About Cancer

Breast cancers have various types, and knowledge on all of them is necessary for defining what treatment you need. Naturally, different types of breast cancers will have different causes, show different symptoms and will need different treatments than other types of breast cancer.

Breast cancer can either be invasive or non-invasive. Non-invasive breast cancers, also called in situ breast cancers, have a very high survival rate. Cancer cells in non-invasive breast cancers are confined to the site where the cancer originated, and have not spread to other organs. The most common non-invasive breast cancer is Ductal Carcinoma In Situ or DCIS, which develops in the breasts' milk ducts and does not metastasize. The best and easiest treatment for DCIS is mastectomy, and patients are cured fully, most of the times.

Invasive breast cancers are characterized by cancer spreading out to body parts other than the site in which the cancer originates. These cells usually enter the lymph vessels and blood vessels and travel to other body parts, where they develop malignant tumors. The two most common invasive breast cancer types are Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, which is also the commonest breast cancer type, and, Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.

Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, or IDC, originates in the breast ducts, breaking through the duct lining, spreads to the breast tissue and can metastasize further from there. IDC is the most common form of breast cancer, accounting for almost 70 to 80 out of every hundred cancer cases. Invasive Lobular Carcinoma starts developing in the lobules of the breast that produce milk, and then comes out of there and spreads to other parts. Instead of a lump formation, there is thickening of the breast, usually, when a person develops Invasive Lobular Carcinoma.

All forms of breast cancer do not originate in ducts or lobes. Breast tissues, fibrous connective tissues, blood vessels and lymph vessels can also be the originating site for breast cancer. It is also possible that the cancer does not start in the breast, but spreads to the breast from cancer cells of another cancer. However uncommon these types are, it's always good to be informed. Inflammatory breast cancer, Paget's disease of the breast, metaplastic breast cancer, angiosarcoma, osteosarcoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma are some uncommon types of breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer is very aggressive, and can originate and start developing cancer cells so rapidly, that within a week, the cancer becomes very advanced and dangerous. This is the reason it is important to know everything about these rare types; you just do not know for sure if they can attack you.

Doctors usually grade invasive breast cancers. They compare the affected breast tissue with a normal tissue, and grade depending on how much the affected tissue resembles a normal one. This process makes it easier to decide the course and procedures for treatment. Grades start from I to III, Grade I implying the cancer is not very advanced, and Grade III suggesting that the breast tissue has lost its normal functioning ability and that the cancer has progressed highly.

As you can see, knowing about all types of cancers can help you recognizing symptoms early on and advise you on how to make your treatment more effective, along with giving you proper knowledge and information on your treatment.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the American population and the western world. Lung cancer use to be the leading cause of cancer deaths in American men only, but since 1988, women have caught up with men and since then lung cancer is leading cause of cancer deaths in women as well. Well over 170,000 cases of lung cancers are diagnosed in the United States each year. Very few fortunate ones get cured from this miserable disease. About 157,000 people die as the direct result of lung cancer.

The mortality related to lung cancer exceeds the combined mortality rates of second (breast cancer), third (prostate cancer), and fourth (colon cancer) leading causes of cancer death. How would we react if every day a Boing 747 crashes and all the passengers die? That's what happens with lung cancer. About 430 people die every day from lung cancer.

Despite the high rates of cancer deaths, lung cancer receives much less attention compared to other cancers, especially breast cancer. Lung cancer research receives much less funding, and general public takes much less interest in lung cancer. Even though lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women, very little research and scientific progress occurs in the field of lung cancer.

It is estimated that about $1,723 per cancer deaths is spent on lung cancer research where as the corresponding figures for breast cancer ($13,953), prostate cancer ($10,318) and colorectal cancer (4,618) are much higher. It is interesting to note that the department of defense funds breast cancer, ovarian cancer and prostate cancer but not lung cancer.

Part of the problem associated with lung cancer research funding is the fact that, there are not many lung cancer survivors to lobby for the cause of lung cancer. High mortality rates associated with lung cancer leaves very few survivors to fight for their cause, and even those fortunate survivors are not in very good health, since most of these survivors are patients who had undergone extensive lung resection.

There is also a stigma associated with lung cancer. Unlike many other types of cancers risk of lung cancer is very much linked with smoking. Many who deal with lung cancer patients and the patient himself think that the disease is the direct result of misbehavior. This fills a feeling of guilt on the lung cancer patients who tend to blame themselves. Also this acts against any fund-raising program aimed at lung cancer where people unconsciously feel that lung cancer is a disease that these patients brought on themselves.

More funding and research are urgently needed for lung cancer. We all have to join our hands to fight this miserable enemy of the human species.

Every single cell in your body has its own built-in defense system. This defense system is called 'glutathione', and each cell produces it! Your immune system is highly dependent on your cells producing glutathione to aid in the prevention of all illnesses and diseases!

Glutathione protects the cells in your body against free radical damages. As the level of glutathione diminishes, a cell's defense system weakens. It is then that a cell can become 'injured' by free radicals and even 'mutate' and start multiplying out of control.

When this happens, you now have what one calls a 'tumor' or 'growth'. Over a period of time the 'mutated' cells can turn to 'cancer'. When you have low glutathione levels, the immune system can no longer do its job. When your glutathione levels are strong, your immune system recognizes 'injured' and 'mutated' cells and neutralizes them.

What you need to understand!

A mutated cell that has become a 'cancer' cell, takes every bit of nutrition it needs to grow and become stronger by feeding on the glutathione of the healthy cells, hence weakening the healthy cells.

Therefore, this is why when one's cancer cells are introduced to chemotherapy (a means of boosting the immune system), it is the normal cells that have been originally drained of glutathione by the cancer cells that take the beating, and why one feels so sick!

In fact, the chemotherapy which is given to boost your immune system for the purpose of killing these strong 'cancer' cells, puts you at a very high risk of a future 'cancer' originating from one of your healthy cells because they have so severely been drained of glutathione...hence the infamous remission period!

The cancer cells have been destroyed! Now let's wait and see if a healthy, but weakened cell, becomes 'cancerous'...That's your remission period!!!

What doctors don't take the time to explain!

Normal, healthy cells produces glutathione as it needs it, to build-up its defense system daily. It's ongoing on a day-to-day basis, always reproducing.

Here lies the difference between a healthy cell and a cancer cell. A 'cancer' cell will produce and feed itself of glutathione very quickly to become a very strong cancer cell. But the moment they are too full, they 'shut down'. Once it shuts down, it can never, ever turn the clock or mechanism back on to make glutathione again! Normal cells produces it as it needs it, 'cancer' cells can't.

Example: Cell A versus Cell B

Cell A is a normal cell. Cell B is low on glutathione. They both are being attacked every day by free radicals. It is a fact that as we age, glutathione levels start dropping and become low, thereby weakening the immune system and exposing us to all sorts of diseases.

Now, cell B which is already low on glutathione levels, has in effect weakened the immune system. Since the cell is constantly being attacked by free radicals, it is weakened further. Normally a strong immune system would suffice in destroying this cell. But because the immune system is so weak, it doesn't and therefore, the DNA of this cell has changed and the cell has started to 'mutate'. It has started multiplying and is now a 'mass' or a 'tumor'.

Now that cell B has grown into a tumor, it starts 'hogging' all the nutrients it needs to make glutathione to become even stronger than the immune system. As it builds its strength, it grows out of control and becomes 'cancerous'. When it's introduced to chemotherapy, which is an immune system booster, it can withstand the chemotherapy!

Meanwhile cell A, which has been weakened by cell B, is also exposed to the poison and radiation of chemotherapy. Even if you manage to somehow recover from the first cancer, your immune system is so 'beat up' from the radiation of chemotherapy, that it can't do its job.

The once normal cell A, has become so susceptible to free radical damage, that within 1 to 4 years, it to fails and becomes a secondary cancer with even more strength, than the primary.

THE KEY IS TO INCREASE GLUTATHIONE LEVELS!

The key is obviously to increase your glutathione levels in your body so that the cancerous cells, once full, stop making their own glutathione...'shut down' and hence become the weaker cell. The immune system has now strengthened and overpowered the 'mutated cells' and destroys them.

Glutathione is the master antioxidant needed by the immune system to fight off every day free radical damage and DNA mutations. It is necessary not only to your cellular system, but also to your skeletal system. Consequently when it is high and strong, it will ward off any diseases.

Doctors will tell you that you cannot take immune system boosters, such as antioxidant vitamins C & E etc., during chemotherapy treatment. They are correct since the cancer cells are already stronger than the normal cells, and these antioxidants in pill form, only adds to their defense system against treatment by chemotherapy.

Glutathione , which naturally builds up the immune system, has to come from within the cells themselves, and manufactured by the cells.

SO HOW DOES ONE DO THIS? You need to boost your immune system naturally through complementary alternative medecine. Only by making sure your immune system is always at its peak can you avoid cancer.

Furthermore, if you're struggling with cancer, and understand your cells as explained above, then you need to realize that the chemotherapy treatment you received, simply put, is an immune system booster to kill your cancerous cells. The problem, however, is that the good cells have been weakened of their glutathione levels to such an extent, that they too can now become cancerous. That is in fact, the truth behind the remission period. The 'wait and see' ideology!

It's unfortunate that so many people believe, or are led to believe, that they are healed of cancer, or think that the remission period is to see if the cancer will come back. That cancerous cell will never come back, it's been destroyed! You're waiting to see if your good and weakened cells will become another cancer. I wish I would have known this when my wife died of breast cancer in her forties, while in remission.

Copyright © 2006 http://www.cancer-help-treatment.com

This may wow some of you or it may not, but the truth of the matter is we ALL have cancer cells. Is that a scary thought? Now, here is something even more alarming.. we have had them for a long time and maybe did not even know it. I hope I did not spoil you dinner, or perhaps your weekend, or your... that is enough, we got the point. So with that in mind, let us get to the point that REALLY matters.

WHAT IS CANCER AND WHERE DOES IT START?

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by unrestricted growth of cells in general tissue or a specific organ. Cancer begins in the cells which are the basic structural element of the of the body; billions in number and highly differentiated in functions.

Cancer starts with the mutation in the genetic code of the cell- a reprogramming as it were of developmental patterns that results in uncontrolled growth. Apart from genetic factors, some casual factors are:

1. Pollution of cigarette smoke.

2. Fossil fuel exhaust.

3. Heavy metals, pesticides and others.

4. The ionizing radiation of X-rays

5. Nuclear waste.

6. Ultraviolet(UV) radiation from the sun, intensified by a depleted ozone layer.

7. Poor diet.

8. Certain viruses: AIDS, hepatitis C, Epstein-Barr disease.(AMA)

A combination of genetic and environmental factors including diet may contribute to this out of hand replication. One well-known theory suggests that when free radicals form in the cell nucleus, the DNA code may be damaged.

Another theory suggests that factors such as poor diet and cigarette smoke compromises the immune system and weaken bodily defenses which might otherwise destroy a newly cancerous cell.

Regardless of theory, we owe it to ourselves to pay close attention to all possible factors and take advantage of any way to minimize the danger of cancer. One of these is by maintaining GSH levels.

A CLOSER LOOK AT BREAST, PROSTATE, COLON and LUNG CANCER

We have already discussed what cancer is and how it might get started. So, let us look at a few informative tidbits about the various locations of cancer.

BREAST-- Cancer cells forms in the tissue of the breast, usually in the ducts(tubes that carries milk to the nipple) and lobules(the glands that makes the milk). Being exposed to estrogen over a long period of time may increase a woman risk for breast cancer.

PROSTATE-- Cancer cells forms in the tissues of the prostate. Some scientists are of the opinion that prostate cancer is a disease of aging. They claim that more than three-quarters of men over eighty show evidence of cancer in their glands.

COLON-- Cancer cells forms in the tissues of the colon(large intestine). Colon cancer has a strong genetic components. Most cases are caused by the interaction of multiple genes and environmental factors such as eating a diet high in animal fat(especially red meat).

LUNG-- Cancer cells that forms in the lungs. Cancer- causing chemicals from cigarette smoke is ninety percent of all cases of lung cancer. These cancer cells in the lungs multiply out of control, and travel to other parts of the body.

THE NUMBER ONE KILLER

Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of both men and women in the United States. In the early 2000s, lung cancer accounted for more deaths than breast, prostate and colon cancer combined. Nearly 90,000 men and 70,000 women in the USA die each year.(AMA)

There is no longer any doubt that cigarette smoking is a major risk factor for not only in lung cancer, but also chronic bronchitis, emphysema, COPD and cardiovascular disease.

Lung cancer has been linked to;

* Smoking

* Secondhand smoke

* Family history

* Radon(radioactive gas) exposure

* Workplace exposure(asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, tar and soot)

* Air pollution

HOW TO FIGHT BACK

Do you recall earlier in the article this point was made: 'Regardless of theory, we owe it to ourselves to pay close attention to all possible factors and take advantage of any way to minimize the danger of cancer'.

So how do we minimize the danger of cancer?

Hundreds of medical articles have been written describing the role of Glutathione(GSH) in cancer prevention and cancer treatment. One of the main three groups is identified as prevention, including detoxification of Carcinogens.

A 1996 article in the European Journal of Cancer actually suggested that free radicals be listed as an important class of Carcinogens. Glutathione(GSH) can soak up oxy-radicals and other free radicals as they form in the cell, this prevents damage to various parts of the cell.

Glutathione(GSH) has the additional benefit of enhancing the effect of other antioxidants such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium. To top it off, GSH also play an important role in the synthesis and repair of DNA.(Glutathione.. Your Key To Health)

There is no doubt that a well-functioning glutathione enzyme system wards off cancer. A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute confirmed this analysis.

HOW TO RAISE GLUTATHIONE(GSH) LEVELS SAFELY AND EFFECTIVELY.

We are going to throw two well-known and proven choices at you for you to determine which is the safest, most effective and I might add the most practical.

First-- NAC:

The Chemoprevention Branch of the National Cancer Institute(USA) has for the last decade been developing drugs to diminish the incidence of this dreaded disease. Using NAC(N-Acetyl-Cysteine) is one of those drugs used to raise Glutathione.

NAC therapy has two common problems: firstly, it is a pharmaceutical drug and carries certain toxicity itself; secondly, NAC-induced GSH levels reach a rapid and declines within hours. The drug is described as having a short half-life.

Second-- Bioactive Whey Protein

Bioactive whey proteins contains high levels of non-denatured proteins, also called undenatured whey proteins. In scientific terms, they preserve the original bioactivity and the mechanical shape of the protein guaranteeing the highest level of GSH-promoting activity.

Research at McGill University in early 1980's by Dr. Gustavo Bounous while studying protein supplementation lead to the discovery of the bioactive potential of whey proteins. Dr. Bounous and his team went on to develop a whey protein made under conditions that maximize the protein bioactivity.

This protein has been patented for its immuno-sustaining and GSH - enhancing effects. Undenatured, bioactive whey protein is a natural extract of milk and an ideal solution- a safe, dependable, effective way to raise and sustain GSH levels. Thank you Dr. Bounous and your team at McGill University.

CANCER IS CANCER NO MATTER WHERE IT IS LOCATED. IF YOU WANT A FIGHTING CHANCE AGAINST CANCER, ESPECIALLY THE LEADING KILLER.. LUNG CANCER, OUR SUGGESTION IS TO RAISE YOUR GLUTATHIONE(GSH) LEVELS. THERE IS ONLY ONE NATURAL WHEY TO DO IT!!!

Breast cancer is a largely unknown disease until today, despite the fact that it affects almost ten percent of the women above the age of forty years all over the world. The causes of this killer cancer are not known even after decades of research into it. Similarly it is unknown why some women have higher chances of getting breast cancers than others.

Though the causative factors are not known, some risk factors have been identified. There is no medical proof why these factors make the disease more probable, but this is a study of observation. In a vast cross-section of women with the observed risk factors, it has been found that the chances of getting breast cancers are very high.

The various risk factors for breast cancer are as follows:-

(1) Family History of Breast Cancer

If a near relative like a mother or a sister has had breast cancer, then there is a very high chance that the cancer will occur sometime in life. This propensity is observed even if far relatives such as cousins and aunts have had breast cancer, though the chances are lesser as the relatives are more removed. Even if a male relative has had breast cancer or prostate cancer, then there is a chance of getting breast cancer. This clearly indicates that breast cancer runs through family lines through inheritance. Certainly the chances are very high if more than one family member has had breast cancer.

(2) Personal History of Breast Cancer

If a woman has had breast cancer in the past, then there is a great chance that the breast cancer may recur. This is true even if the cancer had been removed in its benign stage itself. Sometimes the cancer cells spread into the nearby lymph. This makes a possibility that the cancer will occur in the opposite breast. In fact, women who have had cancer in one breast have 50 to 75% more chances of developing the cancer in the other breast.

(3) Diseases of the Breast

Several breast diseases can increase the chances of having breast cancer. Changes in the cells of the breasts can lead to atypical hyperplasia. This condition can cause a three to fourfold increase in the possibility of getting breast cancer in the later years. This risk also exists if the atypical hyperplasia has occurred in other women of the family. Another such condition is the benign breast tumor condition known as fibro adenoma. However, women with fibrocystic breasts generally do not have any added vulnerability to breast cancer. Yet, such conditions could make the breasts lumpy and hide the real tumors (if any) during mammography.

(4) Lifestyle

In today's world, lifestyle is the single largest contributing factor for the proliferation of breast cancer among women. Several elements of the lifestyle have been found to be directly accordant with the prevalence of breast cancer. Smoking and alcoholism in women are among the chief factors. Even diet has been pointed out as an important risk factor. Women who consume a diet with more high-cholesterol fats in them have higher chances of breast cancer. At the same time leading a sedentary lifestyle without indulging much in physical activity are also potentially dangerous.

(5) Radiation

It has been found that women who undergo radiation therapies in their chest region at a young age have an increased risk of developing breast cancer in their later lives. Radiation therapy is generally prescribed for women with conditions like Hodgkin's disease or non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. So women who have undergone such treatments may get breast cancer in their later years.

(6) Hormonal Imbalances There are several factors that can change the hormone balance of the body. Some of them are:- a) Beginning the menstrual cycle early, i.e. before the age of twelve years, b) Having the first pregnancy after the age of thirty years, c) Having no pregnancy at all, d) Having a late menopause. All these conditions can increase the level of estrogen in the body. This increases the risk of getting breast cancer to a mild extent. Apart from that women who take regular birth control pills, breast enhancement supplements, antidepressants and antihistamines and hormone modifying supplements stand at a higher risk to get breast cancers.

The above are the major risk factors for breast cancers. But since the study on breast cancers is not yet complete, the above is by no means a complete list. There are several other indications of breast cancers, like breast implant operations; but these have not yet been confirmed. The implants used in the earlier days were made of silicone gels. These were riskier in terms of breast cancer. However, nowadays the silicone gel implants have been replaced by saline implants. This has reduced the risk to a great extent.

It must be also noted that women have much higher chances of getting breast cancer than men. In fact, most people think that breast cancer is a disease that affects only women. This is not true. Men also get breast cancers, but to a much lesser degree than women. Also, age is a very important factor. The chances of getting breast cancer are much higher when the woman has crossed the age of 50 years.

Colorectal cancer is a major health concern and public health problem in
most of the Western countries despite widespread use of screening technique
to detect early stages of this disease. In the United States alone more than
148,000 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. Over 55,000
deaths occur in the United States due to colorectal cancer. Colon cancer is
a very common disease and it is the third most common type of cancer in both
sexes. In men it ranks third after prostate and lung cancer and in women
after lung and breast cancer. Colorectal cancer ranks second after lung
cancer in terms of number of deaths from cancer.

Majority of colorectal cancers (72%) start in the colon and smaller fraction
(28%) arises in the rectum. The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with
colorectal cancer in the United States is 5.9% for men and 5.5% for women.

There are several known risk factors for colorectal cancer. Being a male
poses higher risk of colorectal cancer compared to being female. Increasing
age is associated with an increase in the risk of colorectal cancer.
Incidence of colorectal cancer is higher among African Americans compared to
Caucasians. Risk of developing colorectal cancer is much higher for people
living in the industrialized nations compared to less industrialized
nations.

Diet, rich in fat and cholesterol, is linked to higher risk of developing
colorectal cancer. Lack of proper exercise, presence of inflammatory bowel
disease, some types of polyps and history of family members with diagnosis
of colorectal cancer have been associated with higher risk of development of
colorectal cancer.

Early stages of colorectal cancer may not cause any symptoms. Some people
might experience vague symptoms like mild abdominal pain, flatulence or
diarrhea. Occasionally there might be microscopic bleeding and the diagnosis
of colorectal cancer would be suspected because of presence of anemia from
chronic bleeding. Some people might develop frank bleeding or symptoms of
bowel obstruction.

Screening for colorectal cancer can detect the disease at an early stage. A
rectal examination and examination of the stool specimen for the presence of
microscopic quantity of blood are very common screening tools. Sigmoidocopy
and colonoscopy are more invasive investigations, which can detect and
remove some polyps that might be precursors of cancer. Less invasive
techniques like barium enema, virtual colonoscopy using a CT scan machine
are also often used in screening and diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Adults
having an average risk of colorectal cancer should start colorectal cancer
screening beginning at age 50.

Treatment of colorectal cancer depends upon the stage of the disease. Early
stages of colorectal cancers are treated with surgery alone, later stages of
colorectal cancer are treated with surgery followed by chemotherapy with or
without radiation treatment. Rectal cancers are more often treated with
radiation therapy compared to colon cancer. Advanced stages of colorectal
cancer, where the disease has spread to other organs, are usually treated
with chemotherapy alone. There are several new chemotherapeutic agents and
biological drugs available for the treatment of colorectal cancer. Treatment
of colorectal cancer has undergone marked changes in the last 10 years. The
newer drugs are showing much improved efficacy and prolonging life
expectancy in patients with advanced stage colorectal cancer.

There is a number of cancer fighting strategies being advertised on the internet now. It is tough to know which cancer strategies will not break the bank, which methods will actually exterminate cancer and which cancer fighting strategies will be soft enough to be tolerated.

Cancer-Free Your Guide to Gentle, Non-Toxic Healing by Bill Henderson

Bill Henderson offers a loving and informative combination of cancer fighting strategies as a choice to modern day cancer treatments that bestow upon many a new perspective and a new hope for life after a cancer diagnosis. The state-of-the-art medical "cancer fighting strategies", often referred to as the "big three" are shared. These "big three" which include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, have furnished big dollars for the medical industry over the past several decades with very little change or "progress" to speak of. However, Henderson and a lot of natural and alternative scientists and professionals feel wholeheartedly that cancer is curable.

Henderson does NOT tell you to dismiss your doctor. He does, however, motivate you to educate yourself so that you can make informed selections about cancer fighting strategies that you personally use. Doctors are busy professionals that do not have much excess time to pursue various treatments that are not taught by the conventional medical industry. No one, doctor or otherwise, fully understands everything so you can not solely rely on the guidance of one human being. It is your responsibility to do your own exploration on the cancer fighting strategies that you choose to use.

There Is More than One Way to Cure Cancer

Though Henderson focuses on the cancer fighting strategies he would use if he had received the findings of cancer, he also touches on numerous other alternative therapies that have been scientifically verified to essentially cure cancer. Though he does not go into deep scientific intricacy on each of these cancer fighting strategies, he gives you more than satisfactory resources for getting additional information and any necessary supplements and/or tools to make use of each therapy.

The number of alternative cancer fighting strategy therapies that have been proven to cure cancer is staggering, which is why it is good for you that Bill Henderson gives you a streamlined step-by-step protocol that he would follow while still providing you the other alternatives should you choose to explore those therapies. The main chapter gives you a practical grocery list of the items that you would need and how to get them. In addition, he has worked with those that distribute the necessary supplements to get the very best pricing for his readers, making it as easy as possible to put his selected cancer fighting strategies to use.

With a great deal of feedback included in the book, any cancer patient or relative would be encouraged and blessed by the inspiration and hope that is contained in this book. You would be up against it to find a type of cancer that is not addressed in the testimonials of this book. No matter how depressive a diagnosis a cancer patient has received, there IS HOPE.

The Amazing Benefits of this Book

There are loads of benefits to looking at Cancer-Free Your Guide to Gentle, Non-Toxic Healing. These include the following just to name a few:
• A real awareness of what cancer is actually.
• A fresh point of view on the conventional cancer fighting strategies and treatments and the likely outcome.
• A fresh and encouraging hope for a fulfilling life and restored health.
• A simple step-by-step approach to overcoming cancer with these scientifically founded alternative cancer fighting strategies (and potentially many other health problems) WITHOUT DOING HARM TO YOUR BODY.
• The most reasonably priced resources for obtaining necessary high quality supplements for the "Bill Henderson Protocol", with many vendors going out of their way to facilitate cancer patients in their recovery.
• Options for other alternative cancer fighting strategies and treatments and the resources to pursue them.

Every cancer patient, or loved one, could profit from the specifics, resources and new-found hope that is shared in Cancer-Free Your Guide to Gentle, Non-Toxic Healing.
More information about this book and other great resources are discussed at http://www.cancer-fighting-strategies.blogspot.com.

When I first learned about 'natural' medicines the topic resonated with my overall life philosophy and love of nature. Trained as a teacher my job was to teach so it seemed a logical step to hit the forward button when natural cancer cure information arrived in my inbox. After all I wanted to help people, to teach them of my new discoveries. Thus I joined millions of other well-meaning folk unwittingly fanning the 'tsunami' of miracle cancer cures. Although good intention drove our collective proselytising, at the end of the day an alternative medicine cancer death is just another needless death regardless of intention.

After 4.5 years working in the cancer industry, I now know differently. I've seen the increase in alt/med deaths. I now believe promoting alt/med material is a crucial moral issue, especially when we consider many cancer patients suffer from PTSD (whether they recognise it or not), and therefore may lack the ability to make rational choices.

Much of my life I've been involved in river, mountain and surf lifesaving rescue, but now, as a director of a cancer help centre, I witness more tragedies than I have seen in 40 years of outdoor rescues. The majority of these are among patients who used alternative treatments and abandoned or delayed conventional medicine. Steve Jobs is alleged to have delayed conventional treatment while he trialled various alternative methods. Surgeon colleagues are shocked that in the last year we have referred to them five female patients presenting with 'fungating' breast tumours in; something more common in the dark ages.

So here is my blunt message. When it comes to giving alternative cancer treatment advice - stop it! You may never have thought that forwarding a viralled email may cause patients to delay conventional therapies while 'fiddling' around with alt/med methods. A GP colleague said recently, "Patients don't seem to realise they have just this one life to practice trial and error cancer cure methods - until it is too late."

Don't give alt/med cancer advice unless you're prepared to be responsible for the outcome of the advice you give. I'll repeat this because it is so critical. Don't give alt/med cancer advice unless you're prepared to be responsible for the outcome of the advice you give.

Before hitting the forward button, we should ask ourselves, are we prepared to be the full time care giver/financial supporter of the patient or family when it goes wrong? Ethics must override any attachment to nature ideology. On jury service we'd not send a person to the electric chair unless we had no doubt. Can we have no doubt about our alt/med recommendations? Have we presented both sides of medical science or 'cherry-picked' that which supports our ideology? Have we thoroughly researched conventional (allopathic) medicine papers about the alt/med treatment we want to forward to all our friends-especially those who may have cancer?

Attachment to natural cure ideologies can border on fundamentalism and may override science and rationale. As a multi-decade sometimes vegan/vegetarian, now more a more balanced eater, I've done it myself and proselytised the 'natural' food path to cure illnesses. But it is hard to ignore all the patients I see dying from alternative cancer treatments or delaying treatment while experimenting with alt/med like Steve Jobs is alleged to have done. With 43,000 annual cancer deaths in Australia I suspect alt/med deaths are 10% of that figure or more-4300 is much higher than our annual road death toll-now at about 1400.

Yet 'good' people, who have no idea about the alt/med deaths or experience of treating cancer patients, will pass natural cancer cure advice. M, the local yoga teacher who is loved by her pupils is a classic example. Her pupils assume her expertise in yoga therapies and this gives her some authority. Her advice to a yoga student, who was also our patient, was to do it the 'natural way.' I understand. I'm a yoga teacher too and I could have been her once. I'll talk to her but I may not get through her belief system or mindset. A wiser approach is to use yoga therapies as an ajunct to conventional medicine; not an alternative.

It's easy to succumb as the following scenario illustrates. Your good friend has cancer; you want to help. You research 'Dr Internet.' Like M our yoga teacher, you mistrust big pharma and modern medicine. You Google 'cancer cures' - you find 14,000,000 results, most are for 'natural' cancer cures. It is unlikely that you will examine the reputable cancer medicine sites like NCI, Sloan Kettering or Australia's Cancer Council because you mistrust science and favour alternative ideology.

Another scenario: You get one of the many emails promoting 'black salve' for skin cancers. You find 10.5 million Google results for the black salve and it sounds convincing. You don't know it is the newest recycled fad (it resurfaces every decade or so) and you won't have seen the deaths caused by it like we have; deaths in fit and healthy people who ate the 'right foods.' The Googe advice sounds good so you pass it on.

You pass on dietary cures for cancer not seeing as we do patients who have eaten every manner of 'anti-cancer diet' for long periods; up to 3 decades and swallowed 4-6 juices fresh raw juices daily. They still got cancer. More juice will not make them better; in fact their blood tests inevitably show deficiencies and imbalances from too much juice. It is not natural to eat a wheelbarrow load of fruit and veg a week and certainly doesn't stop cancer

A cancer expert I know, in nearly 4 decades helping 13,000 + cancer patients, has not seen one cancer cure solely attributed to 'alternative medicine.' Successful patients also used conventional medicine but often played this down. Today we call this complementary medicine but that arena is complicated and needs a rare level of collaboration.

Despite the stampede to follow alt/med, alt/med cancer deaths are rapidly rising while conventional medicine cancer deaths are steadily falling. This trend is accelerated because some patients treated in the medical system end up with poor treatment. Their stories are sometimes horrific and include abuse, apathy and inefficiency to name a few.

As you can see I'm not blindly promoting allopathic medicine as perfect, because it's not. As one prominent Gold Coast GP recently said, "Medicine is a whore, but at least it has mechanisms to keep it honest and processes for complaint, where alt/med has none."

We meet patients who have tried all the 'latest' alternative cancer cures. Some have spent up to six figure amounts on these fads but we've not seen that any of these internet touted regimens have altered the progression of their cancer. Worse still precious time has been wasted while the disease has been spreading. In many cases it is too late!

In concluding I repeat; don't give alt/med cancer advice.

As Bob Newhart says in that delightful skit found on YouTube - 'Stop it.'

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in the United States. While colorectal cancer is highly treatable in its incipient stage, when it is diagnosed late, the disease becomes life-threatening. Statistics indicate that there are more than 150.000 new annual cases of colorectal cancer diagnosed in the United States. Although this type of cancer can be effectively prevented, it accounts for more than 50.000 deaths among the American population each year.

Colorectal cancer has the highest incidence in people with ages over 50 and it is more commonly seen in obese, smokers and physically inactive people. Although it can occur in all ethnical groups, this type of cancer is very common in African Americans. Statistics indicate that in the last few years, both the incidence and the mortality rate of colorectal cancer have known a pronounced increase among African American people. Research results reveal the fact that African American women are exposed to a very high risk of developing colorectal cancer due to obesity, unhealthy diet and sedentary lifestyle.

Doctors claim that colorectal cancer can be effectively treated if the disease is timely diagnosed. They state that modern medicine holds new, reliable means of preventing the progression of colorectal cancer and that people should be screened for potential malignancies more often. Regular colorectal cancer screening is recommended to anyone at risk of developing this type of cancer. The categories at risk of developing colorectal cancer are: people with ages over 50, overweight people, people with chronic gastrointestinal diseases, smokers, people who have a family history of adenomatous polyposis, non-polyposis colon cancer, Gardner's syndrome or Peutz-Jeghers syndrome and people who have suffered colon cancer surgery.

Colorectal cancer screening can be performed through multiple methods. In present, the procedures used in cancer screening are quick, safe and reliable. Furthermore, the costs of a complete annual examination for colorectal cancer are very low. A complete examination should include fecal occult blood testing, flexible sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, and barium enema. These tests can easily reveal the presence of malignant colonic polyps, tumors and carcinomas in the early stages of colorectal cancer.

Nowadays, there are three basic programs used in colorectal cancer screening. The first program involves fecal occult blood testing and sigmoidoscopy. Fecal occult blood testing should be repeated annually, while sigmoidoscopy should be repeated every five years. The second program involves an initial total colon examination, followed by distal colon barium enema every five years. The last program recommended by oncologists involves an initial total colon exam, followed by colorectal examination every ten years. As the methods of colorectal screening provide similar results, patients are allowed to choose anyone of these three programs, with the condition to respect the schedule recommended by their doctor.

Every time I've changed Gynecologists, I filled out the dreaded medical history forms knowing the reaction my new doctor will have once she/he sees that both my grandmothers had breast cancer."Do you examine your breasts often?" "You need to be very careful", "Here put your arms up and let me see" poke poke poke...

Though I am glad for their concern I must admit that it is scary to think that you are considered high risk for breast cancer. In June of this year, I turned 30 and I can't begin to tell you all the weird changes that have been happening to my body. Some are way too weird and personal to mention, but about a month ago I did find a strange mass in my left breast. Now this is not really unusual for me since I normally have quite lumpy breasts, especially as that time of the month gets closer. So I figured it was just my natural lumps just feeling a little extra lumpy and I didn't pay it much mind. Three weeks later however it was still there and even more pronounced. So, to ward off any possibilities that it was my imagination playing tricks on me I asked my mother if she felt anything and she did. I quickly made the appointment to see my gynecologist.

I decided not to become rippled with fear about what the possibilities of an unknown mass in my breast could mean, but my panicky personality got the best of me and at times and I would picture myself losing all my hair which I had been spending so much time and money taking care of, the possibility of not being able to have kids, and worst of all losing my breast which I quickly passified by picturing myself with fake boobs. Vein and shallow!...yes I know. I reprimanded myself for thinking such thoughts and focused on God and life and thinking positive. It may be nothing.

The day of my much anticipated appointment came. As I waited in the examination room for my doctor, I lay on the bed in my robe opened to the front and busied myself with texting and bbm'ing to keep my mind of the negative. Thirty minutes later my doctor walked in with chart in-hand and stated, "What borough do you live in?" I said Queens. She said, "For How long?" Took me a while to think. I was unprepared for those questions. I was expecting something more around "How long have you had the lump?", "Who else in your family has had breast cancer?", "Seen any strange oozing?"

Seeing the confused look on my face, my gynecologist explained that the reason why she asked was because women who have lived in Queens and Long Island all or most of their lives are twice as likely to get breast cancer than women in any other borough in New York City. I was shocked! "I wasn't aware of that at all" I said and told her that I had only been living in Queens for the past 2 years and spent most of my life in the Caribbean. She then began her examination of both my breasts, starting with the right and then the left. She quickly felt the mass as well as another somewhere in the center of my left breast. She had me feel it also and yes! certainly there was something there. Not quite a lump or ball per se but definitely something. She asked me if I drink caffeine. I replied in the affirmative and told her that I had at least one cup a day give and take a few days here and there when I preferred tea. She told me that caffeine has been known to make the breasts lumpy. Again, I was shocked at that.

She also told me that taking 600 mg's of Vitamin E daily will also help prevent breast cancer. Another shocker! She also asked me if I wore wired bras. I told her "All the time" she then went on to say that I needed to get non-wired bras since the wired ones are known to put extra pressure on the glands of the breast and can lead to breast cancer also. Yet another shocker!

She never once mentioned or even brought up my grandparents, so I volunteered the information just in case she missed it. She then asked me at what age they were diagnosed. I wondered whether it mattered, point is they had it and that makes me high risk! I said one was diagnosed at 84 and another at around 60. She nonchalantly shrugged it off saying "OK they were both past menopausal age". I was like "ok", wondering if that now meant that I am no longer high risk. Talk about confused.

By the end of the examination she explained that though I am too young to have a mammogram because of the density of my breast, that she was scheduling one anyway along with a sonogram just to be on the safe side. My heart was beating as she wrote the referral, still nervous and overwhelmed from the confusing information I had just received as well as this pending mammogram which I had heard such horror stories about. Two days later I showed up for my "mamo" and "sono" and though the doctor said that the tests are never 100% percent accurate, I thank God that the results were negative and showed no abnormality.

Though I was relieved, I was still a bit confused and very concerned. Even if the less than perfect results are negative then why do I have a lump? could the test be wrong? and am I really at less of a risk for breast cancer because both my grandparents were diagnosed post menopausal? and do I really have to go buy an entire new collection of wireless bras and take 600 Mg's of Vitamin E? Clearly there were some mixed messages being sent here and we all know prevention is better than cure so it was time to get to the bottom of things. I therefore decided to do some research and here are some of my findings.

I don't know about you, but I always thought a lump in the breast was a sure and definitive sign of cancer. The September issue of Cosmopolitan however, featured a section on finding a lump in your breast and that breast cancer doesn't have to be the diagnosis. According to their source, Marisa Weiss, Breast oncologist and Founder of Breastcancer.org "boobs get lumpy all the time" and although breast cancer is uncommon in young women it is always good to be on the safe side and always check with your gynecologist. She pinpoints a few different types of lumps that can be found in the breast and what it could possibly mean. For instance, if it feels like a painless moveable sphere, it's probably a fribroadenoma which are firm growths common in women in their 20's and are perfectly harmless. If the lump(s) feel small and pebbly or knotty, it's most likely fibrocystic changes related to hormone changes in the body particularly around PMS. If the lump is spongy round or oval it could be a fluid-filled cyst formed when fluid is retained in the breast tissue and has to be drained by a procedure called needle aspiration. So for starters, we know that all lumps don't necessarily mean breast cancer especially if you're still in your child bearing years. Youth however, doesn't necessarily mean that you're not at risk for getting breast cancer either. The only way to be sure is to see your gynecologist.

The October issue of Shape Magazine really goes into dispelling some of the breast cancer myths out there with a great article called "What You Don't Know About Breast Cancer Can Hurt You" by Karyn Repinski. The first myth is: You can't get beast cancer if it doesn't run in your family. Like Sr. Weiss said, anyone can get breast cancer. The true determinants are age, hormones, biopsy history and breast density as well as other factors. According to Repinski, the real danger is in having a false sense of security so always check with your doctor to be on the safe side. The second myth is: Breast cancer always appears as a lump. The truth is signs of breast cancer can come in many ways. For example, a change in the size of your breast like a dimpled area or puckered appearance to the skin, an itchy scaly area, nipple discharge, swelling or redness of the breast or an inverted nipple. The third myth is: antiperspirants and under wire bras cause breast cancer. According to Repinski, the National Cancer Institute has done several studies that shows no correlation between breast cancer and deodorants or under wire bras. Phew! isn't that that's a relief?!

Though Respinski has cleared up a few of the smokey areas I am still confused about the family history theory as well as whether daily intake of vitamins such as Vitamin E lowers one's risk. So we know anyone can get breast cancer, but do persons with a family history of women being diagnosed in the pre or post menopausal stage make a difference in your chances of being diagnosed as well? To answer this question I took to the internet. According to Cancer.org "breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have the disease." If your mother, sister or daughter has been diagnosed, you are twice as likely to be at risk. If two of your close relatives have been diagnosed your risk is essentially tripled! Now interestingly enough, less than 15% of women with breast cancer have a family member(s) who was diagnosed which means that 85% of women who do get breast cancer actually have no family history of the disease. According to Breasthealthlink.com, a person with a familial history of breast cancer is one who has:

A relative who has had breast cancer in both breasts
A relative who was diagnosed with breast cancer before the age of 40
A relative who has had both breast cancer and ovarian cancer
A male relative who has or has had breast cancer

Familial factors that affect your risk are:

The number of relatives with breast cancer
The age at which their breast cancer is diagnosed.
The number of first degree relatives with breast cancer

The next step in this myth debunking research is determining whether an intake of 600 Mg's of Vitamin E will really help prevent breast cancer. In regards to diet and vitamin intake, The American Cancer Society suggests eating a healthy diet focused on plant sources such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain and limiting consumption of processed foods and red meats. According to Cancer.org however, studies on the effects of vitamin intake such as Vitamin E on breast cancer are conflicting and inconclusive. The University of Maryland Medical Center states that Vitamin E's antioxidant abilities help to destroy free radicals which can damage bodily cells and DNA. The UMMC Study shows that women diagnosed with breast cancer show low levels of vitamin E in the body. Based on this observation, researchers have felt that vitamin E intake would help prevent breast cancer. However, studies have not been able to prove that intake of vitamins does in fact reduce one's risk.

Though I am more at ease about the myths and truths about breast cancer, I realize that risk factors vary greatly and can range from gender, to age as well as family history, race and ethnicity. Though I didn't touch on this, your lifestyle is also a factor in your risk for breast cancer and includes: oral contraceptive use, hormone therapy, having children, breast feeding, alcohol use and even physical activity. In reality one can never really know definitively what are the causes of breast cancer or what our individual risks are. The important thing is to educate yourself about the disease so that you can look out for any possible warning signs. Know your body. If something feels strange or looks strange be sure to check with your doctor and always get a second, third or fourth opinion.

Based on the information I've learned I understand that I am at risk. Having two second degree relatives affected by the disease increases my awareness as well as my risk. My paternal grandmother was diagnosed in her early post menopausal 60's and succumbed to the disease because of her own lack of knowledge. My maternal grandmother on the other hand was a survivor and was diagnosed in her early 80's with both breast and ovarian cancer. My cousin was also diagnosed in her early 20's. I may not be able to prevent myself from getting breast cancer but I can surely help decrease my risk. Debunking the myths and finding the truths was the first step and puts a more realistic and controlled picture in my mind. Although my "sono" and "mamo" are normal I intend to go get a second opinion being that the lump in my breast is still very much there. I also intend to lower my risk by getting into a more strict exercise routine, as well as eating a more well balanced diet made up of at least 5 grams of servings or more of vegetables and fruits per day. I will not go out and buy a wardrobe of new bras, but I do intend to continue to take my vitamins daily, yes even the Vitamin E. I also plan to continue my routine at-home breast exams. If I were not doing that exam regularly I probably would never have discovered the lump and we all know prevention is better than cure.

Women (and men) need to be aware of this disease. The only way to increase your awareness is through knowledge. There are lots of information on the internet and in your local library and don't be afraid to ask your doctor all the relevant questions. Express your concerns and talk about your personal risk. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in American women, except for skin cancer. Almost a quarter of a million women will be diagnosed in 2011 alone and almost 40,000 will succumb to the disease. At this time, there are over 2.6 million breast cancer survivors in the United States alone including my grandmother. Thanks to the stellar care she received at the Queens Hospital Breast Service and early detection, she was able to survive both breast and ovarian cancer. Strong family support was also a factor. Sometimes the families of breast cancer victims are forgotten and overlooked, but they also play a very important role in the care and support that they provide to family members. Caring for a family member diagnosed with breast cancer can be extremely stressful. This breast cancer month take the time to learn more about the disease and participate in the fight for the cure.

During the past 25 years, cancer plans have become increasingly popular. I applied for my first one about 21 years ago, right after I had my daughter. I was a single parent and wanted to be financially responsible. Since I had a new addition in my life, I also took out a new universal life insurance policy

Being young and naive myself, after a couple years I dropped the cancer plan thinking the money could be better spent on other needs for my little family. I did not take into consideration that my Grandmother, whom I'd never met, because she had died before I was born was a cancer victim. She died from colon cancer after a long fight and surgery to remove most of her colon which left her with a stoma and an ostomy bag to take care of for the remainder of her life.

Around the same time that I dropped my cancer plan, my UNCLE was diagnosed with BREAST CANCER and had a mastectomy. During this time his wife was also diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double radical mastectomy.

Several years later another aunt came down with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. She is now a big advocate for breast cancer cures and treatment and she spends a lot of time doing volunteer work at her local cancer treatment facility.

I am happy to say that both my aunt and my uncle have remained cancer free after their first bout with the disease, but unfortunately they do spend time taking care of my uncle's wife who has not been so lucky. Her breast cancer has metastasized and turned into a stage 4 lung cancer, which is inoperable.

I also had another aunt by marriage, one that I looked up to so very much that I went into nursing because she WAS a nurse and an inspiration to me. I watched her go through the pain of chemotherapy and radiation. I saw my aunt, who was usually an outgoing and vibrant person, lying in that hospital bed covered with burns from the radiation and weak from the chemotherapy fighting for her life. Her cancer, which started out as lung cancer had metastasized into her liver and eventually took her from us.

Seeing all of this cancer in my family, some blood relatives and some not, I started to think about cancer and not only the devastating EFFECTS of cancer treatment on the patient, but also the FINANCIAL BURDENS that were created for family members. I learned this through personal family experience and later on as a nurse, seeing the effects and pressure the disease was putting on the families of the patients in my care.
While still in nursing school:

As a student nurse, my first patient was a cancer patient. When my instructor assigned her to me I was told that she was dying of cancer. I was scared, really scared. I was not sure if I was scared of her dying or scared of the cancer! I was terrified when I walked into her room, but there she was, aside from being a little frail she didn't even look sick. She had colon cancer, the same cancer that killed my grandmother. She was so nice and funny and pleasant. I worked with her week after week in my clinical training and came to really care about her and her husband. When her husband would leave the room, she would tell me that all she really wanted was to go home, but she didn't want to burden her husband with her care.

When I told my instructor this, she told me to find out about hospice care. At that time I had never heard of hospice care and so I had a lot of learning to do. I did all the research and the following week presented my findings to her husband and told him that I would arrange for a hospice nurse to come talk to them. Two days later when I came back to the hospital, she was gone--not deceased--but had gone home to live out the rest of her life, where she wanted to be. I never saw her again. This was a bitter-sweet feeling that I will never forget. I had been with this patient through surgery, through chemo, and we spent many hours just talking.

Getting to know her was one of the reasons that I chose to go into long-term care as a nurse. I didn't want to see patients for 10 minutes and then they leave until the next sniffle brought them back to the doctor's office, and I didn't want to see them in hospitals where they were only there for a couple of days and then sent home.

As a nurse working in a long-term care facility, many of my patients had gone through cancer treatment and many still were in treatment. Many of them were hospice patients who were just being kept comfortable in their last few days.

This was a very hard job, both physically and mentally. There were days when I would leave work and cry in my car all the way home, then try to be a good wife and mother and act as if nothing were wrong. Many nurses go through that and it does take a toll on family life. Remember that!--and thank a nurse next time you meet one.
Leaving nursing for another career:

Several years later, I left nursing in pursuit of another way to not only make a living, but to help others. After all, helping people is the main reason I became a nurse. After a couple of years, and a couple jobs later, I found what I was looking for. I got a job that the public perceives as one step above a used car salesman. Yep!... I became an insurance agent!

I went to work with an internationally recognized supplemental insurance company (Aflac) and started selling mainly cancer plans. (I even sold one to myself!) I continued reading and researching everything I could find about cancer and then one day my mom called me. She needed me to take her to see an oncologist. She had a bad pap and was recommended to see a specialist. I was REALLY scared now! This is not an aunt or uncle, THIS IS MY MOTHER!

At the appointment, the doctor ran some tests and then we had to come back the following week for the results. That was a VERY long week. The waiting and wondering and not knowing was about to drive me crazy. Finally, the day came for the results. My mother was cleared of cancer, but the oncologist sat me down and told me to pass this along also to my sister. She told me that having cancer in your family can be genetic, but having a male in your family with breast cancer makes the risk even greater. She told me to have my cancer testing done yearly and to make sure my sister does also. She also told me something that I always tell my clients when I am talking about the cancer plans that I offer. "Testing, early detection and treatment can save your life."

Just because you do not have a family history of cancer, does not make you immune to the disease. After all SOMEONE has to be FIRST and that someone could be you or a loved one. It is not just genetics that is a determining factor in cancer. At least once a week you hear of something new that causes cancer.
Now that I have related why you NEED a cancer plan, let me tell you how to choose the right plan!

Since not everyone has the same needs, there are different plans available. Here are a few basic questions you should ask when shopping for a cancer plan.

• Where is the insurance company ranked on the National Underwriters list?
• Is the company ranked "A" or higher with A.M. Best?
• What kind of rate increases have they had in the past?
• Do I like the representative of the company?

National Underwriters rank companies by their assets, amount of paid premiums and amount of claims paid. This is important because a company who is paying out more than they are taking in may not be around in your time of need or they may be forced to increase rates to stay solvent. The financial security of a company you are going to be doing business with is very important!

A.M. Best is another objective look at the insurance company's financial strength. You should always look to make sure they are at least an "A" or an "A+" or higher rated company with A.M. Best. They set the "benchmark" in the international market.

Many companies have increased the rate of their cancer plans over the years. (I found out just how important this was when my mother asked my aunt "Do you still have your cancer plan with...." And she said NO because they had raised the rate too much.) Make sure that the company you choose has rate stability and does not continually raise rates. Most companies have the right to raise rates by class, but that does not single you out as an individual to increase rates and some companies have NEVER raised the rates on their current policyholders.

It is also important to like the representative of the company you do business with, since that may be the person you speak with to make any changes to your plan or at the time of a claim. This may be someone with whom you will need to share personal information, so trust is important.

When you are searching for a cancer plan, I hope you remember the tips I have given you. You can learn more about cancer at our website, then click on the cancer page.

Also, to help fund free mammograms, please visit The Breast Cancer Site

And click on the Fund Free Mammograms Button. You can also sign up for email reminders on that site. Their sponsors donate everyday that you click.

The fight against cancer has been progressively advancing through the years. Combined efforts from the government, civil society, and health advocacy groups have gained dramatic results. Cancer awareness is on the rise, alternative less cancer-prone lifestyles are arising, while medical researches and technological advancement have tremendously leveled up the fight against one of the world's leading killer. The classic chemotherapy has been modernized and combined with other treatments like radiation, laser, and even organic medicines.

In America alone, the National Health Institute of the US Department of Health and Human Services through its anti-cancer arm National Cancer Institute reported that the death rate due to cancer is still on the decline. In it's annual report to the nation, the NCI claimed that the cancer death rates are progressively declining and progress in cancer treatments are continuously on the rise. In men, study from 1993 to 2002 recorded a decline of 1.5 percent death rate from all cases of cancer. This is higher compared to women's 0.08 percent decline rate.

This report has put the US Department of Health and Human Services at a better position in achieving the goals of its Health People 2010 campaign. The statistics revealed that lung cancer is still consistently leading the nation's cancer death rates. Although a decrease in tobacco-related cancer cases is being achieved, the challenge to drastically reduce its death toll is still as hard as it has always been before. With more and more people puffing cigarettes, lung or bronco cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women.

Dubbed as "the most common cancer", lung cancer is now the subject of numerous studies and experimentations in many countries with advance cancer research programs and facilities like the United Kingdom and Australia. A wider knowledge on lung cancer is now available. A classification has been made between Small Cell Lung Cancer and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Small cell lung cancer is the case where in malignant cancer cells grow in the tissues of the lungs. Three types of Small Cell Lung Cancer are known: small cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and combined small cell carcinoma. Smoking, second hand smoking, and exposure to asbestos and radon are the known causes of Small Cell Lung Cancer. Current treatments do not successfully cure cases of Small Cell Lung Cancer. However, studies in Germany revealed that surgery (removal of cancer cells or tumor), systematic post-surgery chemotherapy, and sustained local treatments (e.g. *radiation therapy*) have a higher probability of curing this type of lung cancer.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, on the other hand, is the most common type of lung cancer. It accounts for four of every five deaths from lung cancer. There are several known types of Non-Small Lung Cancer, the three most common are the Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Large Cell Carcinoma, and Adenocarcinoma. The others are pleomorphic, carcinoid tumor, and salivary gland carcinoma. Like the other lung cancer type, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is mostly caused by smoking (first and second hand), high exposure to air pollution, and exposure to chemicals like asbestos, chromium, and arsenic.

In 2005, the New England Journal of Medicine reported a breakthrough in treatment for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. It reported that current studies reveal that chemotherapy, after the traditional Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer treatment of surgery, can increase the survival rate among patients. In a study, an overwhelming 15 percent increase of survival rate was recorded among patients who had chemotherapy after surgery. Sixty-nine percent of those who had post-surgery chemotherapy's were reported to be still alive five years after the surgery compared to the 54 percent who did not.

Furthermore, a study in Switzerland suggested an even greater breakthrough for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer treatment. The study proposed that in addition to chemotherapy, a combination of the innovative cancer drugs Tarceva and Avastin can lead to higher survival rate for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer patients. Tarceva is approved in the US and across the European Union for patients with unsuccessful cancer treatments through chemotherapy. Also in US and Europe, Avastin is a popular effective medicine for colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and breast cancer. The proposed combination is seen to serve as a stronger combat against Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, especially for the recurring cases.

In the US, the Health and Human Services Department clearly targets the habit of smoking as the main antagonist in the fight against lung cancer. A propaganda campaign is almost everywhere to make Americans, if not totally quit, slowdown on smoking.

There is so much awful news and information out there about breast cancer. These days it seems that every magazine, newspaper, radio show, and piece of mail has a headline declaring that every woman's risk of developing breast cancer is increasing. There is a numbing feeling of inevitability in all this information we hear and read that more and more women tend to think about breast cancer as a 'when' rather than an if.

There is so much frightening information about the disease out there. The stats available are horrible and this bring one major question to mind; 'what can be done to prevent breast cancer?' The bulk of medical advancement in the area of breast and indeed most cancers, involves what should be done after, and not essentially before, getting the disease. There is more to preventing breast cancer than the ritual yearly mammogram. Of course this may help detect the breast cancer at its early stage, but that is about the best it can do. It won't prevent you from getting the disease. To prevent breast cancer, we need to be more proactive, we need to take individual and collective action.

The first step towards proactively preventing breast cancer is to understand the causes and risk factors of breast cancer and what decreases breast cancer risk. However, there are few conclusive answers to these queries, partly because most research focuses on eliminating breast cancer after - not before - it occurs. Medical research has validated so few risk factors for breast cancer that almost 70 percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer are not associated with any clear cut risk factor.

To make matters worse, our sex, age, reproductive history, family history, exposure to radiation (such as fallout from above-ground atomic bomb tests), race, culture, and height are factors beyond our control. When we're told that these factors play crucial roles in the cause of breast cancer, we can be left with feelings of hopelessness and panic. For instance, being a black woman or being from a family with history of breast cancer, puts you in the forefront of those at risk of breast cancer. These are things we don't decide for ourselves.

When we include risk factors that are considered "not well substantiated", but which are clearly contributing to breast cancer incidence, including ingestion of and exposure to prescription hormones, hormone-mimicking organochlorines, prescription drugs, petrochemicals, and electromagnetic fields, as well as unwise lifestyle choices such as smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol immoderately, wearing tight bras, or not exercising, then we can find that there are indeed many ways we can reduce our chances of getting breast cancer and in essence preventing it.

Individually, we can prevent breast cancer by buying and eating organically grown food, filtering our water, building powerful immunity, living wisely and vigorously, being in touch with our breasts, using natural remedies for menopausal problems.

Try out the following tips:

- Aerobic exercise 3-4 times a week

- Maintaining a positive mental attitude

- Breathwork and deepening body-awareness

- Expressing your feelings to keep your energy flowing

- Eating healthy foods and taking the "right" supplements

- Avoiding toxicity

Try as much as you can to avoid the following and you will be as far from breast cancer as you humanly can:

Any medication containing acetaminophen

Products such as Tylenol, Sudafid, Bromo seltzer, vicodin, and many others which drive down the glutathione levels in the body. Glutathione is an essential antioxidant and detoxifier.

Aspartame (not to be confused with aspertate) has been proven to cause cancer in rats. It is a common ingredient in many no-sugar products such as yogurt, ice cream, desserts and carbonated beverages. Splenda is also harmful.

Toxins. Use toxin-free, organic products. Wash all fruits and vegetables thoroughly with soapy water to remove chemical residues. Better yet, buy only organic products and non-GMO (non-genetically modified) foods. Read labels (veggies and fruit will have an 9 to indicate organic and an 8 for non-GMO).

Active computer screens should be at least 18 inches away from your body. You need to be at least 36 inches from your active television screens.

It is obvious that several factors that are known to predispose someone to breast cancer are not completely within our control. It makes more sense therefore, to be very keen about your breast. This serves a dual function. Even when it does not completely protect you from cancer, it allows for early detection of the cancer when it does occur. No one knows your body as well as you do. That's why it's essential to examine your breasts at the same time every month - so you can detect any changes that might occur. When you do the self-examination, you are reassuring yourself that your body is still in great condition

Breast Self Exams still remain the number one method for detecting changes in breast health. Although, finding any symptoms does not really mean you have cancer but when you have it, early detection means your survival probability is very high. Very high! It also means you have a broad range of alternative and complementary treatment options.

When we talk about breast cancer, the second worst killer after lung cancer, knowledge is not just power, it is your life!

Breast cancer is a malignant (cancerous) growth that begins in the tissues of the breast. Over the course of a lifetime, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is a cancer of the breast tissue, which can occur in both women and men. Breast cancer may be one of the oldest known forms of cancer tumors in humans.Worldwide, breast cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer death (after lung cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, and colon cancer). Breast cancer kills more women in the United States than any cancer except lung cancer. Today, breast cancer, like other forms of cancer, is considered to be a result of damage to DNA. How this mechanism may occur comes from several known or hypothesized factors (such as exposure to ionizing radiation, or viral mutagenesis). Some factors lead to an increased rate of mutation (exposure to estrogens) and decreased repair (the BRCA1, BRCA2 and p53) genes. Alcohol generally appears to increase the risk of breast cancer.

Breast cancer can also occur in men, although it rarely does. Experts predict 178,000 women and 2,000 men will develop breast cancer in the United States. There are several different types of breast cancer. First is Ductal carcinoma begins in the cells lining the ducts that bring milk to the nipple and accounts for more than 75% of breast cancers. Second is Lobular carcinoma begins in the milk-secreting glands of the breast but is otherwise fairly similar in its behavior to ductal carcinoma. Other varieties of breast cancer can arise from the skin, fat, connective tissues, and other cells present in the breast. Some women have what is known as HER2-positive breast cancer. HER2, short for human epidermal growth factor receptor-2, is a gene that helps control cell growth, division, and repair. When cells have too many copies of this gene, cell growth speeds up.

Causes of Breast Cancer

Simply being a woman is the main risk for breast cancer. While men can also get the disease, it is about 100 times more common in women than in men. The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Nearly 8 out of 10 breast cancers are found in women age 50 or older. About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are linked to changes (mutations) in certain genes. The most common gene changes are those of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. The relatives can be from either the mother's or father's side of the family. Woman with cancer in one breast has a greater chance of getting a new cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast. This is different from the first cancer coming back Many experts now believe that the main reason for this is because they have faster growing tumors. Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer. Certain types of abnormal biopsy results can be linked to a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.Women who have had radiation treatment to the chest area (as treatment for another cancer) earlier in life have a greatly increased risk of breast cancer

Some pregnant women were given the drug DES (diethylstilbestrol) because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby. Recent studies have shown that these women (and their daughters who were exposed to DES while in the uterus), have a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Use of alcohol is clearly linked to a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Women who have 1 drink a day have a very small increased risk. Those who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1½ times the risk of women who drink no alcohol. The American Cancer Society suggests limiting the amount you drink.Being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially for women after change of life and if the weight gain took place during adulthood. Also, the risk seems to be higher if the extra fat is in the waist area. Breast-feeding and pregnancy: Some studies have shown that breast-feeding slightly lowers breast cancer risk, especially if the breast-feeding lasts 1½ to 2 years. This could be because breast-feeding lowers a woman's total number of menstrual periods, as does pregnancy. Women who began having periods early (before 12 years of age) or who went through the change of life (menopause) after the age of 55 have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer.

Symptoms of Breast Cancer

1.Lumps.

2.Rash.

3.Breast Pain.

4.Cysts.

5.Nipple Discharge.

6.Inverted Nipple.

Treatment of Breast Cancer

1.Hormonal therapy (with tamoxifen).

2.Chemotherapy.

3.Radiotherapy.

4.Surgery.

Cancer that is formed in the tissues of the skin is known as Skin Cancer. It is one of the most common kinds of cancer that affects men and women. This cancer affects about a million people every year and there are many factors that cause this including excessive sun exposure, tanning, weak immune systems, etc. Read on to get a complete awareness of this most common form of cancer and on steps to prevent it.

How is skin cancer caused?

When the skin cells modify and multiply in an abnormal fashion, the uncontrollable growth causes the development of a mass known as a tumor. This tumor that occurs in the skin is also known as a lesion and these cancerous growths are malignant in nature which causes the destruction of adjacent cells leading to random growth. These tumors flow through the blood stream and affect other remote organs also during the advanced stages of skin cancer.

Types of skin cancer

Skin cancer is divided into two kinds depending on their ability to spread around. The two types of skin cancer are non-melanoma and melanoma. Non-melanoma includes the type basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma in it.

1. Melanoma - The cancer that affects the melanocytes or the skin cells that create the pigments.
2. Basal cell carcinoma - The cancer that affects the lower part of the epidermis or the outer layer of the skin.
3. Squamous cell carcinoma - The cancer that affects the squamous cells or the flat cells that form the skin surface.

Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma normally do not spread to other parts of the body whereas melanoma is a dangerous form of skin cancer which spreads to other parts of the body. The major ratio and the most common type of skin cancer are the carcinoma types with the aggressive melanoma forming the least portion.

Symptoms of Skin Cancer

The symptoms of skin cancer are skin changes which take time to heal along with ulcers. Sometimes skin discoloration and changes to moles on the skin can also been seen. The most common symptom is a small lump that is shiny and pale in color or a firm red lump. Some types of cancer also are associated with rough and scaly patches or flat scaly patches of red or brown color. Also beware of any new suspicious growth and consult a physician in such cases. Though these growths are most of the times painless, they can also be painful at times.

A smooth round bump is normally developed on the head, shoulder or neck with signs of crusting and bleeding with development of the tumor in cases of basal cell carcinoma. In squamous cell carcinoma, a thick red color patch along with ulcer and bleeding can be developed. Brown or blackish lesions are formed in cases of melanomas. The lesion exhibits change in size, color or shape as a symptom of the melanoma becoming malignant.

Diagnosis of Skin Cancer

This cancer is diagnosed by the physician in two main methods. The first and the most common method is the skin examination. In this method the doctor looks out for any abnormal growth or irregularity in the skin. This can be followed by a biopsy in case of finding any abnormal growth. In case of biopsy, the affected area or abnormal growth is well studied under a microscope to check for the presence of cancerous cells.

Treatment of Skin Cancer

Surgery is one effective method for the treatment of non-melanoma cancer types. The complete procedure of surgical treatment begins with surgery and includes follow-up methods of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In the surgical methods, the lesion and a calculated amount of tissues around it is removed so as to make the body tumor free. The Moh's micrographic surgery is one effective technique that is used for this process.

Prevention of Skin cancer

Early diagnosis and detection can help treat skin cancer before it turns dangerous and hence self evaluation of your skin on a regular basis is a must on a frequent basis. Look for any kind of abnormal changes, discoloration or growth in your skin. You can also undertake a doctor visit once a year to detect any signs or symptoms of cancer. In certain cases of high-risk situations, you can consult a skin specialist on a regular basis to screen for this cancer.

Skin cancer can be prevented by adopting a few basic tips which can be very useful in your daily life.

1. Use Sunscreens - 90% of the skin cancers are known to be caused by harmful UV radiations and sunscreens are the best protector when you are someone who spends a lot of time outdoors. UV rays damage our cell DNA structure and modify them making them cancerous. Minimize outings during the time when the sun is at its brightest. Also try to maintain your presence within the shade where ever possible. But even if you are in a shade, remember to wear your sunscreen,
2. Avoid excessive tanning - Artificial lights as in tanning beds, lamps and booths, all contain UV rays and increase the chances of melanoma.
3. Wear protective dressings - Though sunscreens do protect, you can consider wearing protective dressings like a hat or sunglasses, which can protect your eyes and facial skin from the sun.
4. Avoid childhood sunburns - Most of the times, a burn during your childhood can increase your risk of being affected with skin cancer along the years as you grow. Thus it is required that you monitor kids when they are in the sun reducing their exposure.
5. Eat healthy - A weak immune system is a ready agent for skin cancer. Make sure that you include lots of fresh fruits and vegetables so as to improve your body's immunity power.

People who run a higher risk of Skin cancer

Though many people are equally exposed to the chances of this cancer, there are a few who run a higher risk. Individuals with a family medical history of skin cancer or those who possess fair skin tone and freckles run a higher risk. Also people who are addictive to tanning and spend a lot of hours outdoors in the sun along with a weak immune system also possess equal risks of getting this cancer.