Most courses of treatment for breast cancer can be very stressful to the patients. Surgery, hormone therapy, radiation treatment, chemotherapy – all are effective in destroying cancer, but their side effects can be physically and emotionally draining to the patient.

There are now doctors who recommend natural therapy as auxiliary treatments for breast cancer. They want to make sure their patients’ physical and emotional states are taken care of, to help make them continue with their treatment regimens and obtain optimal recovery.

Studies show that Chinese herbs taken by patients under chemotherapy reduced the degree of side effects experienced by the patients. Other research found that treating breast cancer patients with electro-acupuncture reduced the severity of the joint pain and stiffness experienced from estrogen withdrawal in hormone therapy.

Raising the levels of the anti-stress hormones serotonin and dopamine in the system also contributed to reducing depression and anxiety levels during treatments; this was done by giving full-body massages three times a week.

Patients with benign cancer cells also benefited from natural therapy. Vitamins C and E and melatonin have shown in animal studies that they can reduce the negative side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

Selenium, glutamine, vitamin A and other similar substances have shown that they can work synergistically with chemotherapy drugs to destroy cancer cells.

More and more patients are now looking at natural therapy in combination with their conventional cancer treatment regimens. With natural therapy, breast cancer patients need not suffer during treatments; quality of life will definitely improve.

Breast cancer, if left untreated, will surely be fatal. Therefore, treatment to fix the cancer is the most important task a person with this disease can take to preserve their life.

Surgery is the most common form of treatment to help save a person from breast cancer.

In the beginning, lymph nodes are removed to determine whether they contain cancer cells. This can determine future options when it comes to breast cancer surgery.

If a breast-conserving surgery is used, the portions of the breast which contain cancer are removed while leaving the whole of the breast intact.

A lumpectomy is when a portion of the breast that has a lump will be removed, while a partial mastectomy is where the part of the breast that has breast cancer will be removed, as well as a small portion of the untouched cells around this area.

Advanced treatments of surgery will have a total mastectomy, where the entire breast that has cancer will be removed. This will help to remove cancer from the body but also is a dramatic change in the body.

More advanced forms of a mastectomy will remove even more of the area around the chest, hoping to isolate the cancer in the area which is removed.

Recent studies have concluded that a large number of women who have undergone hormone replacement therapy to cure hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, have an increased risk of contracting lung cancer.

The study revealed that needless causalities can be avoided if the combination of smoking and hormone therapy is prevented in such patients. As a result, researchers advise women to desist from using tobacco while on hormone therapy.

The study showed that continuous use of progestin along with estrogen might also increase the potential of heart disease, blood clots and breast cancer. It also concluded that the risks involved in hormone therapy might reduce its benefits to an insignificant level. Despite these findings, some women still prefer this therapy in United States.

Some observers pointed out that the incidence of fatal and nonfatal cancer among women increased substantially after the Women’s Health Initiative discontinued its operations. In an effort to identify a co-relation between the use of combined hormone therapy and the increase in the reported number of patients diagnosed with lung cancers, the researchers studied several years of WHI data.

Based on analysis of the data, the researchers concluded that combined hormone therapy increased the risk of lung cancer and that the risk was even greater in the case of the patients who were smokers. It was found that an average patients on placebo outlived those on combined hormone therapy and that this was particularly so when the patients were also smokers. Moreover, the study clarifies that combined hormone therapy has no impact on the risk of contracting small cell lung cancer.

To give you an idea about just how serious this disease is, take a look at some other statistics:

- Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer (next to lung cancer) in both men and women.

- Breast cancer is the 5th most common cause of cancer-related deaths.

- Breast cancer is 100 times more frequent in women than in men – although the survival rate is equal in both sexes.

As you may already know, breast cancer is a type of cancer which starts in the cells of the breasts in both men and women. Although it does occur more frequently in women, the severity of the illness is just as serious where men are concerned.

Here, we will try to learn a few more things about women’s breasts that you may not necessarily have known about. How do these facts about women’s breasts affect the probability of having breast cancer? Read on to find out.

7 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Breasts

As mentioned earlier, what we will provide you with is a list of the top 7 things that you probably didn’t know about breasts.

Half of these facts do not necessarily have anything to do with breast cancer, but half of them are related to the incidence of this serious disease. Take a look at the following list:

1. A woman’s breasts swell during sex.

Traditionally, a woman’s breasts represent her femininity and it’s also a symbol of motherhood. Now, if you are tangling the sheets with your significant other, do you feel as if your breasts are swelling when you are already sexually aroused? There is a basis to this and it actually does in fact physically swell.

According to the British Medical Journal, women do experience up to 25% of swelling in their breasts when they are indulging in  sexual activity. This is caused by the feeling of arousal and the hormonal surge in a woman’s body. In addition, swollen breasts become the body’s natural way of boosting its seductive powers from a man’s point of view.

2. Breastfeeding can actually help you lose weight.

Whether you’re a first-time, second-time or third-time mom, you will notice significant changes in your body during your entire pregnancy – especially when it comes to your breasts.

During the pregnancy stage, the breasts become larger in size due to lactation.

But did you know that if you do go for breastfeeding over feeding your baby with formula milk, it can actually help you lose weight?

According to the studies conducted by Dewey, Heinig and Nommsen of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women who breastfeed from about three to six months have experienced a significant amount of fat loss in their own bodies. The weight loss may continue six months after your baby is born.

3. Women who are 50 years and up have a higher risk of developing breast cancer.

Perhaps the number one reason why there are fewer and fewer deaths associated with breast cancer is awareness on the part of the general women’s population.

Early diagnosis is actually the number one preventive measure that can be taken to fight death caused by breast cancer. So the earlier the condition is detected, the better the chances of survival rate.

But did you know that as you age, you would have a higher risk of developing the big C on your breasts? This is due to the fact that as women age, cellular mutation is on an increasing pattern.

Whether or not you have a family history of breast cancer, you should be more concerned about the possibility of developing the disease by the time that you hit your 50’s.

4. Consuming milk may actually lead to breast cancer.

Sure, giving your milk to your baby when you are lactating may help you lose weight – but did you know that consuming milk yourself may actually lead to breast cancer?

The types of milk which are on the safe side include rice milk, goat’s milk and almond milk.

On the other hand, those which are highly suspected of causing breast cancer include soy milk which contains isoflavones.

This is a plant-like estrogen which imitates the estrogen in humans – so drinking a lot of soy milk is not recommended by the experts.

If you have breast cancer, the goal is to keep the estrogen level low, and the recommended intake of isoflavones is only about 100 milligrams a day.

5. The healthier you are, the better it would be for the health of your breasts.

These days, it is quite easy to succumb into leading a sedentary lifestyle because everything seems to be easily within reach. There seems to be a link between obesity and breast cancer – which is exactly the reason why you should try to remain as healthy as you can for the benefit of your breast health and also your overall health.

Eating a lot of fruits and veggies, foods with antioxidants and having a proper exercise and diet program are the preventive measures that you can apply to prevent having breast cancer in the future.

Another way to live a cancer-free life is by avoiding alcohol as much as you can. There may be just a tiny link connecting these two – but the link is there just the same.

6. Women who religiously self-examine their breasts are no less likely to die of breast cancer, as compared to women who do not perform a breast self exam.

For the longest time now, women have been lead to believe that they should conduct a breast self exam every month.

A few years ago, the American Cancer Society has already tagged self-breast exams as being optional rather than a necessity.

A new way of doing things is with TLC or touch, look and check. This is the new rule of thumb that you need to live by, according to the British breast cancer foundation called Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

What you need to do is be aware of how your breasts feel normally. The minute that you feel a change, track it and if it does not go away, that is the time that you should seek the help of your doctor.

7. Wearing an underwire bra may be one of the many causes of breast cancer.

Sure, there are a lot of myths about how carcinogens are highly suspected when it comes to being the reasons for developing breast cancer.  But the one thing which you may be doing on a regular basis that can actually cause such a disease to develop is wearing underwire bras.

Basically, in order for you to prevent cancer from happening, you do need to have a healthy lymphatic system. When you wear bras which have underwire in them, the circulation of the blood in the armpit area gets cut off.

As a result, your lymph nodes cannot properly eliminate the cancer-causing waste materials accumulated in the body – and this could be one of the reasons why your underwire bra is highly suspected when it comes to breast cancer development.

Now that you already have an idea about some of the common and not-so-common things that you know about a woman’s breasts, you can take the precautionary measures in order to prevent breast cancer from developing in your body.

All in all, early detection of breast cancer, taking precautionary measures and being aware of the changes in your body are the things that you need to be armed with, if you want to win the fight against breast cancer.

Women who have previously been diagnosed and treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, or CIN, are at higher risk for developing invasive cervical cancer, and for having a recurrence of severe CIN than women who have not previously had CIN.

CIN is the abnormal growth of cells found on the surface of the cervix; this is classified as a precancerous condition.

Researchers studied women who had been diagnosed with CIN at grades 1, 2, and 3, and compared them to women who had never have CIN.

Women who were over 40, who had previously been diagnosed with CIN at grade 3, or who had been treated with cryotherapy were most likely to have recurrent CIN at grades 2 or 3 as well as most likely to develop invasive cervical cancer.

In women who had not previously had CIN, the overall risk of developing cervical cancer was 6 in 100,000. Among women who had previously had CIN, that risk increased to 37 in 100,000.

Future studies will look at the impact of treatment choice for women with CIN and how that relates to their risk of developing CIN and cervical cancer in the future.

Your best protection against cervical cancer is to avoid contracting HPV, or human papilloma virus. All women who are sexually active, or who are 18 or older, should have annual screenings for cervical cancer as a part of their annual gynecological examination.

How can the woman seek treatment, while at the same time keeping in mind the well being of the fetus growing inside her? What is the standard accepted procedure in such cases?

If the woman has just had a smear done, and the physician tells her that she is in the initial stages of cervical cancer, she need not panic at all. The physician will probably keep an eye on her, and wait for the pregnancy to reach full term, before initiating any treatment.

In general, changes take a long time to develop, therefore the woman is in no immediate danger, provided the physicians keep track of the progression of the cancer, and make sure that the baby within the womb is fine.

If, on the other hand, the woman already has cervical cancer, and she has become pregnant, complications may arise. The woman will be faced with making certain difficult choices, choices that concern her, her baby, and her future.

These are the two recommended treatments for cervical cancer: radiotherapy, or surgery. Radiotherapy will normally harm the baby, and therefore, doctors will probably advice the woman not to go in for this treatment.

Surgery in the case of cervical cancer necessitates the removal of the affected part, and if the cancer has progressed into the cervix, and the pregnancy has gone beyond twenty eight weeks, the woman can be induced into labor and into delivering the baby earlier, so that she can begin treatment at the earliest.

However, if the pregnancy is less than twenty eight weeks old, the woman cannot be induced, and this means that she will have to wait to deliver the baby at twenty eight weeks. Some women may decide to terminate the pregnancy, so that they may begin treatment immediately.

Remember; in most cases, a woman who has had treatment for cervical cancer will, unfortunately, be unable to become pregnant, and even if she wants to do so, she must make sure that there are no cancerous cells left in her womb after the treatment she has undergone.

The woman will have to opt for getting pregnant with the help of treatments such as ‘cone biopsy’, ‘LLETZ’, or ‘radial trachelectomy’.

The woman has to work in close coordination and cooperation with her doctor if she wants to fight against cervical cancer complications during pregnancy.

In a new case-control study of over 5000 women ranging in age from 21 to 75 who had already received breast cancer treatment were compared with a similar number of women who had not suffered from breast cancer.

The study asked many health-related questions including the amounts of regular tea drunk by each person per day.

According to the results of the study, women especially younger women, who drink large volumes of tea every day reduce their risk of breast cancer by just under 38%.

For the terms of the study, “large amounts” of tea was regarded as more than three cups per day.

In both sets of women almost equal numbers drank three cups or more per day 45% and 44% (control group) allowing for a very good rate of comparison.

Although researcher Dr Nagi Kumar based at Tampa Bay’s Cancer Center and Research Institute states that this is in no way conclusive evidence or proof of the effectiveness of tea in combating breast cancer.

And he concedes that it is possible that the study’s findings could simply be no more than chance or coincidence; he does say that the results are interesting and well worth further enquiry.

British scientists behind the crop believe their purple tomato is the respectable face of genetic modification and could help convince the public of the benefits of GM food. But critics say the potential health benefits are a distraction from the harmful environmental side effects of GM farming. The tomato  developed by the John Innes Centre in Norwich contains high concentrations of anthocyanins, pigments found in blackberries and cranberries.

Anthocyanins are chemicals called flavonoids which mop up potentially harmful oxygen molecules in the body. Although they are produced naturally by tomato plants, they are normally found only in the leaves.

The scientists transferred the genes from the snapdragons using specially adapted bacteria. Professor Cathie Martin, who led the John Innes research  the results of which are published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology said one tomato contained the same anthocyanins as a spoonful of cranberries.

Professor Cathie Martin of John Innes Research Centre said,

Most people do not eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. But they can get more benefit from those they do eat if common fruit and vegetables can be developed that are higher in nutrients

The scientists found that mice bred to be vulnerable to cancer lived longer when fed the GM tomatoes. They now hope to test the effects on men at risk of prostate cancer.

Dr Lara Bennett of Cancer Research UK said,

It’s exciting to see new techniques that could make healthy foods even better for us. But critics warn that genetic modification is tied in with factory farming methods that harm communities  and that any seeds from a GM tomato could produce unexpected effects on the environment. Friends of the Earth said: ‘GM crops cannot be deemed a “healthy” option.

Consider this number: 10 million. That’s how many cases of cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year. Now consider this number: 15 million. That’s how many cases of cancer the World Health Organization estimates will be diagnosed in the year 2020 — a 50 percent increase — if we don’t get our act together.

Most cancers don’t develop overnight or out of nowhere. Cancer is largely predictable, the end result of a decades-long process, but just a few simple changes in your daily life can significantly reduce your risk. Here are 31 great tips.

1. Serve sauerkraut at your next picnic. A Finnish study found that the fermentation process involved in making sauerkraut produces several other cancer-fighting compounds, including ITCs, indoles, and sulforaphane. To reduce the sodium content, rinse canned or jarred sauerkraut before eating.

2. Eat your fill of broccoli, but steam it rather than microwaving it. Broccoli is a cancer-preventing superfood, one you should eat frequently. But take note: A Spanish study found that microwaving broccoli destroys 97 percent of the vegetable’s cancer-protective flavonoids. So steam it, eat it raw as a snack, or add it to soups and salads.

3. Toast some Brazil nuts and sprinkle over your salad. They’re a rich form of selenium, a trace mineral that convinces cancer cells to commit suicide and helps cells repair their DNA. A Harvard study of more than 1,000 men with prostate cancer found those with the highest blood levels of selenium were 48 percent less likely to develop advanced disease over 13 years than men with the lowest levels. And a dramatic five-year study conducted at Cornell University and the University of Arizona showed that 200 micrograms of selenium daily — the amount in two unshelled Brazil nuts — resulted in 63 percent fewer prostate tumors, 58 percent fewer colorectal cancers, 46 percent fewer lung malignancies, and a 39 percent overall decrease in cancer deaths.

4. Pop a calcium supplement with vitamin D. A study out of Dartmouth Medical School suggests that the supplements reduce colon polyps (a risk factor for colon cancer) in people susceptible to the growths.

5. Add garlic to everything you eat. Garlic contains sulfur compounds that may stimulate the immune system’s natural defenses against cancer, and may have the potential to reduce tumor growth. Studies suggest that garlic can reduce the incidence of stomach cancer by as much as a factor of 12!

6. Sauté two cloves of crushed garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. then mix in a can of low-sodium, diced tomatoes. Stir gently until heated and serve over whole wheat pasta. We already mentioned the benefits of garlic. The lycopene in the tomatoes protects against colon, prostate, and bladder cancers; the olive oil helps your body absorb the lycopene; and the fiber-filled pasta reduces your risk of colon cancer. As for the benefits of all of these ingredients together: They taste great!

7. Every week, buy a cantaloupe at the grocery store and cut it up after you put away your groceries. Store it in a container and eat several pieces every morning. Cantaloupe is a great source of carotenoids, plant chemicals shown to significantly reduce the risk of lung cancer.

The Power of Antioxidants

8. Mix half a cup of blueberries into your morning cereal. Blueberries rank number one in terms of their antioxidant power. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which are unstable compounds that can damage cells and lead to diseases including cancer.

9. Learn to eat artichokes tonight. Artichokes are a great source of silymarin, an antioxidant that may help prevent skin cancer. To eat these delicious veggies, peel off the tough outer leaves on the bottom, slice the bottom, and cut off the spiky top. Then boil or steam until tender, about 30-45 minutes. Drain. Dip each leaf in a vinaigrette or garlic mayonnaise, then gently tear the fibrous covering off with your front teeth, working your way inward to the tender heart. Once there, gently scoop the bristles from the middle of the heart, dip in a little butter or lemon juice, and enjoy!

10. Coat barbecue food with a thick sauce. Grilling meat can create a variety of cancer-causing chemicals. But researchers from the American Institute for Cancer Research found that coating the meat with a thick marinade and thereby preventing direct contact with the charring flames reduced the amount of such chemicals created. Another tip: Precook your meat in the oven and then throw it on the grill to finish.

11. Every time you go to the bathroom, stop by the kitchen or water cooler for a glass of water. A major study published in The New England Journal of Medicine in 1996 found that men who drank six 8-ounce glasses of water every day slashed their risk of bladder cancer in half. Another study linked the amount of water women drank to their risk of colon cancer, with heavy water drinkers reducing their risk up to 45 percent.

12. Take up a tea habit. The healing powers of green tea have been valued in Asia for thousands of years. In the West, new research reveals that it protects against a variety of cancers as well as heart disease. Some scientists believe that a chemical in green tea called EGCG could be one of the most powerful anticancer compounds ever discovered.

13. Have a beer tonight. Beer protects against the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, known to cause ulcers and possibly linked to stomach cancer. But don’t overdo it. Drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks a day may increase your risk of mouth, throat, esophageal, liver, and breast cancer.

14. Throw some salmon on the grill tonight. Australian researchers studying Canadians (go figure) found those who ate four or more servings of fish per week were nearly one-third less likely to develop the blood cancers leukemia, myeloma, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Other studies show a link between eating fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, halibut, sardines, and tuna, as well as shrimp and scallops) with a reduced risk of endometrial cancer in women. Ah, those amazing omega-3s at it again!

15. Take a multivitamin every morning. Many studies suggest getting the ideal levels of vitamins and minerals can improve your immune system function and help prevent a variety of cancers.

16. Get about 15 minutes of sunlight on your skin each day. You’ve heard of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D haven’t you? Turns out we’ve been so good at heeding advice to slather on sun lotion and avoid the sun’s rays that many of us aren’t getting enough of this valuable nutrient. Researchers find that getting too little vitamin D may increase your risk of multiple cancers, including breast, colon, prostate, ovarian, and stomach, as well as osteoporosis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and high blood pressure.

The best source? Exposure to UVB rays found in natural and artificial sunlight. About 15 minutes a day ought to do it. Avoid overexposure, of course. That can increase your risk for cancers of the skin. You can also get vitamin D in your calcium supplement if you choose a supplement that contains both.

17. Carry a shot glass in your beach bag. Then fill it with sunscreen and rub it all over your body. A shot glass holds about 1.5 ounces, which is how much sunscreen dermatologists estimate you need to protect yourself from the cancer-causing UV rays of the sun. Repeat every two hours.

18. Cut a kiwifruit in half, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Now eat! Kiwi is a little hand grenade of cancer-fighting antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and copper. You can also rub a couple of cut kiwifruit on a low-fat cut of meat as a tenderizer.

19. Use a condom and stick to one partner. The more sexual partners a woman has, the greater her risk of contracting human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer. Having an unfaithful husband also increases her risk.

20. Cut out high-fat animal protein. A Yale study found that women who ate the most animal protein had a 70 percent higher risk of developing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, while those who ate diets high in saturated fat increased their risk 90 percent. So switch to low-fat or nonfat dairy, have poultry or fish instead of beef or pork, and use olive oil instead of butter.

21. Have your partner feed you grapes. They’re great sources of resveratrol, the cancer-protecting compound found in wine, but don’t have the alcohol of wine, which can increase the risk of breast cancer in women. Plus, the closeness such an activity engenders (we hope) strengthens your immune system.

22. Sprinkle scallions over your salad. A diet high in onions may reduce the risk of prostate cancer 50 percent. But the effects are strongest when they’re eaten raw or lightly cooked. So try scallions, Vidalia onions, shallots, or chives for a milder taste.

23. Make a batch of fresh lemonade or limeade. A daily dose of citrus fruits may cut the risk of mouth, throat, and stomach cancers by half, Australian researchers found.

Unecessary Chemicals

24. Take a 30-minute walk every evening after dinner. That’s all it takes to reduce your breast cancer risk, according to a study from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Turns out that moderate exercise reduces levels of estrogen, a hormone that contributes to breast cancer. When 170 overweight, couch potato women ages 50-75 did some form of moderate exercise for about three hours a week, levels of circulating estrogen dropped significantly after three months. After a year, those who lost at least 2 percent of their body fat had even greater decreases in estrogen. Another study linked four hours a week of walking or hiking with cutting the risk of pancreatic cancer in half. The benefits are probably related to improved insulin metabolism due to the exercise.

25. Buy organic foods. They’re grown without added pesticides or hormones, both of which can cause cellular damage that may eventually lead to cancer.

26. Learn to love dandelions. Using commercial pesticides on your lawn may increase your risk of cancer, since most contain pesticides such as 2,4-D (linked to non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma) and MCPP (associated with soft-tissue cancers). Plus, pesticides used solely on lawns don’t have to go through the same rigorous testing for long-term health effects as those used on food. And, as E/The Environmental Magazine noted in a 2004 article, no federal studies have assessed the safety of lawn-care chemicals in combination, the way most are sold.

27. Buy clothes that don’t need to be dry-cleaned. Many dry cleaners still use a chemical called perc (perchloroethylene), found to cause kidney and liver damage and cancer in animals repeatedly exposed through inhalation. Buying clothes that don’t require dry cleaning, or hand washing them yourself, can reduce your exposure to this chemical. If you must dry-clean your clothes, take them out of the plastic bag and air them outside or in another room before wearing.

28. Choose cucumbers over pickles, fresh salmon over lox. Studies find that smoked and pickled foods contain various carcinogens.

29. Switch from french fries and potato chips to mashed potatoes and pretzels. A potential cancer-causing compound called acrylamide forms as a result of the chemical changes that occur in foods when they’re baked, fried, or roasted. Not surprisingly, many foods with the greatest amounts of acrylamide are also some of the worst-for-you foods, such as french fries, potato chips, and baked sweets. Although the results aren’t final yet, Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, estimates acrylamide causes between 1,000 and 25,000 cancers per year. His agency has petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to set limits on the amount of acrylamide foods can contain. The FDA is studying the issue.

30. Go for a spray-on tan. They’re available in most tanning salons these days and, unlike tanning beds, there’s no evidence that they increase your risk of skin cancer.

31. Call up your bowling pal and hit the lanes. A study from the State University of New York at Stony Brook found that men with high levels of stress and those with less satisfying contacts with friends and family members had higher levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in their blood, a marker for the development of prostate cancer.