Every year, millions of dollars are spent on items that are "pink," representing the pink ribbon that is associated with breast cancer. In October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, everyone wants to get on board with having their products pink. It's as if buying pink products will actually help find a cure for breast cancer. When it first began, I'm sure that was the intention. But now, looking at statistics, we see that this "awareness" has not led to a decrease in breast cancer or finding a cure. While everyone is personally aware of breast cancer, it seems that awareness is just not enough.

Many women with breast cancer feel that "pinkwashing" is taking advantage of their illness. A variety of products that carry the pink ribbon actually contain ingredients that are known carcinogens. While these companies consider themselves as leaders in the fight against breast cancer, they continue to use ingredients in their products that contribute to cancer.

Breast Cancer Action is a national education and activist organization whose mission is to achieve health justice for all women at risk of and living with breast cancer. Karuna Jaggar, executive director of Breast Cancer Action, says:

"Pinkwashing has become a central component of the breast cancer industry: a web of relationships and financial arrangements between corporations that cause cancer, companies making billions off diagnosis and treatment, nonprofits seeking to support patients or even to cure cancer, and public relations agencies that divert attention from the root causes of disease."

The quote above definitely makes us pause and take a real look at the "pinkwashing" façade. As women, we must open our eyes and move awareness into action. We must be vigilant--continually searching for answers and guidelines to use in living a healthy life. If we fight on the front end and concentrate on prevention, our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, daughters, and friends will eventually be able to live a life free from the stress, pain, and loss due to breast cancer.

Jamie Kiffel-Alchec, managing editor of Clean Plates, suggests adding 8 naturally pink foods to the diet to help fight breast cancer (http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/8-pink-foods-fight-breast-cancer-1).

Breast Thermography: A big step toward early detection and prevention of breast cancer

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Angiogenesis is defined as "the physiological process through which new blood vessels form from pre-existing vessels." Angiogenesis occurs normally in embryo development and wound healing. In addition, women in their reproductive years go through normal angiogenesis each month. These new blood vessels are the key to forming the uterine lining that is shed during menstruation. The healthy body maintains its blood vessels in a continued state of balance.

However, in certain diseases, angiogenesis can occur too often or not enough. In most forms of heart disease there is a decrease in the chemicals that would stimulate new blood vessels to grow. On the other hand, an abnormal and rapid growth of blood vessels has been implicated in many diseases, including cancer.

These new blood vessels grow to feed cancers. If we could stop the formation of these vessels, could we actually cut off a tumor’s blood supply? Could we actually starve a tumor by cutting off its oxygen and nutrients? William Li, head of the nonprofit Angiogenesis Foundation thinks so. He suggests that the first step in anti-angiogenesis is "eating foods that cut off the supply lines and beat cancer at its own game" (video can be seen below).

Eat to Beat Cancer (http://www.eattobeat.org) is studying the potency of certain foods to determine their anti-angiogenesis capabilities in hopes of establishing a new cancer preventative diet. Dr. Li says that "once a food has been established as antiangiogenic, the next step is determining which strain or varietal of that food is the most potent."

If we can concentrate on eating a diet that is full of foods that have antiangiogenic properties, we will be more likely to "starve" tiny microscopic cancer cells--preventing them from developing into full grown tumors. These foods can actually boost our body's ability to produce angiogenesis inhibitors naturally.
 
I'm sure you're wondering what foods are included in this list! In discussing beneficial foods, Dr. Li points out that "We need red grapes. If you’re not crazy about red grapes, red wine will do the trick. Not a big drinker? Green tea works. If you like curry, you'll be glad to hear that turmeric can help; if you're a baker, ready that cinnamon shaker. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries; oranges, grapefruit and lemons; apples and pineapples; soy beans, kale and bok choy; garlic, tomatoes and olive oil—all these common foods are also weapons against the development of cancer. (Oh, and don't forget dark chocolate. I know I won't.)"

Thermography is a test of physiology that has the ability to detect angiogenesis. By "eating to starve cancer" and incorporating thermography into your yearly wellness evaluation, inhibiting cancer can truly become a reality.

It's October… time to take care of your breast health.

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There's a website called "AreYouDense.org" that was created by Dr. Nancy Cappello. It's not talking about intelligence or common sense. It's talking about breast density. Statistics show that 2/3 of premenstrual women and 1/4 of post-menopausal women have dense breast tissue. Dr. Cappello calls dense breast tissue the best-kept secret! While it can be detected during a routine mammogram, the medical community isn't sharing the information with us. Do you know if you have dense breast tissue?

Dr. Thomas Kolb, a radiologist who specializes in breast cancer detection, studied thousands of women with dense breast tissue that showed mammography missed 60% of cancers that were subsequently found on ultrasound. Breast tumors can be hidden from view in dense breast tissue because they both show up as white on mammography.

There is legislation going on in many states to ensure that all women are informed of this important breast health information. Fortunately for us, Tennessee is one of those states! Being told we have dense breast tissue gives us the option of adding other breast health screenings to our yearly routine.

Thermography is an important screening that should be added to annual wellness checkups for women of all ages. It can identify and assess the status of our breast health by detecting abnormal changes in the breast tissue. As a society, we are so focused on breast cancer awareness. Instead, let's focus on keeping our breasts healthy and preventing cancer in the first place. This can be accomplished by adding breast thermography to your yearly health screenings. 

To learn more, call 901-249-8642 or visit our breast health page.

We're already half way through the month of October, designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We are all aware of breast cancer. I'm sure that each one of you has been touched by a woman in your life suffering from this disease. Everyone is concentrating on the cure! I wonder why there isn't a larger campaign to start from the beginning and look for ways to prevent breast cancer before it starts.

There is a quote by Dr. Susan Love, Founder of the Breast Cancer Research Organization, that says: 

It's disheartening to hear year after year that the numbers really haven't changed. There aren't less cases of breast cancer among women of any age group. To quote Dr. Love again:

Whatever is being done now is not working. Something is missing from the equation. That's why it is sad when some doctors don't support and encourage women to add breast thermography to their yearly breast health screenings. Why wouldn't we want to have the full picture and all available resources on our side? I understand that some doctors might not be familiar with thermography. Since thermography shows abnormalities years before it shows up on mammography, maybe they feel that there is no treatment available to offer women.

Thermography can detect abnormal heat patterns when breast cancer cells first begin to divide. It can detect the beginning of new blood vessel growth that the body produces to supply nutrition to a tumor. It can show that the lymph system is congested and needs to be draining more efficiently. 

Thermography looks for changes in heat patterns of the breast tissue that have developed over time. Caught early enough, these changes can indicate an abnormality that can often be remedied with lifestyle changes.

Eating healthier, exercising our bodies more, practicing lymphatic massage, and making sure our vitamins and minerals are at their optimum levels are some of the lifestyle changes that can "move awareness into action" in the prevention of breast disease. We must take charge of our own health!