Breast Cancer: These Natural Solutions Could Save Your Life

by Gary Null, PhD

Despite tens of millions of dollars invested into breast cancer research every year, tens of thousands of women will die from this devastating disease. Lifesaving solutions don’t start with drugs and poisonous treatments; they start with prevention. Prevention is not walking, bike-riding, or purchasing a product for the cure; rather, it is an honest discussion about what causes inflammation and gene alteration in our bodies; that’s where our journey towards breast cancer healing begins.

Breast cancer remains the leading cause of death and most commonly diagnosed cancer in women.¹ Breast cancer research is consistently one of the most highly funded cancers researched, yet each year it is estimated that over 220,000 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer and more than 40,000 will die.² A natural diet and lifestyle adjustments can empower women and prevent them from being victims of breast cancer.

Diet and Lifestyle

Women in our culture have notably high instances of breast cancer. This implies that cultures that eat less fat, especially less animal fat, have the least breast cancer. The answer is really clear. Eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans. Those foods provide protection.

Along with diet, prescription medications and synthetic hormones greatly influence our country’s high breast cancer rate. This month, studies have shown that cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins can increase risks for invasive lobular carcinoma (the second most common type of breast cancer) by up to 143% in women diagnosed with hypercholesterolemia.³

Multiple epidemiological studies have looked at the relationship between a person’s lifelong eating pattern and the development of cancer. Those studies have shown that the more vegetables and fruits a person eats, the less likely s/he is to develop cancer. People who eat 6 to 7 servings of vegetables a day plus 3 to 4 servings of fruit have the lowest risk.

Certain foods are medicinal in their ability to protect against breast cancer; for example, the isoflavones and phytoestrogens found in soybeans, soy products, and lima beans protect against cancer. A low incidence of breast cancer among Japanese women is largely attributed to a diet consisting primarily of soybeans, miso, tofu tempeh, green and black tea, sea vegetables, fish, whole grains, and fruit.

Other cancer-fighting foods include flax, fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, and herring), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts), mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, and maitake), and onions.

New research conducted by Dr. Luis Cisneros-Zevallos even suggests that peaches inhibit breast cancer metastasis and have chemical compounds capable of killing cancer cells.⁴

Along with these foods, herbs and supplements can also aid in your preventative plan. Herbs such as black cohosh, chasteberry, red clover, and turmeric are high in phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogen tricks the body into thinking that it’s getting estrogen, but the advantage of phytoestrogens is that they tell the body to lower its own estrogen production, which helps balance your estrogen levels.

Some other herbals to know about are:

Cat’s claw

Evening primrose, borage, and blackcurrant seed oils

Xiao Yao Wan (Chinese classic herbal formula)

Dandelion

Astragalus

Rosemary

Mint

Alternative Treatment Approaches

The daily protocol found below of vitamins and minerals is encouraged by Dr. Steven Rachlin, an internist in Syosset, Long Island, New York. Vitamins and minerals are a critical part of breast cancer prevention. Recent studies at Thomas Jefferson University show that retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A, has been proven to turn precancer cells back to healthy breast cells.⁵

Emulsified vitamin A (up to 50,000 IU)

Beta carotene (up to 100 mg)

Vitamin B1 (100 mg)

Vitamin B6 (100 mg)

Folic acid (3200 mcg)

Vitamin C (up to 5 g)

Coenzyme Q10 (400 mg)

Flaxseed oil (1 tbsp)

Cat’s claw (300 mg)

Melatonin (up to 10 mg)

Pycnogenol (150 mg)

Pancreatic digestive enzymes (up to 40 g)

Aloe vera juice (9–12 oz)

Minerals

Enzymes

Enzymes are organic substances that help create reactions in the body, such as breaking down fats. They are linked to all the bodily functions that we need to live and stay well. There are 3000 enzymes in the body. A healthy person can produce enough enzymes to fight off cancer cells, but substances such as free radicals from smoke, pollutants, junk foods, and medications interfere with enzyme production.

Numerous studies link enzymes and breast health. More than 90 were conducted by universities throughout the world regarding the beneficial effects of enzymes. Much of this work has been done in Germany.

Exercise

Regular exercise is an important component of any prevention and treatment plan. Dr. Michael Schachter notes, “Any activity that removes accumulated toxins in the breast reduces the chance of women developing breast cancer. Studies show that aerobic exercise is associated with decreased cancer risk, as exercise promotes lymphatic drainage and sweating helps remove toxins from the tissues.

A study conducted at Helsinki University’s Department of Oncology concluded that participating in a tailored exercise group for breast cancer survivors helped patients gain a sense of mastery, restoring their self-esteem and constructing a meaning for their cancer experience and its impact on their lives.⁶

Massage

Lymphatic detoxification is aided by manual lymphatic drainage (MLD), a simple method of massage that uses light, slow rhythmic movements to stimulate the flow of lymph in the body. This is especially important for women suffering from lymphedema, a condition that often occurs after a mastectomy: When our lymph nodes are not functioning properly or have been irradiated or removed, an excessive accumulation of stagnant waste occurs. The lymph system becomes overloaded, thus forming lymphedema.

MLD should be applied directly after surgery rather than when a massive edema has formed. This will guard against any possibility of a blockage in the system or alleviate any that exists. Studies in Europe show that severed lymph vessels regenerate with constant MLD therapy. The therapy makes the scars from the mastectomy more subtle, which increases the mobility of the arm. It also lessens pain from surgery and the uncomfortable sensitivity that occurs.

The Mind-Body Connection

Emotions drive healing systems, and the imagination and standard counseling can be used to increase a patient’s will to live.

“I would like to give an example of a patient I have worked with for more than 20 years,” said Dr. O. Carl Simonton, medical director of the Simonton Cancer Center in California and coauthor of Getting Well Again and The Healing Journey. “This 36-year-old woman came to me with metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her ribs and spine. Her father was a physician, and her husband’s family had run a retail store for three generations. She was involved in helping her husband run the family business.

“Her religious and spiritual life was important to her. It was a great source of strength. She wanted more time to be involved in religious administration and spiritual counseling. As she began to pursue these areas, her beliefs about how she should be the good daughter, the good wife, and the good mother came into play. These beliefs were all quite rigid, allowing virtually no freedom for her own creativity. Over time we helped her make a shift in these beliefs and behaviors that was central to her recovery.

“She has been free of disease for 15 years. Currently, she is weller than well and runs marathons. The family store burned down about 10 years ago. Now she works primarily in church administration, doing religious and spiritual counseling, which is what she always wanted to do.”

Notes

1. Breast cancer facts [Web page]. National Breast Cancer Foundation Inc. http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-facts.

2. National Cancer Institute 2012 fact book. US Department of Health and Human Services. July 2013. http://obf.cancer.gov/financial/attachments/12Factbk.pdf.

3. Brownstein D. Statins more than double breast cancer risk [blog post]. Dr. Brownstein’s Holistic Medicine. March 25, 2014. http://blog.drbrownstein.com/statins-increase-breast-cancer-by-over-200.

4. Texas researcher: Peaches inhibit breast cancer metastasis in mice [online article]. Available at Life Extension Foundation. March 26, 2014.  http://www.lef.org/news/LefDailyNews.htm?NewsID=22132&Section=Disease.

5. Arisi M, Starker R, Addya S, Huang Y, Fernandez S. All trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) includes re-differentiation of early transformed breast epithelial cells. Int J Oncol. 2014.

6. Luoma M-L, Hakamies-Blomqvist L, Blomqvist C, Nikander R, Gustavsson-Lilius M, Saarto T. Experiences of breast cancer survivors participating in a tailored exercise intervention – a qualitative study. Anticancer Res. March 2014;34(3)1193–1199. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24596359.