Brisk walking helps reduce breast cancer risk

I just read an article that said that those women who did brisk walking daily had 15 % less risk of getting breast cancer. In post-menopause women, who did brisk walking at least 5-6 times a week, had 10% less chance of getting breast cancer.

But I think this applies to all cancers, as being a thyroid cancer, I've read that walking helps reduce risks of recurrences, but walking also helps the bones to get strong, now with total knee replacement, my physio says walk, keep walking all the time, that will help reduce the pain !

So walking is healthy for all.

All the best.

Depression, anxiety raises post surgery risks

People withdepressionand anxiety have a slightly higher risk of death after undergoing surgery.

Researchers analysed data from 35,539 surgical patients of America who were admitted to intensive care units between 2003 and 2006. Of those patients, 8,922 (25 percent) had an existing psychiatric condition, including 5,500 (16 percent) with depression, 2,913 (8 percent) with post-traumatic stress disorder, 2,473 (7 percent) with anxiety, 793 (2 percent) with bipolar disorder, and 621 (2 percent) with psychosis.

Initial analysis showed that the death rates within 30 days after surgery were similar for patients with and without psychiatric illness – 3.8 percent and 4 percent, respectively. But when the researchers adjusted for other factors, the death rate was higher for patients with a psychiatric condition.

Further analysis showed that the high risk of death was associated with depression and anxiety, but not any other psychiatric condition. Also, death rates were higher among patients with psychiatric conditions who had respiratory or digestive system surgery, but not for those who had surgery involving the circulatory, nervous or musculoskeletal systems.

According to the researchers several potential mechanisms exist to explain these findings. First, studies indicate that patients with depression frequently do not adhere to medical recommendations for underlying medical conditions. It is therefore plausible that such under-treated conditions may affect postoperative care and outcome. Second, patients with existing psychiatric comorbidity may be more likely to undergo surgery by a lower-quality surgeon or hospital. Third, pre-existing psychiatric comorbidity may serve as an indicator for greater severity of surgical risk.

Therefore, the findings suggest that surgical patients with depression or anxiety require special care. The researchers recommended that surgeons caring for patients with a history of anxiety or depression seek early involvement of multidisciplinary teams to help identify problematic areas in perioperative care processes, particularly regarding issues of surgeon-patient communication and adherence to post-surgical recommendations.

healthy habits to cut breast cancer risk

Women who maintain certain breast-healthy habits can lower their risk of breast cancer, even if a close relative has had the disease.

The three crucial habits namely engaging in regular physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight and drinking alcohol in moderation, if at all, have shown to help protect against breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Whether or not one has a family history, the risk of breast cancer is lower for women engaged in these three sets of behaviour compared to women who were not.

Researchers wanted to look at the effects of lifestyle habits on breast cancer risk. They analysed data on American women aged 50 to 79 years. During 5.4 years of follow-up, 1,997 women were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. The researchers excluded women with a personal history of breast cancer or with a family history of early-onset cancer (diagnosed before age 45), and then looked for the impact of the healthy habits. Excluding those with an early-onset family history makes sense, because a stronger genetic (versus environmental) component is thought to play a role in early-onset.

It was found that following all three habits reduced the risk of breast cancer for women with and without a late-onset family history. For women who had a family history and adhered to all these behaviours, about six of every 1,000 women got breast cancer over a year's time.

In comparison, about seven of every 1,000 women developed breast cancer each year if they had a late-onset family history and followed none of the behaviours. Among women without a family history who followed all three habits, about 3.5 of every 1,000 were diagnosed with breast cancer annually, compared to about 4.6 per 1,000 per year for those without a family history who followed none of the habits.

The researchers considered regular physical activity to be 20 minutes of heart-rate raising exercise at least five times a week. Moderate alcohol intake was defined as fewer than seven drinks a week. A healthy body weight was defined in the standard way, having a body mass index, or BMI, of under 25.

New Breast cancer Detector

This I read today in the newspaper, thought it something worth FW to all.
Best wishes, be happy, keep smiling, as when you smile, it helps to forget the pains & problems.

Adult Wrist warmer

This is about 9" long. It is made with a chain of 51, then single crochet in 2nd chain from the hook. From the 2nd line, all single crochet are done only on the back loop of each stitch, this makes it look like knitting ribbing, this stretches well. So one can make it about 2" smaller than the breadth they want. In this particular one, I've given a slit of 1" about 3" from the top. I made the top part a bit long, as it will cover most of the other fingers also, but still help you to hold something with your fingers in case you want to study or work !

Don't give up, A True Story

One day a young lady was driving along with her father.
They came upon a storm, and the young lady asked her father, What should I do?"
He said "keep driving".  Cars began to pull over to the side, the storm was
Getting worse.
 
"What should I do." The young lady asked?
 
"Keep driving," her father replied.
 On up a few feet, she noticed that eighteen wheelers were also pulling over.
She told her dad, "I must pull over, I can barely see ahead.  It is
Terrible, and everyone is pulling over!"
 
Her father told her, "Don't give up, just keep driving!"

Now the storm was terrible, but she never stopped driving, and soon she
Could see a little more clearly. After a couple of miles she was again on
Dry land, and the sun came out.
 
 
Her father said, "Now you can pull over and get out."She said "But why now?"

 
He said "When you get out, look back at all the people that gave up and are
Still in the storm, because you never gave up your storm is  now over.
 
 
This is a testimony for anyone who is going through "hard times".Just because everyone else, even the strongest, gives up. You don't have
To...if you keep going, soon your storm will be over and the sun will shine
Upon your face again.
 
 
This story touched me! I hope it touched you, too !!! 

cancer of urinary bladder, diagnosis, treatment

Above all, occupational exposure to chemical compounds (among others from the group of aromatic amines) is considered to be the factor leading to falling ill with cancer of the urinary bladder. Smoking tobacco is also mentioned (cancerogenic substances found in tobacco smoke such as nitrosamines, as well as tryptophane metabolites excreted in the urine). An additional risk factor, which may contribute to the development of more aggressive forms of cancer of the urinary bladder is a long exposure to foreign bodies and infections (mainly Schistosoma haematobium, it concerns African and Small Asia countries, as well as medicines – cyclofosphamide) and small pelvis irradiation due to another tumors in that area.

Genetic disturbances observed in the case of cancers of the urinary bladder are mainly the mutations within suppressor gene p53, oncogene erbB-2, p21, c-myc.

Symptoms

One of the most frequent symptoms of cancer of the urinary bladder, which forces the patient to visit a doctor is haematuria, sometimes with clots. With the advance of the tumor process disuric symptoms may take place, namely pain, bladder tenesmus, burning sensation during miction, sometimes temporary retention of urine. Pain in the lumbar area as well as features of urinary tracts infection may appear during a stasis of urine in the upper urinary tracts. The pain in pelvis and around groin as well as swelling of the lower extremities usually accompany further symptoms of the disease. The first ‘signaling’ symptoms are the pains caused by metastatic changes in bones.

Diagnosis

Even one haematuria or earlier mentioned pain symptoms are an absolute indication for a patient to be examined in order to exclude the possibility of cancer of the bladder. Ultrasonography should be the first examination in the diagnosis of cancer of the urinary bladder, when the tumor change may be depicted, provided that it is big enough, the bladder is full and the place on the wall accessible during examination.
In contrast examination unevenness of bladder contour, filling defects and rigidity of infiltrated wall may be observed depending on the value and the degree of infiltration.
When a suspicious change is detected in bladder, the character of the change should be explained as soon as possible by the means of histopathologic examination. Having done bimanual examination (in order to find any out of bladder changes) cystoscopy is done. During the examination, segments are taken for histopathologic examination.
The urine cytology examination seems proper, nonetheless the negative result does not exclude the presence of a tumor process.

Apart from the above-mentioned examination, morphology, general urine examination, urography (the evaluation of urethers and kidneys) as well as small pelvis computer tomography (the evaluation of local infiltration and the invading stage of lymph nodes) are done. In the case of pain disorders, radiological examination and bone system scinigraphy seem advisable. Similarly to other tumors, chest RTG, gynecological examination in women and an evaluation of prostate’s state in men are recommended. From the prognosis perspective, determining the degree of histological tumor malignancy (basic prognostic factor apart from the state of primeval tumor determined according to TNM classification) seems vital. The following degrees of differentiation are distinguished: well-differentiated cancer (G1) – about 45% of detected cancers, moderately differentiated (G2), poorly differentiated (G3) and undifferentiated cancer (G4). The diagnostic value of BTA and NMP-22 markers is being checked and their determination does not constitute a norm as far as diagnostic methods are concerned.

Histological Classification

Epithelial tumors:
- transitional cell papilloma - transitional cell papilloma infiltrating the bladder wall - planoepithelial papilloma - transitional cell carcinoma - kinds of transitional cell carcinoma: " with planoepithelial transformation " with adenous transformation " with planoepithelial and adenous transformation - basal cell carcinoma - adenocarcinoma - anaplastic tumor

Non-epithelial tumors:

- adenoma - fibroma - myxoma - myoma - angioma - lipoma - pheochromocytoma - sarcoma

Classification

In order to estimate the level of progression the TNM classification or modified system by Jewett and Marshall are applied.

Treatment

The choice of treatment for patients suffering from urinary bladder cancer depends on the degree of progression according to TNM classification, the level of tumor’s histological malignancy and the general state of the patient.

Surgical treatment

Transurethral resection of tumor (TURT)

This method is used in the case of surface changes (Ta, T1, T2, as well as the multiple ones and when treating preinvasive tumor Tis, if the number of focuses is low and the atypy insignificant). TURT may be done also in the case of T3a tumors if the diameter of the base does not exceed 2 cm. In the case of advanced stages (T3, T4 ) it is sometimes used as paliative treatment.

Partial resection of urinary bladder

It is applied when a 3 cm microscope margin of healthy tissue is possible in big, individual focuses of T2 tumor and in the early period of T3.
Complete resection of urinary bladder (cystectomy)A two-stage surgery which consists in cutting out a bladder together with lymph nodes and recreating the possibility to drain the urine from the upper urinary tracts.

The operation concerns patients suffering from:

- poorly differentiated cancer (G3) - early recurrence after treatment using other methods - tumors invading the neck of urinary bladder, prostate urethra, bladder triangle when urine flow from kidneys is impeded - extended and multifocal pre-invasive tumors - bleeding from the bladder impossible to control
Cystectomy is also done among patients who underwent unsuccessful partial resection and after recurrences after radiotherapy.
Three ways of urine flow are applicable. One of them, known as the Bricker’s is about creating ileal conduit for the urine to flow to a bag stuck to the skin. The second option is the creation of an intestinal cistern, which when full is emptied by the patient by self catheterization through a skin fistula. The most comfortable way is the creation of a surrogate urinary bladder linked to the urethra (a patient urinates moving his/her stomach muscles).

Radiotherapy

It is applied among patients who do not give their consent to the treatment or when a radical cystectomy is often impossible in their cases. Radiotherapy among patients in T2 to T4 progression stage creates a possibility of attaining a 5-year survival without disease recurrence among 35 to 45% of patients and a 5-year complete survival among 23-40%.
A 45 Gy dose is given for the pelvis and then a boost for bladder tumor is done up to 65 Gy dose. The introduction of conformal radiotherapy which consists in 3-dimensional planning system (3D CRT) into clinical practice in the recent years enables more effective application of radiotherapy in the radical treatment of urinary bladder cancer. Chemotherapy
In the case of urinary bladder cancer it is applied mainly as palliative treatment or together with surgical methods or radiotherapy.
Inductive chemotherapy aims at reducing the size of tumor most often before the radiation.

Prognosis

In the case of urinary bladder cancer the prognosis depends on the level of progression as well as the choice of optimal treatment and the internal state of patients. A percentage of 5-year cure most often oscillates around 50-70% as for the I and the II degree, and 20-30% as for the III degree. Longer survival periods are rarely reported in the IV degree.

ps- pl. consult your doctor always. This isn't my views.

Lymphoma treatment

Lymphoma is a deadly form of cancer that causes a disease in your body’s cells. Once the cancer grows, it makes your cells abnormal and may become a tumor. Lymphoma is named after the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is your body’s main defense against disease because it contains glands and vessels.

Hodgkin’s disease is a part of lymphoma cancer and is very well known. The risks for getting this disease are due to lifestyle, genetic or environmental factors. Males that contract Hodgkin’s are usually in the age group of 15-40 or after the age of 55. Brothers and sisters of people with Hodgkin’s have an above average chance of getting the disease as well.

There is no way to prevent lymphoma from occurring unfortunately. But, there are many ways and treatments to help you cope with it. Your treatment depends on where the lymphoma is in your body, how progressed it is, your health status and age. Your doctor will be able to determine all these factors and devise a plan to keep your health at a maximum and your cancer at bay.

Like other cancers, Hodgkin’s is treated with chemotherapy and radiation. The main purpose of these treatments is to kill the cancer completely. Sometimes, more than one type of drug is used to try and eradicate all of the cancer. This can be a very trying and painful process for the patient but it is necessary for their recovery.

Surgery is used only in Hodgkin’s to determine how advanced the cancer is. Hodgkin’s lymphoma doesn’t require a surgery as treatment like other cancers do. The one good news you’ll receive about Hodgkin’s is that 90% of people diagnosed with it are cured. It is known as the most curable cancer but a few thousand people will still die per year from it. Early detection is key, so see your doctor regularly.

Colon cancer symptoms, treatment

Colon cancer usually develops slowly and may not present apparent symptoms in its early stages. Some individuals with undiagnosed colorectal cancer may detect blood in their bowel movements (feces). They may also experience persistent constipation or diarrhea, abdominal pain, or unexplained weight loss.

Two simple tests can detect most colon tumors while they are still in an early, easy-to-treat stage. The first test is the digital rectal examination, during which the physician uses a gloved finger to gently check the smoothness of the rectal lining.

The second test is the fecal occult blood test, in which a small sample of the patient’s feces is smeared on a card coated with a chemical called guaiac, which reacts with blood.

The card is analyzed in a laboratory for occult (hidden) blood. A positive result does not necessarily indicate the presence of cancer.

The primary treatment for colon cancer is surgery to remove the tumor. The surgery may be combined with radiation, chemotherapy, or both.

Using a combination of high-dose radiation and chemotherapy prior to surgery now makes it possible to avoid permanent colostomies in many patients who previously would have needed this procedure.

A colostomy is a surgical procedure to create an artificial opening through the abdominal wall to the exterior of the body for elimination of wastes into a plastic bag.

If cancer has spread from the colorectal area to the lymph nodes or liver, surgery or chemotherapy used in combination with three drugs—fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan—prolongs the lives of some patients.

Signs of lung cancer

Signs of lung cancer are often not apparent in the early stages. However it is better to identify lung cancer as possible.

The most common early symptom of lung cancer is haemoptysis (coughing up blood). Consider this early symptom a warning sign of a cancer, which may be curable.

If you find that you are coughing up blood, you should immediately contact your doctor , especially if you are 40 years of age, or older, with a long-term smoking habit.

Some of the primary signs include:

• Hacking, persistent cough
• Coughing up blood
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing
• Chest pain
• Lost appetite
• Lost weight
• Recurring bronchitis or pneumonia

The above symptoms also being the symptoms of many other lung problems, so it is always advisable to see a physician to ascertain the cause

Secondary signs of simple cell lung cancer include:

• Weakness
• Difficulty swallowing
• Changes in nails
• Hoarse or raspy voice
• High fever
• Swelling of facial features
• It's true that most symptoms of lung cancer do not show themselves until the disease is in its advanced stages.However, sometimes people exhibit signs early in the disease's development. It is imperative that the first notice of symptoms or concern sends you straight to the doctor.
  The sooner treatment is begun, the better. A cure is possible if caught early enough and, if not, then a better quality of life and more of it.
  When lung cancer spreads to other parts of the body, organs and bones, referred to as 'metastasizing', signs and symptoms include:
  
  • Aching and sharp bone pain
  • Changes in the brain that exhibit themselves through weakness, numbness,
  • dizziness, and seizure
  • Jaundice (whites of eyes, nails, and skin yellow)
  • Masses near the skin's surface
  • Headaches
  • Numbness and loss of sensation in your extremities
  All of these signs and symptoms of lung cancer may be caused by other health problems. The only way to know for sure is to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
• 
  

Alternative cancer treatments

METABOLIC THERAPIES: The basic premise of metabolic therapies is that due to the close connection between diet and disease, chronic and life-threatening diseases can be reversed by restricting the type of calories our bodies consume. Since diet determines the health of a person, the treatments must consist of ways to cleanse the body from within.

Metabolic therapy uses a combination of methods in an attempt to remove the toxins from the body. The treatments use detoxification to flush the toxins out of the body, plant-based diets consisting of whole foods, and a regimen of vitamins, minerals and enzymes which heal damaged tissues and strengthen and revitalize the immune system.

HERBAL THERAPIES: Herbal therapy is the oldest form of medicinal treatment in the world. This treatment uses herbs to strengthen the ability of the body to eradicate cancer cells. It has been around for thousands of years and was used as mainstream medicine by doctors until the late nineteenth century.

The established medical community does not encourage its patients to treat their own cancer by using inexpensive natural substances and therapies. Instead, millions of dollars are spent to create synthetic drugs.

MIND-BODY THERAPIES: Because our mind has a powerful effect on our body, these therapies concentrate on the function of emotions and spiritual faith in the recovery process from an illness. They do not guarantee a cure but they can greatly affect what happens in your body and have become an increasingly important part of cancer treatments.

Examples of these therapies include hypnosis, biofeedback, visualization techniques that help increase the effectiveness of the immune system, meditation, yoga, tai chi, and participating in pleasing activities like listening to music or taking walks. Anything that promotes improved emotional and spiritual well-being is a mind-body therapy.

Using these techniques can alleviate pain, enhance your quality of life, and in some cases eliminate or reduce the disease. Because you can do most of the mind-body therapies yourself, you feel like you are gaining back the control over your life that cancer has taken away from you.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, do not give up hope. You must be proactive and research the various alternative treatments that are available, and there are many. The more you do to help yourself, the better your chances will be to eliminate cancer from your life.

15 Cancer warning signs

1. Losing weight at a rapid rate (among people not being on a diet), gasses, discomfort, digestive disorders, anorexia, recurring diarrhoea, constipation – are the symptoms occurring most frequently in case of lung, stomach, kidney and large intestine cancer. If accompanied by a feeling of weakness, it can be a sign of blood loss or lack of proper elements building it.

2. Pain of unknown cause – long-lasting stomach-ache can be the symptom of large intestine cancer, lumbalgia can be the sign of kidney cancer, pain in the chest can result from lung cancer. Bone aches can be caused by metastasis.

3. Haemoptysis, long-lasting hoarseness (over 3 weeks), persistent cough or change of its character – can be caused by lung or larynx cancer.

4. Change in colour of moles and warts, ulceration and itching, ulceration of open wounds, burns and scalds can be the signs of skin cancer.

5. Excessive production of urine, backlog of urine, painful urinating, slow, time-consuming flow of urine, lumbago as well as backache can be the signs of prostate cancer.

6. Pain, vertigo, nausea, sight distortions (oversensitized sight, astigmatism), hearing impediment, upset balance and mental disorders can result from brain cancer.

7. Swallowing difficulties – can be a symptom of throat, larynx, oesophagus and stomach cancer.

8. Feeling of fullness in epigastrium, aches and digestive disorders – may be due to stomach cancer and other kinds of alimentary canal cancer, sometimes ovary cancer.

9. Blood in faeces, black faeces, alternating diarrhoea and constipation, mucus in faeces, narrow (pencil-like) faeces – are the symptoms of alimentary canal cancer, especially of large intestine and rectum.

10. Blood in urine (without the symptoms of urinary tracks inflammation), dysuria (compulsive urination, difficulties in urination) – can accompany the urinary tracks cancer.

11. Improper bleeding from the genital tracks, pink or dark-red vaginal discharges, hypogastrium and lower limbs ache can be the signs of vagina, uterine cervix and uterus cancer.

12. Marks on skin and mucosus membrane (lips, oral cavity, genitals): not healing ulceration, change in mark’s appearance, occurrence of new skin marks of some specific features (irregular distribution of pigment, vague line between the mark and healthy skin, quick growth of the marks, bleeding, dripping).

13. Breast tumour (by approximately 15% - 25% can be impalpable), ulceration, the retraction of nipple, asymmetrical nipples, change of size or the shape of a nipple, its swelling and the marks around it, enlargement of lymphatic glands in the armpit, extension of veins in the breast skin, ulceration of breast skin, shoulder swelling, flat efflorescene in case of the so called advanced inflammation nipple cancer – are often the symptoms of breast cancer.


14. Fever, tiredness, bones and joints ache, inclination to temporary anaemia and bleeding, impalpable tumour of abdominal cavity, as a result of spleen enlargement, that can be detected in gastro-bowel test.

15. Pain and pressure in the upper right part of stomach, tiredness, anorexia and at a further stage of rhe disease a palpable tumour in the upper right part of stomach, inclination to jaundice and bleeding can be the signs of liver cancer.

Breast cancer, cure, true story

WHY WOMEN IN CHINA DO NOT GET BREAST CANCER   By Prof. Jane Plant, PhD, CBE  I had no alternative but to die or to try to find a cure for myself. I am a scientist - surely there was a rational explanation for this cruel illness that affects one in 12 women in the UK ? I had suffered the loss of one breast, and undergone  radiotherapy. I was now receiving painful chemotherapy, and had been seen by some of the country's most eminent specialists. But, deep down, I felt certain I was facing death. I had a loving husband, a beautiful home and two young children to care for. I desperately wanted to live. Fortunately, this desire drove me to  unearth the facts, some of which were known only to a handful of scientists at the time. Anyone who has come into contact with breast cancer will know that certain risk factors - such as increasing age, early onset of womanhood, late onset of menopause and a family history of breast cancer - are completely out of our control. But there are many risk factors, which we can control easily. These "controllable" risk factors readily translate into  simple changes that we can all make in our day-to-day lives to help prevent or treat breast cancer. My message is that even advanced breast cancer can be overcome because I have done it. The first clue to understanding what was promoting my breast  cancer came when my husband Peter, who was also a scientist, arrived back from working in China while I was being plugged in for a chemotherapy session. He had brought with him cards and  letters, as well as some amazing herbal suppositories, sent by my friends and science colleagues in China . The suppositories  were sent to me as a cure for breast cancer. Despite the awfulness of the situation, we both had a good belly laugh, and I remember saying that this was the treatment for breast cancer in China , then it was little wonder that Chinese women avoided getting the disease. Those words echoed in my mind.  Why didn't Chinese women in China get breast cancer?

I had collaborated once with Chinese colleagues on a study of links between soil chemistry and disease, and I remembered some of the statistics.
The disease was virtually non-existent throughout the whole country. Only one in 10,000 women in China will die from it, compared to that terrible figure of one in 12 in Britain and the even grimmer average of one in 10 across most Western countries.

t is not just a matter of China being a more rural country, with less urban pollution. In highly urbanized Hong Kong , the rate rises to 34 women in every 10,000 but still puts the West to shame.

The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki  have similar rates. And remember, both cities were attacked withnuclear weapons, so in addition to the usual pollution-related cancers, one would also expect to find some radiation-related cases, too.

The conclusion we can draw from these statistics strikes you with some force. If a Western woman were to move to industrialized, irradiated Hiroshima , she would slash her risk of contracting breast cancer by half. Obviously this is absurd.

It seemed obvious to me that some lifestyle factor not related to pollution, urbanization or the environment is seriously increasing the Western woman's chance of contracting breast cancer.

I then discovered that whatever causes the huge differences in breast cancer rates between oriental and Western countries, it isn't genetic.
Scientific research showed that when Chinese or Japanese people move to the West, within one or two generations their rates of breast cancer approach those of their host community.

The same thing happens when oriental people adopt a completely Western lifestyle in Hong Kong . In fact, the slang name for breast cancer in China translates as 'Rich Woman's Disease'. This is because, in China, only the better off can afford to eat what is termed ' Hong Kong food'.

The Chinese describe all Western food, including everything from ice cream and chocolate bars to spaghetti  and feta cheese, as "Hong Kong food", because of its availability in the former British colony and its scarcity, in the past, in mainland China .

So it made perfect sense to me that whatever  was causing my breast cancer  and the shockingly high incidence in this country generally, it was almost certainly something to do with our better-off, middle-class, Western lifestyle.

There is an important point for men here, too. I have observed in my research that much of the data about prostate cancer leads to similar conclusions.

According to figures from the World Health Organization, the number of men contracting prostate cancer in rural China is negligible, only 0.5 men in every 100,000.
In England, Scotland and Wales , however, this figure is 70 times higher. Like breast cancer, it is a middle-class disease that primarily attacks the wealthier and higher socio-economic groups, those that can afford to eat rich foods.

I remember saying to my husband, "Come on Peter, you have just come back  from China . What is it about the Chinese way of life that is so different?"

Why don't they get breast cancer?'
We decided to utilize our joint scientific backgrounds and approach it  logically.

We examined scientific data that pointed us in the general direction of fats in diets.
Researchers had discovered in the 1980s that only l4% of calories in the average Chinese diet were from fat, compared to almost 36% in the West.
But the diet I had been living on for years before I contracted breast cancer was very low in fat and high in fibre.
Besides, I knew as a scientist that fat intake in adults has not been shown to increase risk for breast cancer in most investigations that have followed large groups of women for up to a dozen years.Then one day something rather special happened. Peter and I have worked together so closely over the years that I am not sure which one of us first said: 

"The Chinese don't eat dairy produce!"

It is hard to explain to a non-scientist the sudden mental and emotional 'buzz' you get when you know you have had an important insight. It's as if you have had a lot of pieces of a jigsaw in your mind, and suddenly, in a few seconds, they all fall into place and the whole picture is clear.

Suddenly I recalled how many Chinese people were physically unable to  tolerate milk, how the Chinese people I had worked with had always said that milk was only for babies, and how one of my close friends, who is of Chinese origin, always politely turned down the cheese course at dinner parties.

I knew of no Chinese people who lived a traditional Chinese life who ever used cow or other dairy food to feed their babies. The tradition was to use a wet nurse but never, ever, dairy products.

Culturally, the Chinese find our Western preoccupation with milk and milk products very   strange. I remember entertaining a large delegation of Chinese scientists shortly after the ending of the Cultural Revolution in the 1980s.

On advice from the Foreign Office, we had asked the caterer to provide a pudding that contained a lot of ice cream. After inquiring what the pudding consisted of, all of the Chinese, including their interpreter, politely but firmly refused to eat it, and they could not be persuaded to change their minds.

At the time we were all delighted and ate extra portions!
Milk, I discovered, is one of the most common causes of food allergies .

Over 70% of the world's population are unable to digest the milk sugar, lactose, which has led nutritionists to believe that this is the normal condition for adults, not some sort of deficiency. Perhaps nature is trying to tell us that we are eating the wrong food.

Before I had breast cancer for the first time, I had eaten a lot of dairy produce, such as skimmed milk, low-fat cheese and yogurt. I had used it as my main source of protein. I also ate cheap but lean minced beef, which I now realized was probably often ground-up dairy cow.

In order to cope with the chemotherapy I received for my fifth case of cancer, I had been eating organic yogurts as a way of helping my digestive tract to recover and repopulate my gut with 'good' bacteria.

Recently, I discovered that way back in 1989 yogurt had been implicated in ovarian cancer. Dr Daniel Cramer of Harvard University studied hundreds of women with ovarian cancer, and had them record in detail what they normally ate. Wish I'd been made aware of his findings when he had first discovered them.
 Following Peter's and my insight into the Chinese diet, I decided to give up not just yogurt but all dairy produce immediately. Cheese, butter, milk and yogurt and anything else that contained dairy produce - it went down the sink or in the rubbish.
It is surprising how many products, including commercial soups, biscuits and cakes, contain some form of dairy produce. Even many proprietary brands of margarine marketed as soya, sunflower or olive oil spreads can contain dairy produce
.
I therefore became an avid reader of the small print on food labels.

Up to this point, I had been steadfastly measuring the progress of my fifth cancerous lump with callipers and plotting the results. Despite all the encouraging comments and positive feedback from my doctors and nurses, my own precise observations told me the bitter truth.My first chemotherapy sessions had produced no effect - the lump was still the same size.

Then I eliminated dairy products. Within days, the lump started to shrink
.
About two weeks after my second chemotherapy session and one week after giving up dairy produce, the lump in my neck started to itch. Then it began to soften and to reduce  in size. The line on the graph, which had shown no change, was now pointing downwards as the tumour got smaller and smaller.

And, very significantly, I noted that instead of declining exponentially (a graceful curve) as cancer is meant to do, the tumour's decrease in size was plotted on a straight line heading off the bottom of the graph, indicating a cure, not suppression (or remission) of the tumour.

One Saturday afternoon after about six weeks of excluding all dairy produce from my diet, I practised an hour of meditation then felt for what was left of the lump. I couldn't find it. Yet I was very experienced at detecting cancerous lumps - I had discovered all five cancers on my own. I went downstairs and asked my husband to feel my neck. He could not find any trace of the lump either.

On the following Thursday I was due to be seen by my cancer specialist at  Charing Cross Hospital in London . He examined me thoroughly, especially my neck where the tumour had been. He was initially bemused and then delighted as he said, "I cannot find it." None of my doctors, it appeared, had expected someone with my type and stage of cancer (which had clearly spread to the lymph system) to survive, let alone be so hale and hearty.

My specialist was as overjoyed as I was. When I first discussed my ideas with him he was understandably sceptical. But I understand that he now uses maps showing cancer mortality in China in his lectures, and recommends a non-dairy diet to his cancer patients.
I now believe that the link between dairy produce and breast cancer is similar to the link between smoking and lung cancer.
  I believe that identifying the link between breast cancer and dairy produce, and then developing a diet specifically targeted at maintaining the health of my breast and hormone system, cured me.
It was difficult for me, as it may be for you, to accept that a substance as 'natural' as milk might have such ominous health implications. But I am a living proof that it works and, starting from tomorrow, I shall reveal the secrets of my revolutionary action plan.
Extracted from Your Life in Your Hands, by Professor Jane Plan

Miracle fruit for cancer- Katu aatha

Katu aatha, Sir , as far as I've read, this fruit is eaten like any other fruit. it is easily available in Kerala 7 Tamil Nadu in India, I believe that it is also found in the zoological garden in Mumbai.
It looks like a smaller version of jack fruit, with a thick skin.

Apricots- antioxidants, good for heart, digestive conditions

Apricots- good for heart & eyes

Apricots are rich in beta-carotene content which makes them an important heart health food. They also contain Vit. A which promotes good vision & Vit. A is a powerful antioxidant & stops free radicals from damaging cells & tissues. Apricots are also rich in fiber that helps prevent constipation & other digestive conditions.

Apricot chutney

 Apricots 500 gm            vinegar 150 ml         water 100 ml   salt 2 tsp

Red chili pdr 1 tsp     cardamom crushed 2     sugar ¼ kg        ginger cut into strips 2 tsp

Garlic cut 1 clove          raisins 4 tbsp    almonds blanched 8

Method- soak apricots in boiling water till soft. Peel & mash. Strain the pulp & washt eh apricots stones with a cup of water. Mix apricot pulp, ginger, garlic, the water from the washed stones, almonds & raisins & cook till all the water is absorbed. Add vinegar, sugar, salt, cardamom & red chili pdr & cook till it gets thick & golden brown. Spoon it into a sterilized jar. This can be stored for a year

Story about positive thinking

A Motivational story about  Positive Thinking  

     Read this, and let it really sink in... Then, choose how you start your day tomorrow...
Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.

The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When  you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You  choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my ownbusiness. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was  released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'

I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. 
 

Positive thinking the the first step towards a happy life.

Attitude is everything

If everyone  applies  just these, the whole world will live in happiness.

Ginger, weight loss, cold remedy

Ginger
Long used for its medicinal properties, ginger is also an effective diuretic (a substance that increases the elimination of urine). It improves gastric mobility (i.e. it pushes food and waste through the digestive system) and hinders the absorption of cholesterol. Preliminary evidence suggests that this versatile spice helps to increase metabolism.


Ps- has mentioned in black pepper, ginger helps one to feel better when one has cold.