Breast Cancer Prevention Essays

Breast Cancer Prevention Essays Breast Cancer Prevention Paper Breast Cancer Prevention Paper The number of cases of breast cancer is rising on every continent. According to some estimates, by the year 2000, about one million new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed throughout the world each year. Is any woman safe from getting this disease? Can anything be done to prevent it? In addition, what comfort and support are needed by those fighting this foe? Most skin cancers are caused by ultraviolet rays from the sun. Most lung cancers are caused by smoking. However, no single cause has been established for breast cancer. However, according to recent research dietary factors do help either increase or decrease the possibilities of a woman in having breast cancer. Is it possible that some of the food that people eat could trigger cancer? The book Malignant Neglect states: â€Å"The high rates of colon and breast cancer in the United States have been attributed in good part to diet† (as quoted by Thomson, et al. , 805). Therefore, what you eat over the years can influence the possibilities of a cancer being initiated. Thus, the person interested in good health should be discriminating in what he or she eats and drinks. Diet also includes the liquid intake. Since alcohol abuse can lead to various cancers, the obvious counsel is to drink only in moderation. Nevertheless, what do the doctors considerâ€Å"moderation†? The answer may surprise many who believe they are moderate drinkers: â€Å"Two or fewer drinks a day, especially if one smokes. † (as quoted by Winters, et al. , 550) By this definition, if one takes more than two drinks a day, in this cancer-prevention context, that person is no longer moderate. The vital point is that people can do something about cancer if they individually take preventive action. However, what is needed for preventive measures to have an impact on the public? Cancer surgeon Blake Cady put it bluntly: â€Å"A public education program that would. . . wean people off high-fat meats toward lower fat, toward lower-cholesterol diets, would do more than medicine will ever do by intervention to lower the cancer rate. † (Target: Cancer, as quoted by Drewnowski, et al. , 1329) In that case, what foods can help stave off cancer? One government health agency recommends that diet should provide at least 25-35 grams (about one ounce) of natural fiber a day. This helps to keep the intestines naturally cleaned. However, how does one get fiber in food? Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, peas, beans, and whole-grain bread and cereals. Eat foods such as potatoes, apples, pears, and peaches with their skins on. Vegetables from the cabbage family may also reduce risk of colon cancer. Another recommendation is to avoid animal fats. Poultry and fish are recommended over red meat. If one does chooses meat, then it is essential to make sure that it has little fat on it or in it. Choose low-fat or skim milk dairy products. Include foods that contain vitamins A and C, such as the dark green leafy vegetables- broccoli, kale, spinach, chicory, watercress, beets, and even dandelion greens! Another good food color revealing vitamins A and C is yellow-orange: vegetables- carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squash; fruits- apricots, cantaloupes, papayas, peach, pineapples, and melons, to name just a few. Diet, Nutrition Cancer Prevention also states, â€Å"The evidence is growing that eating too much fat (both saturated and unsaturated) may increase your chances of getting cancers of the colon, breast, prostate, and endometrium [lining of the uterus]† (as quoted by Thomson, et al. , 806). Then what is the conclusion? That diet can make a difference in many cancers. It is also according to the studies that after having a survey and experimentation on several women who had experienced being treated for cancer, most of the patients have changed their nutrition preferences after the application of the treatment. The result of usual treatments is that the patients become aware of what should be eaten and what should not. Hence, the researchers have concluded that with ample nutrition education and dietary counseling, patients having breast cancer could be helped out in their recovery after the treatments. Furthermore, even before the illness strikes, it is then very important for everyone else to see to it that the dietary allowances they have especially concerning fats is balanced enough to help them avoid breast cancer and other forms of the same kind of illness. Recommendations Through the the analysis of the three articles released by breast cancer prevention researchers, t is indeed necessary that a person tries to observe the balance of the diet he opts to take in everyday. A cautious manner of minding one’s health pays so much when it comes to dealing with grave illnesses. As always said, â€Å"Prevention is better than cure†. Hence, it is simply reasonable enough to say that the idea of keeping one’s health in priority is necessary if a well-lived life is to be expected by an individual. Furthermore, aside from the findings of the researchers cited in this paper, it would be very advisable to have more studies pertaining to the said subject. By further conducting surveys on the breast cancer patients and experimenting with the food that they eat before and after their treatment for breast cancer could be well utilized to conclude the argument that â€Å"low-fat diet helps prevent breast cancer†. Sources: CYNTHIA A. THOMSON PhD, FADA, SHIRLEY W. FLATT MS, CHERYL L. ROCK PhD, FADA, CHERYL RITENBAUGH PhD, VICKY NEWMAN MS, RD and JOHN P. PIERCE PhD. Increased fruit, vegetable and fiber intake and lower fat intake reported among women previously treated for invasive breast cancer. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Volume 102, Issue 6. June 2002. Pages 801-808. Barbara L. Winters PhD, RD, Diane C. Mitchell MS, RD, Helen Smiciklas-Wright PhD, Mary B. Grosvenor MS, RD, Weiqing Liu MS and George L. Blackburn MD, PhD. Dietary patterns in women treated for breast cancernext term who successfully reduce previous termfatnext term intake: The Women’s Intervention Nutrition Study (WINS). Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Volume 104, Issue 4. April 2004, Pages 551-559. ADAM DREWNOWSKI PhD, CLAYTON HANN MPH, SUSAN AHLSTROM HENDERSON MS, RD and DANIEL GORENFLO PhD. Both Food Preferences and Food Frequency Scores Predict Fat intakes of Women with Breast Cancer . Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Volume 100, Issue 11. November 2000. Pages 1325-1333.