If you think cancer is all in the genes so why bother making diet and lifestyle changes, well, you're right and you're wrong. Cancer, like many of the chronic degenerative diseases, have a strong genetic association, but not in the way that you're thinking. So, you're right in that the way the genes are expressed can determine if you are making cancer cells, but it is wrong to think that genetic expression is unchangeable with just diet and lifestyle. Dr. Dean Ornish, a master at debunking conventional wisdom, has once again proved through his nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute, that drugless, natural therapies can prevent and even reverse cancer. What we did not know until recently is how these natural therapies affected your body and why they created the positive benefit that was observed. Now we know that certain natural therapies, like diet, exercise, stress management, and targeted nutritional therapy can actually turn on and off genes. In the case with cancer, some genes that promote cancer were turned off, and other genes that combat cancer were turned on. By the way, the opposite is also true if you choose unhealthy habits.

Most cancers occur in people over the age of 65, but cancer can affect people of all ages. The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Most cases of breast cancer occur in women over 60. This disease is more common in menopause.

Personal history of breast cancer

A woman who had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast.

Family History of Cancer

Most cancers develop because of changes (mutations) in genes. A normal cell may become a cancer cell after a series of gene changes occur. Tobacco use, certain viruses, or other factors in a person's lifestyle or environment can cause such changes in certain types of cells. Some gene changes that increase the risk of cancer are passed from parent to child. These changes are present at birth in all cells of the body.

It is uncommon for cancer to run in a family. However, certain types of cancer do occur more often in some families than in the rest of the population. For example, melanoma and cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, and colon sometimes run in families. Several cases of the same cancer type in a family may be linked to inherited gene changes, which may increase the chance of developing cancers. However, environmental factors may also be involved. Most of the time, multiple cases of cancer in a family are just a matter of chance.

If you think you may have a pattern of a certain type of cancer in your family, you may want to talk to your doctor. Your doctor may suggest ways to try to reduce your risk of cancer. Your doctor also may suggest exams that can detect cancer early.

You may want to ask your doctor about genetic testing. These tests can check for certain inherited gene changes that increase the chance of developing cancer. But remember, inheriting a gene change does not mean that you will definitely develop cancer. It means that you have an increased chance of developing the disease and you may need to do things differently with your diet and lifestyle than those who do not have the genetic predisposition.

A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. Having other relatives with breast cancer (in either her mother's or father's family) may also increase a woman's risk.

Genetics

The presence of certain genes increases the risk of breast cancer, although this is mainly true if most or all of the women in your family have actually developed breast or ovarian cancer. Women of Ashkenazi (Central and Eastern European) Jewish ancestry tend to have a higher rate of breast cancer than average.

Changes in certain genes increase the risk of breast cancer. These genes include BRCA1, BRCA2, and others. Tests can sometimes show the presence of specific gene changes in families with many women who have had breast cancer.

Tobacco use is the most preventable cause of death. Each year, more than 180,000 Americans die from cancer that is related to tobacco use. Using tobacco products or regularly being around tobacco smoke (environmental or secondhand smoke) increases the risk of cancer.

Smokers are more likely than nonsmokers to develop cancer of the lung, larynx (voice box), mouth, esophagus, bladder, kidney, throat, stomach, pancreas, or cervix. They also are more likely to develop acute myeloid leukemia (cancer that starts in blood cells). People who use smokeless tobacco (snuff or chewing tobacco) are at increased risk of cancer of the mouth.

Quitting is important for anyone who uses tobacco - even people who have used it for many years. The risk of cancer for people who quit is lower than the risk for people who continue to use tobacco. (But the risk of cancer is generally lowest among those who never used tobacco.) Also, for people who have already had cancer, quitting may reduce the chance of getting another cancer.

Staff at the National Cancer Institute - NCI's Smoking Quitline (1-877-44U-QUIT) and at LiveHelp (click on "Need Help?" at http://www.cancer.gov) can talk with you about ways to quit smoking and about groups that help smokers who want to quit. Groups may offer counseling in person or by telephone.

A Federal Government Web site, http://www.smokefree.gov, has an online guide to quitting smoking and a list of other resources.

Doctors and dentists can suggest medicine or nicotine replacement therapy, such as a patch, gum, lozenge, nasal spray, or inhaler.

A natural product called Sulfonil® contains thioglycerols which bind to adrenergic receptors in the brain and reduce your craving for nicotine, which makes it easier to quit.

Sunlight

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation comes from the sun, sunlamps, and tanning booths. Too much exposure can cause early aging of the skin and skin damage that can lead to skin cancer.

In our last newsletter, we discussed how vitamin D can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. To maintain adequate vitamin D levels, 15-45 minutes of unprotected sun exposure (depending on skin type - and you know who you are) is healthy. It is best to avoid the most severe midday sun whenever possible.

Ionizing radiation can cause cell damage that leads to cancer. This kind of radiation comes from rays that enter the Earth's atmosphere from outer space, radioactive fallout, radon gas, x-rays, and other sources. Radioactive fallout can come from accidents at nuclear power plants or from the production, testing, or use of atomic weapons. People exposed to fallout may have an increased risk of cancer, especially leukemia and cancers of the thyroid, breast, lung, and stomach.

Radon is a radioactive gas that you cannot see, smell, or taste. It forms in soil and rocks. People who work in mines may be exposed to radon. In some parts of the country, radon is found in houses. People exposed to radon are at increased risk of lung cancer.

Medical procedures are another common source of ionizing radiation:

Doctors use radiation (low-dose x-rays) to take pictures of the inside of the body. These pictures help to diagnose broken bones and other problems. Doctors use radiation therapy (high-dose radiation from large machines or from radioactive substances) to treat cancer.

The risk of cancer from low-dose x-rays is extremely small. The risk from radiation therapy is slightly higher. For both, strongly consider the risk to benefit ratio.

Key Resources:
http://www.cancer.gov/
http://pmri.org/

Our next newsletter will continue the list of breast cancer risk factors. We will also include some common symptoms to be aware of. Continuing with the breast cancer theme for the month we will follow the symptom newsletter with some suggestions that may reduce your risk or ease your treatment.