Breast Cancer Awareness - Prevention and Cure

Breast Cancer Awareness happens every day, for me. I've been battling Stage 4 ER+ Breast Cancer for the last five years; I was given six months to live, after being diagnosed. I am a survivor, a warrior, and a fighter; I have quite a few ongoing responsibilities, and plans that require me to be able-bodied and alive.

In my journey, I've come across warriors who say their diagnosis was devastating, and others that say it was a blessing or a gift. I have to agree with the latter observation. Most of my life, I spent mistreating my body....too much alcohol, smoking, overeating, no physical fitness routine, etc. I arrogantly believed that if I were to get a disease, it would be diabetes; my father died from complications of that disease, and my mother is currently dealing with it. But I'd never get cancer....that's not something that runs in my family. It wasn't until after my cancer journey began that I was told my father's aunt died from breast cancer. Here's a link to my original Blog, at the start of my journey.

Since being diagnosed, I have learned that most cases are a result of bad lifestyle choices and/or poor eating habits; only about 5-10% happen as a result of genetics. And around 85% of cases happen for women who have no family history of the disease; a family history would be if your mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer and you were also diagnosed. It is said that 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.

I've also learned that there are many whole foods (fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds) that have anti-cancer properties, and can possibly reverse the disease. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cabbage have sulfur-containing compounds like glucosinolates which aid in the detox process, and indole-3-carbinol which helps the body flush out excess estrogen. I make it a habit to eat as much of these as I can get my hands on, because my particular type of breast cancer happened as a result of estrogen dominance.

There are quite a few things we seem to be doing that cause endocrine disruption (hormone imbalance); the synthetic chemicals (xenoestrogens) in our cleaning products, the processed foods we eat, the lack of daily activity....all play a part in causing disease. Being aware of the existence of breast cancer is not enough, anymore; it's time to learn how to stop the disease, before it stops us. And for those of us who battle the disease....we need a cure!