Standing Up 2 Cancer
We usually don’t watch a lot of cable around here. We have it, but we just aren’t interested in most of the entertainment that television has to offer. We mostly watch our own DVDs but this month it’s different… this is October and as any baseball fan knows that means the playoffs. And as any Cardinals fan knows… we are in the World Series. Which means an entire month of Cardinals games that are nationally televised… which means we’re watching the TV a lot more lately.
Most of the commercials are hardly worth mentioning; many are downright offensive and a seldom few we have found humorous. But there is one campaign on television right now that I did want to spotlight – the Stand Up 2 Cancer campaign. There have been so many of these cancer awareness/fund raising efforts over the last several years. As more and more precious lives are lost to this illness, the more we see big businesses and celebrities jumping on the bandwagon to “stand up to cancer”.
Something about these campaigns has always bothered me though… we’re raising awareness, but to what end? I have never once seen a commercial or advertisement trying to advocate for a healthier lifestyle that could result in fewer cases of cancer and therefore fewer deaths. I have been told countless numbers of times how incredibly important it is to get regular breast exams in order to catch early signs of cancer, but I have never once had a national campaign explain to me what kind of lifestyle might prevent it in the first place.
So, since I have been utterly disappointed with the national media’s feeble attempts… I am going to do a little standing up to cancer myself. Here is some useful information about the cancer epidemic that you may not have heard already:
The Facts…
Cancer is simply an abnormal growth of cells somewhere in the body.
Many (if not most) causes of cancer are environmental, not genetic.
Reducing the environmental causes of cancer will reduce the cases of cancer in our society.
There is no medical consensus on exactly what causes these cells to begin forming and growing abnormally, but there is one theory that has intrigued me, not only does it make logical sense, but it also has research that backs up its premise.
The theory goes simply like this: the reason why tumors begin to form is because our bodies are full of toxins (more about toxins below). Our liver becomes overwhelmed and is unable to process them all. As a defense mechanism the body creates a makeshift liver to contain the excess chemicals, otherwise known as a tumor.
This is a great article that discusses the research and the doctors behind this theory and also their alternative treatment for cancer. Since the cancer is simply a safety mechanism for protecting your body from toxins, they treat toxicity levels rather than attacking the tumor directly. If the necessity for the tumor disappears – the tumor will follow.
People in our society tend to have high toxicity levels in their body. Why? Because there are chemicals and toxins in our food, our containers, our medicines, immunizations, toys, water, playgrounds, grass, etc.
Facts About Breast Cancer
Western, industrialized countries (the U.S. in particular) have the highest incidences of breast cancer in the world. Check it out.
Higher levels of estrogen in the body can cause breast cancer.
Estrogen levels in the body can be increased most notably by: eating soy (which is way too prevalent in our processed food!), menstrual cycles, birth control and hormone treatments.
Yup. The more babies you have (the earlier you have them) and the longer you nurse those babies… the less at risk you are for breast cancer. Why is this? I believe pregnancy and nursing has an effect on multiple levels.
Being pregnant reduces the number of menstrual cycles a woman has, therefore decreasing the hormone levels caused by monthly cycles that can, over time, become harmful.
Being pregnant, and trying to become pregnant, keeps women from taking the birth control pill which has harmful levels of estrogen and other hormones that can potentially cause cancer.
Breastfeeding further elongates the amount of time before monthly cycles begin. Ecological breastfeeding is especially helpful as it prevents cycles, on average, for 14-15 months postpartum.
Not only does extended breastfeeding protect you, it also protects your child. There is a plethora of research all favoring the benefits to a child’s immune system through breastfeeding. Bottom line? The more you nurse the better off both you and your baby will be.
Right now we are experiencing a cancer epidemic. Epidemics are not caused by genetic mutations, they are caused by environmental hazards that create or exacerbate the potential for disease.
Wearing pink and donating to research will not solve this crisis. But perhaps if we return to God’s naturally created order for our lives, an order devoid of genetically modified food, chemically laden products and the feministic desire to live for ourselves rather than for our children… perhaps that’s when we will really be taking our stand.
I’m standing up to cancer. Are you?
