October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
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Once again, we find ourselves in the pinkwashing month of October.
Known as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this time of year ushers in a flurry of pink ribbons, and the war-like mantra, “Catch it early, save a life and save a breast.”
Yet we still have no cure in sight. Just treatments.
Fortunately, there are options. Women can also consider using infrared imaging or thermography for their breast cancer screening.
This technology can detect very small differences in temperature and “see” the blood vessels in breast tissue.
Density, size, cysts, and other variables do not make any difference.
Whatever the case may be, seeing blood vessels is important because tumors develop new blood vessels to supply nutrients for new growth, whereas lumps without a blood supply are at a much lower risk of being cancerous.
That being said, this test provides early information about breast cancer risk that also allows ample time for lifestyle changes that can further minimize your risk of developing breast cancer.
So, considering this is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let’s focus on true breast health awareness by looking at ways to prevent cancer at the cellular level, such as minimizing our exposure to environmental toxins.
True Breast Health Awareness
I know I’ve addressed this in a previous blog, but it bears repeating that detoxing from foreign estrogens and chemicals is a must for maintaining good health in the long term.
When it comes to breast cancer, the greatest concern is exposure to a group of toxins called endocrine disruptors, which are chemicals and byproducts that mimic the effects of estrogen in the body or cause estrogen to act in a way that isn’t normal.
Using these products in combination with hundreds of other chemicals that we come in contact with on a daily basis may increase the risk of several cancers.
The average adult is exposed to 126 chemicals every day just in their personal care products alone. So, if you want to be healthy, being educated on the latest toxins is a must!
At the same time, it’s just as important to point out how we’re being exposed to these toxins.
Much of our exposure comes from chemicals in household and personal care products, along with food, plastics, air, water, synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, and of course, exposure to ionizing radiation from health care procedures.
Whatever it is you’re being exposed to, make sure to keep this stuff in mind so you can work to minimize the toxins you’re being subjected to in your daily life.
The Connection Between Plastics and Breast Cancer
The connection between plastics and breast cancer was first discovered in 1987 at Tufts Medical School in Boston by research scientists Dr. Ana Soto and Dr. Carlos Sonnenschein.
In the midst of their experiments on cancer cell growth, endocrine-disrupting chemicals leached from plastic test tubes into the researcher’s laboratory experiment, causing a rampant proliferation of breast cancer cells.
In addition, Spanish researchers, Fatima and Nicolas Olea, tested metal food cans that were lined with plastic.
Around 50% of the cans tested were found to be leaching hormone-disrupting chemicals, and the levels of contamination were 27 times more than the amount a Stanford team reported was enough to make breast cancer cells proliferate.
Reportedly, 85% of the food cans in the United States are lined with plastic. Both of these findings were published in Environmental Health Perspectives.
So, if you want to reduce your exposure to these chemicals, make sure to do whatever you can to avoid exposing yourself to plastics, like only purchasing cans that say BPA-free.
Whatever you choose to do, these studies show that plastics are simply not good for us, and this is reflected in the increase in breast cancer that has coincided with the proliferation of plastics. Prior to 1940, breast cancer was relatively rare; today it affects one in eight women.
Now, let’s talk about polyester.
This fabric is soft, smooth, and supple, but it is still made from plastic, and this contributes to our body’s burden in ways that we are just beginning to understand.
For example, polyester is highly flammable, and it’s often treated with a flame retardant, which increases its toxic load.
Now, at this point, many of you are probably thinking that there’s no need to worry, as you’ve lived this long being exposed to these chemicals and haven’t had a problem.
But remember, the human body can only withstand a certain amount of toxins, and those endocrine-disrupting chemicals that don’t seem to bother you could end up affecting you years down the road.
What You Can Do to Reduce Your Risk
A healthy lifestyle, coupled with an effort to minimize your exposure to toxins can help protect your breasts and lower your risk.
At the same time, experts say early detection methods are key, and thermography is the earliest and most effective way of detecting breast cancer without radiation, in tandem with an ultrasound.
Thermography can also identify your levels of estrogen dominance and environmental contaminants, such as xenoestrogens and Bisphenol A (BPA), which attach to the receptor sites of breasts and mimic our natural estrogens.
Estrogens affect breast tissue, showing up as distinct heat patterns that can be seen on thermal imaging. The textbook appearance is one of “leopard spots” or hypervascularization.
Routine hormonal panels do not test for these estrogens, which are linked to the alarming and increasingly common issue seen in thermographic screenings known as fibrocystic breast syndrome AKA estrogen dominance.
With that in mind, if you want to maintain the health of your breasts, you need to know what’s going on with them, and only thermography can provide you with a visual image that can assess the severity of this syndrome.
This can be used as a preventative adjunctive screening for identifying signs of abnormal pathology years before conventional anatomical screenings.
It’s safe, environmentally friendly, radiation-free, and also safe for pregnant or nursing mothers, young dense breasts, fibrocystic breasts, and even implants.
In any case, it’s time for women to take action to reduce their risk, become informed consumers, and make concerted efforts to analyze their environments.
This involves things like reading product labels to avoid purchasing products that could harm you or your family.
You can also work with a holistic healthcare practitioner to detoxify your body.
All things considered, practicing radical self-care is becoming increasingly important, and living in a sea of toxins is not to be ignored. Health is wealth!
That being said, if you want to prioritize the health of your breasts by evaluating and monitoring them on a cellular level, thermographic imaging is your best option.