated tumors. However, it's important to talk to your doctor about using any natural remedies in combination with hormone replacement therapy.

2) Resveratrol

In a test-tube study published in 2008, researchers found that resveratrol (an antioxidant found in the skin of grapes) helped suppress breast-cancer progression in its earliest stages. Available in supplement form, resveratrol appeared to stop estrogen from reacting with DNA molecules and forming compounds that mark the start of cancer cell formation.

3) Green Tea

While clinical trials on green tea's cancer-fighting effects have yielded mixed results, lab tests suggest that a combination of green tea and ganoderma (a medicinal mushroom, also known as reishi) may help slow the growth of breast cancer cells.

Smart diet tips to advice anticipate breast cancer

About 178,480 women in the United States will be begin to accept invasive breast blight in 2007; it’s the a lot of accepted blazon of blight a part of women in the United States, added than derma cancer. While some of the accident factors for breast blight are not aural our control, such as gender, age or ancestors history, there are some factors that are aural our control, such as diet and exercise. In attention to lifestyle, here’s what analysis suggests:

Maintain a advantageous weight

Studies appearance that advancement a advantageous weight (especially for postmenopausal women) is an important aspect of abbreviating one's accident of developing breast cancer. In fact, one abstraction showed that adipose women (BMI >30) had a 31 percent greater accident of developing breast blight compared to women of advantageous physique weight (BMI < 25). Why? Excess weight may advance to animated levels of the hormone estrogen, which may be complex in the development of breast cancer.

Exercise regularly

One abstraction showed that women who affianced in arduous recreational action for added than six hours a anniversary had a 23 percent abridgement in accident of breast cancer. Added studies announce that anywhere from 5 to seven hours per anniversary decreases risk. Even alive bed-making has been apparent to abate your risk!

Watch the bulk and blazon of fat you eat

Research suggests that greater absolute fat burning (about 40 percent or added of circadian calories) poses a greater accident for breast blight than lower absolute fat burning (about 20 percent of circadian calories). With that in mind, try to absolute absolute fat assimilation to beneath than 30 percent of circadian calories in adjustment to advice in the blockage of breast cancer.

Saturated fats begin in blotchy meat and high-fat dairy articles are added acceptable to access accident of breast blight than unsaturated fats begin in nuts, seeds and avocados, as able-bodied as olive and canola oils. Try to absolute saturated fat assimilation to beneath than 7 percent of absolute circadian calories (if you’re afterward a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s no added than 15 grams)

Estrogen Prevent Breast Cancer recurrence

Of course you know with breast cancer, breast cancer is a disease that is in fear by the women. And has become the leading cause of death of women. but now many researchers have found a new way to cure this disease. This way breast cancer patients can find a new alternative to cure a deadly disease is.

Very low doses of estrogen may help breast cancer women who relapsed after treatment. Although treatments aimed at preventing fuel tumor estrogen, the researchers say, after years of therapy, the body may need hormones to eliminate all that.

Their findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, stated, this inexpensive way to help some breast cancer patients advanced stage.

Dr Matthew Eliis from "Washington University School of Medicine" in St.. Louis and his colleagues studied 66 women who developed breast cancer had advanced-stage treatment with newer drugs called "aromatase inhibitors".

All of these drugs include Aromasin, Pfizer production, from Novartis Femara and arimidex from AstraZeneza Plc.
"All the women in the study had experienced breast cancer, after treatment after a while they relapsed disease. When taking a drug that lowers estrogen, and even increased their disease develops," Ellis said in a statement.

"So, they undergo chemotherapy. We found that estrogen treatment stopped the progression of the disease in many patients and far more tolerable than that produced by the chemotherapy," he said.

They give all women a kind of estrogen called estradiol, in a very high dose and very low. Both doses are helping 30% women, so findings Ellis and colleagues.
"We showed clearly that low doses can be tolerated better than high doses and as effective in controlling metastatic disease," said Ellis.

Treatment is not always lasting. In 30% of women who assisted with the use of estrogen, their tumors began to grow again. However, re-use of aromatase inhibitors, which consumed a pill every day and have levels of toxins are much lower than with chemotherapy to help a third woman.