Breast Cancer... what you must know.
(Extracts from Sunshine Sharing)

According to American Cancer Society estimates, about 185,000 American women will develop breast cancer this year. About 46,000 women will die from it, making breast cancer the leading cause of death for women aged 40-55. Twenty-five percent of all cancers in women are of the breast, and currently one in eight women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.

Breast cancer is primarily an estrogen-dependent cancer. That means, it is triggered by exposure to excessive amounts of estrogens, not just the estrogens the body makes, but environmental chemicals that mimic estrogen, known as xenoestrogens. The reason breast cancer rates have increased about 1% per year over the last 50 years (about 53% total) is because of our increased exposure to these xenoestrogens.

The good news is that when we know the cause of something, it also means we can take steps to prevent it. It's very likely that 50% of these cancers could be prevented by taking some of the simple steps outlined in this issue of Sunshine Sharing, especially with regards to improved nutrition and avoidance of xenoestrogens.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and women all over the country will host events to encourage women to be regularly screened for breast cancer and to raise money for treatment. What is sad is that very little real effort is put into researching prevention, and almost no funds are spent researching alternative therapies to the standard radiation and chemotherapy.

This is sad, especially in light of a recently published study in the July 20, 2009 journal of Clinical Oncology indicating that radiation treatments for cancer in childhood dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer later in life. This brings up the question, are mammograms (routine x-rays of the breast) a safe means of early breast cancer detection, especially when a safer option, thermography, is becoming increasingly available?

What is needed most, however, is not early detection, but prevention. Hopefully, you'll take this opportunity to educate others and make them aware that xenoestrogens and poor diet have contributed to the epidemic problems we are having with breast cancer. As you will see, making changes that reduce your risk of breast cancer will also help you prevent and heal many other female reproductive health issues. It will also enhance your mood, immunity and overall health. In other words, these lifestyle changes will give you side benefits, instead of side effects.

Take a good look at the image below and see the very important role of estrogen in a woman's body. Now, imagine an invasion of xenoestrogen... Xenoestrogens are chemicals that mimic estrogen, so when they get into the body they attach themselves to estrogen receptors and overstimulate them. This invasion of alien estrogens wreaks havoc with both women and men's health.

What is estrogen?

Estrogen is a group of hormones that play an important role in the normal sexual and reproductive development in women. They are also called sex hormones. The woman's ovaries produce most estrogen hormones, although the adrenal glands also produce small amounts of the hormones.

In addition to regulating the menstrual cycle, estrogen affects the reproductive tract, the urinary tract, the heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, mucous membranes, pelvic muscles, and the brain. Secondary sexual characteristics, such as pubic and armpit hair also begin to grow when estrogen levels rise. Many organ systems, including the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, and the brain are affected by estrogen.

Avoid the Alien Estrogens Attacking Your Health

We mentioned the problem of xenoestrogens. Xeno means foreign and is used in science fiction movies to refer to aliens. Perhaps you have seen some of the science fiction movies where aliens invade Earth by taking over the bodies of human beings. Well, the xenoestrogen invasion may not be quite that dramatic, but it is an invasion, none the less.

Xenoestrogens are chemicals that mimic estrogen, so when they get into the body they attach themselves to estrogen receptors and overstimulate them. This invasion of alien estrogens wreaks havoc with both women and men's health. In case you have not noticed, these "aliens" are causing girls to enter puberty and start developing breasts at younger and younger ages. They are the primary cause of breast cancer and a major factor in the development of numerous other female health problems-breast cysts, uterine cancer, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, heavy menstrual bleeding and PMS. They are also a major cause of miscarriages.

Men are not immune from the effects of these alien estrogens either. They are causing reduced testosterone levels and sperm counts creating a world wide decline in male fertility. They are also the major cause of BPH (prostate enlargement), male breasts and prostate cancer.

Below is part of a publication of the Cornell University Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State
(BCERF).

Is there a relationship between breast cancer risk, estrogen, and environmental chemicals?
Since about half of breast cancer cases cannot be explained by known risk factors, some researchers suspect that chemicals in the environment may play a role in breast cancer risk. Though we still have many unanswered questions about whether environmental factors affect breast cancer risk, researchers have developed hypotheses about how environmental chemicals may affect breast cancer risk. These include chemicals that either mimic the effect of estrogen or that affect the levels of estrogen in the body indirectly by disrupting the way estrogen is produced or used in the body.

What are environmental estrogens also known as xenoestrogens?
Environmental estrogens are naturally occurring (e.g. phytoestrogens in plants) or synthetic chemicals that can act like human estrogen made by the ovary. Another term for an environmental estrogen is xenoestrogen (xeno is Greek for the word foreign). The greatest concern is over synthetic xenoestrogens that are not easily broken down, and that can accumulate and be stored in the body’s fat cells, including breast fat. The strength of these xenoestrogens varies; some are ten times weaker than human estrogen, while others are a million times weaker. Xenoestrogens can mimic the effect of human estrogen because they have a chemical structure (like a “key” ) that allows them to fit into the estrogen receptor the way a key fits into a lock. Some xenoestrogens increase cell division and thus may contribute to breast cancer risk.

Many different chemicals have been identified as being weak environmental estrogens. These include several pesticides (including some forms of DDT), the food preservatives BHT and BHA, the industrial detergent by-products nonyl- and octaphenol, compounds used in plastics including bisphenol A and some phthalates, the food dye Red #3, and the solvent formaldehyde which was used in carpet manufacturing, and is still used in making plywood.

There are still many unanswered questions about xenoestrogens and breast cancer risk. Studies are needed to identify which environmental chemicals are xenoestrogens, and to determine the strength of the xenoestrogens, since very weak xenoestrogens may not stimulate breast cell division. Studies to determine the extent of exposure to xenoestrogens in the home, workplace, and environment are also needed.
These are all important steps in assessing whether or not environmental chemicals can influence the risk of breast cancer.

Breast Chek Kit from Dr. Spencer
	It's Highly Effective... Breast Chek™ is like a magnifying glass for your fingertips that greatly enhances your sense of touch during your monthly breast self exam. Users say their ability to find an irregularity is improved by 300% or more.

Conclusions
Estrogen is essential for the normal functioning of a woman’s reproductive system and for normal breast development. Lifetime exposure to estrogen is thought to increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer. Understanding how estrogen works in the body, knowing that chemicals in the environment can mimic the effects of estrogen and/or disrupt normal estrogen metabolism in the body, understanding how hormone replacement therapy and birth control pills may be associated to estrogen exposure, and how diet and lifestyle choices affect lifetime exposure to estrogen, will help women make more informed decisions about their bodies and their environment.

As Recommended by Mr. Steven Horne (Sunshine Sharing)
Breast Assured is a phytoestrogenic formula containing herbs and nutrients that can help counteract the effects of xenoestrogens and reduce the risk of breast cancer, breast cysts and uterine fibroids. It contains flax meal, kudzu extract, maitake, lutein, calcium glucanate and ellagic acid from pomegranate. Research suggests that ellagic acid can stop carcinogens from initiating cancer cell growth. It is found in pomegranates, cherries, grapes, raspberries, strawberries and walnuts.

What causes estrogen dominance?

1. Exposure to Xenoestrogens
Xenoestrogens are estrogens that are produced outside of the body. 
Here is a list of significant sources of xenoestrogens:

• Birth control pills
• Hormone replacement drugs
• Condom spermicides
• Conventional personal care products, particularly cosmetics
• Plastic cookware
• Growth hormones found in factory-farmed animal products
• Pesticides and herbicides
• DDT
• PCBs - polychlorinated biphenyls
• Foaming agents in soaps and detergents