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While research continues, there is compelling evidence that a diet filled with certain foods can help lower a person’s risk for various cancers and even help fight the cancer itself. Eating a well-balanced diet with a variety of whole foods is the way to go if you’re looking to optimize your health.  

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), you should fill at least 2/3 of your plate with vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans. Other organizations have additional recommendations. For example, the American Cancer Society includes the following dietary guidelines for cancer prevention:

— Eat whole grains instead of refined grain products (e.g., brown rice instead of white rice).
— Eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
— Limit your intake of red meat.
— Limit alcohol to one drink per day (women at high risk for breast cancer should consider not drinking alcohol at all).
— Avoid processed foods.

Taking It A Step Further

Following the general recommendations above is step one. The next step is including those specific foods that provide the highest cancer prevention benefits. This typically means they are high in antioxidants, substances that remove and neutralize free radicals that can damage cell membranes, affect DNA, and even destroy cells.

The following list of cancer-fighting foods from the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) is a good start:

— apples,
— blueberries,
— cruciferous vegetables (e.g., broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale),
— cherries,
— cranberries,
— flaxseed,
— garlic,
— grapefruit,
— grape seed extract,
— radishes,
— tomatoes, and
— winter squash.

But That’s Not All

The list from AICR is not exhaustive. Research is continuously being conducting on the effects of certain foods, or compounds within those foods, on cancer. For example, City of Hope researchers have found some possible “superfoods” with cancer-fighting properties. These superfoods have the ability to block the hormones that support the spread of cancer, diminish existing tumors, and boost the body’s immune system. The five main superfoods identified by the researchers are pomegranates, mushrooms, blueberries, grape seed extract, and cinnamon.

The Bottom Line

The foods you eat may fight cancer both directly and indirectly. Many minerals, vitamins, and phytochemicals possess direct anti-cancer properties, actually impacting cancer cells themselves. However, evidence suggests that it is substances working together in a person’s diet that offers the strongest cancer protection. At the end of the day, a healthy diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein will put you on the path to good health.

Cancer, also called malignancy, is an abnormal growth of cells. There are more than 100 types of cancer, including breast cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and lymphoma. Symptoms vary depending on the type.Cancer treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery.

Review the list and learn more about the different types of cancers.  READ MORE

Viazoi will be speaking at the Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry Symposium on September 17th, 2016.  The First Cancer Awareness Symposium will be held at the Kouyoumjian Hall, St. Gregory Armenian Catholic Church in Glendale CA.

For further information please visit their site at www.abmdr.am

Hear insights from Jordi Rodón, MD, PhD, Clinical Oncologist and Director of the Research Unit for Molecular Therapy of Cancer at Vall d´Hebron in Barcelona, on the use of next-generation sequencing to empower the future of precision medicine in oncology drug development.

Illumina invites leading European scientists to present their latest research and perspectives on Genomics in Oncology.  

Click on the following link to view the video.  VIDEO 

Certain foods are lauded for their antioxidant powers and we’re always told to eat more of these foods to help combat damaging free radicals in our bodies, but what are antioxidants and what is it they actually do?

First, What’s Up With These Free Radicals?

In order to understand what antioxidants are, first, we need to define free radicals.

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI): “Free radicals are highly reactive chemicals that have the potential to harm cells.” They are created when a molecule (two or more atoms) or an atom either loses or gains an electron. Free radicals are formed naturally in the body and play an important role in many normal cellular processes, BUT, at high concentrations, free radicals can damage all major components of cells, including DNA. This cell damage, subsequently, contributes to the degenerative changes of aging, as well as may play a role in the development of age-related diseases and other health conditions, including cancer.

Enter Antioxidants!

Antioxidants are the answer to free radicals. They are chemicals, also sometimes referred to as micronutrients that interact with and neutralize free radicals, stopping them from causing harmful cell damage. Our bodies produce some antioxidants to deal with the free radical problem, but it’s less than we need. In order to obtain the level of antioxidants we need, we must rely on external sources, like diet, hence the push for eating antioxidant-rich foods. Vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are rich sources of dietary antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, lycopene, and vitamins A, C, and E. Plant foods also have phytonutrients, which act as antioxidants.

Foods High in Antioxidants

The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), conducted a detailed study and determined the total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements. Some of the general findings include the following:

— Antioxidant-rich beverages include pomegranate juice, prepared green tea, grape juice, prune juice and black tea. Beverages containing the LEAST antioxidants include beer, soft drinks and ginger ale, with drinking water at the very bottom with no antioxidants (though water and proper hydration plays a crucial role in good health).

— Among grains, barley, buckwheat, and millet flours are the flours with the highest antioxidant values, while the grain products containing the most antioxidants include crisp bread and whole meal bread with fiber.

— The majority of dairy products are low in antioxidant content.

— The average antioxidant content of berries and berry products is relatively high. Examples of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables are  artichokes, dried apples, lemon skin, flour made of okra, dried apricots dried plums, red and green chili, prunes, and curly kale. Examples of fruits and vegetables in the medium antioxidant range are red cabbage, dried mango, dried dates, paprika, black and green olives, red beets, plums, and guava.

For more detailed information of the NCBI study, visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2841576/.

Taking Stock of the Fridge and Pantry

A healthy diet is an essential part to a healthy lifestyle. If you haven’t done so in a while, it would be a good idea to take a look at what you have in your refrigerator and your pantry, make a list of what you have, and decide whether it is lacking in antioxidant-rich foods. We are what we eat, so if we want to BE healthy, we need to EAT healthy!

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is disheartening and overwhelming. Those feelings may never completely subside, but being well informed about your diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, may help you find a sense of control that could help you through such a trying time. To be well-informed, there needs to be good, effective communication between you and your doctor starting with your very first appointment.

Communication Is A Two-Way Street

Good communication is the foundation of a good patient-healthcare provider relationship and can have a significant impact on the quality of care you receive, but good communication isn’t only your doctor’s responsibility. Effective communication is about both giving and receiving information. If you expect your doctor or anyone on their care team to answer your questions, you must be just as willing to answer theirs. Likewise, effective communication is based on understanding. Depending on the type and stage of your cancer, your doctor may not be able to give you a straight answer to one or more of your concerns. This does not necessarily mean that he or she is not knowledgeable. It may just be that there is no easy answer or even any answer. However, if you find that your healthcare team doesn’t have answers much of the time, it may be a good idea to get a second opinion.

Which Questions to Ask

Knowing you need information is the easy part. Knowing what questions you need to ask to get that information is more difficult, which is why the reveal23 team would like to pass on this very helpful list of Frequently Asked Questions, courtesy of City of Hope:

— Can I get a copy of my diagnosis?
— What stage of cancer do I have? What does that mean?
— What kind of support do you have for me and my family?
— What are my treatment options?
— Which treatments do you recommend for me? Why?
— Would a clinical trial be right for me? Can you help me find one?
— What medical records should I bring to treatment?
— What are the possible side effects and risks associated with each treatment?
— Can anything be done to control the side effects?
— What are the expected benefits of each kind of treatment?
— How long is it going to take for me to recover from treatment?
— Will I be able to go to school or work during treatment?
— What are the chances of the cancer coming back?
— Will I have more than one kind of treatment concurrently?
— How will my treatment change over time?
— How long will the treatment take?
— Will I need to stay in the hospital? If so, for how long?
— What should I do to prepare for treatment?
— Can I go to and from treatment alone? Should someone else go along with me?
— What can be done to help me feel more comfortable during treatment?
— Can a family member be with me during treatment?
— How will treatment affect my normal activities?
— Should I get a second opinion?
— How often should I have checkups during treatment?
— What is the treatment likely to cost? Will my insurance cover the cost?
— After treatment, what problems should be watched for? If I have questions during my treatment and my doctor is not available, who I can ask?

Never feel uncomfortable asking a lot of questions! It’s your life on the line.

We know that genetics plays a role in cancer risk, but this does not mean you have no control over whether or not you develop cancer. There are several things you can do to reduce your cancer risk. According to the WCRF/AICR Second Expert Report, there are, in fact, 10 major recommendations for cancer prevention.

1. Be lean without becoming underweight. Maintaining a healthy weight is actually the most important thing you can do to reduce cancer risk next to not smoking. Excess body fat doesn’t just add extra pounds and require the purchase of bigger clothes. Body fat acts like a hormone pump, releasing estrogen, insulin, and other hormones, which can instigate cancer growth.

2. Limit consumption of energy-dense foods and avoid sugary drinks. Most fruits, vegetables, and beans are NOT energy-dense. Being full of water and fiber, they’ll fill you up without the extra calories.

3. Don’t rely on supplements (in lieu of a healthy diet) for cancer prevention.

4. Be physically active for a MINIMUM of 30 minutes per day. The recommendation for maximum health benefits is 60 minutes of moderate exercise or 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day. But even including brisk walking into your daily routine can go a long way. Also, limiting sedentary behavior, such as sitting on the couch to watch T.V. and playing computer games, is very important. If you have a desk job, creating a routine of getting up and moving/walking would be very helpful. Regular activity can help prevent cancer by helping keep hormone levels in check.

5. Limit alcoholic drinks to one/day for women and 2/day for men, if consumed at all. While prior research shows that consuming modest amounts of alcohol could protect against coronary heart disease, when it comes to cancer prevention, alcohol is a potent carcinogen.

6. Eat a greater variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes (e.g. beans). The goal should be to fill ⅔ of your plate with vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole grains.

7. Avoid processed meats and limit consumption of red meats (e.g. pork, beef, lamb).

8. Limit consumption of salty foods and foods processed with sodium. Both may increase the risk of developing stomach cancer.

9. For new moms: Breastfeed exclusively for up to 6 months, then add other foods and liquids. There is evidence that breastfeeding protects mothers against breast cancer. Additionally, babies who are breastfed are less likely to become overweight and obese.

10. For cancer survivors: Be sure to follow the recommendations for cancer prevention after treatment.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of a Healthy Lifestyle

Generally, your health is what will determine what kind of and how long a life you will have. To put yourself in the best position to live long, avoid illness and injury, and have fun, dedicate yourself to making healthy choices everyday.

Last month, we discussed environmental and hereditary cancer risk factors. While there are cancer risk factors that aren’t always completely in our control, there is a category of risk factors that is totally within our control: Lifestyle.

“We are our choices.” – Jean-Paul Sartre

A Healthy Lifestyle Can Save Your Life

We make choices every day that contribute to our good or bad health and these choices can make it less or more likely to develop cancer. In addition, should cancer develop, these choices can impact a patient’s prognosis. A person who leads a healthy lifestyle and is diagnosed with cancer as a result of inherited risk may respond better to treatment and/or have better chances for survival than a person who leads an unhealthy lifestyle.

The burning question is, if preventing cancer is, at least with regard to lifestyle, within our control, why doesn’t everyone form healthy habits?

In some cases, it may be due to ignorance, a lack of knowledge about cancer and its causes, or emotional or psychological factors that impact lifestyle decisions. In other cases, it may be that the possibility of cancer is considered so far-fetched that people don’t feel the need to be more intentional about their lifestyle choices. Yet another possibility is that there are people that just don’t care. Regardless, cancer is here to stay, at least for the time being, with an estimated 1,685,210 new diagnoses in 2016 (National Cancer Institute), and studies prove that lifestyle choices are a vital factor in its prevention.

Identifying Lifestyle Risk Factors

If you can do something or avoid something and decrease your cancer risk, shouldn’t you?

Of course you should, but you need to know what those things are first. The below list of risk factors and recommendations can help you make lifestyle choices that can decrease your risk of a cancer diagnosis.

Alcohol – Drinking alcohol can increase your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, larynx (voice box), liver, and breast. The more you drink, the higher the risk. For those who do drink, limiting alcohol consumption to no more than a few drinks per week will help keep the risk minimal. It should be noted that there is no evidence that drinking red wine reduces the risk of cancer.

Diet – Scientists have studied many additives, nutrients, and other dietary components for possible associations with cancer risk and while studies aren’t always consistent or conclusive, there are certain recommendations that can be made about what you should and shouldn’t eat/drink. A well-balanced diet with mostly vegetables, fruits, and herbs, in addition to whole grains and a variety of proteins, is ideal. The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) offers a list of Foods that Fight Cancer with those foods that have especially protective components, which you can find here: http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/. In addition to what you should eat, there are also things that you should keep to a minimum, including saturated fats and sugar. This doesn’t mean you can never have fried chicken with macaroni and cheese or that hot fudge brownie sundae. But foods like these should not be a regular part of your diet. Additionally, as a general rule, natural is always better. Foods and drinks with more processing are worse for your health. Even within the processed food category there are those that have been more processed. “Diet” and “light” foods, for example, typically have been processed more that their regular counterparts.

Obesity – According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), those who are obese may have an increased risk of several types of cancer, including cancers of the colon, rectum, esophagus, breast (in women who have been through menopause), endometrium (lining of the uterus), kidney, gallbladder, and pancreas. Maintaining a healthy weight with proper diet and exercise is essential to a healthy lifestyle, which, in turn, decreases your cancer risk.

Physical Activity – Being physically active helps maintain a healthy weight, improves and optimizes circulation, and improves the health of your muscles, bones, and even organs. It is especially important for those with more sedentary lifestyles, if you have a desk job, for instance. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Adults aged 18–64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity throughout the week or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.” To get the most out of exercise, it is recommended to include a variety. For example, running by itself will not do as good a job as running while also incorporating other forms of exercise, like yoga, weight training, and/or dance.

Sunlight – While the sun provides us with vitamin D, overexposure to sunlight and its ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes premature aging of the skin and skin damage that could lead to skin cancer. Be sure to protect your skin with sunscreen and/or clothing when spending extended periods of time in the sun.

Tobacco – Tobacco products and secondhand smoke have many chemicals that damage DNA and are a leading cause of cancer and cancer death. We cannot stress enough that there is NO SAFE LEVEL of tobacco use. According to NCI, people who quit smoking have substantial gains in life expectancy when compared to those who continue to smoke. This is a no-brainer in our opinion. Just don’t do it.

When It Isn’t Your Choice

Even if we make all the right choices, we can’t control our DNA. Inherited cancer risks are still a reality, though the lifestyle choices you make can still impact how cancer plays out in the event of a diagnosis. While having a genetic predisposition for cancer does NOT guarantee a cancer diagnosis, knowing whether you have such a predisposition can help you make the best decisions for a healthy lifestyle.

“Cancer is a genetic disease—that is, cancer is caused by certain changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide. These changes include mutations in the DNA that makes up our genes.” – National Cancer Institute.

In addition to the environmental cancer risk factors that we discussed previously, there are also genetic risk factors. Such factors are unfortunately not in our control as they are part of the genetic makeup. As you can see from the quote above, changes to our genes, such as mutations in the DNA of those genes, can increase the risk of cancer. But how do we get these mutations?

Inherited

One way we get these mutations is family. Inherited genetic mutations play a major role in about five to ten percent of all cancers, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Cancer-predisposing genetic changes are not the “inheritance” you hope for, but it is something that you can inherit from your parents if those genetic mutations were present in their reproductive cells. Such genetic changes are called germline changes and, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), these changes are present in every cell of the offspring. Therefore, if your parents had cancer-causing genetic mutations in their reproductive cells, every cell in your body would have the same genetic mutations.

While this may sound depressing, remember that these are technically “potential” cancer-causing genetic changes. While they increase the risk of developing cancer generally, the level of risk is different person to person. Having a cancer-predisposing mutation in the family is not a guarantee of cancer.

Acquired

In addition to mutations that may be passed down from parent to child, cancer-causing mutations in the DNA may also be caused during a person’s lifetime as a result of exposure to carcinogens or errors in cell division. These “acquired” genetic changes are referred to as somatic changes and may arise at any time during a person’s life.

Genetic Testing & Early Detection

According to the American Cancer Society, “early detection of cancer through screening has been determined to reduce mortality from cancers of the colon and rectum, breast, uterine cervix, and lung.” But these screenings don’t tell you what level of cancer risk exists in your genetic code. Screenings, such as mammograms, are utilized to check for the presence of cancer itself. A screening may show that you are cancer-free at that moment, but will not give you the likelihood of developing cancer in the future. This is where genetic testing comes in.

If you have a family history of cancer, genetic testing can identify whether or not you carry known cancer-causing mutations. In fact, NCI asserts that “many experts recommend that genetic testing for cancer risk be considered when someone has a personal or family history that suggests an inherited cancer risk condition…” We do want to remind you, however, that the presence of such an inherited mutation does NOT mean you will absolutely develop cancer.

For more information about genetic testing for cancer risk or to get your own reveal23 testing kit, visit our website at http://reveal23.com.

Come Back For The Finale

We have one more article in our cancer risk factor blog series. Visit again soon to read about the lifestyle cancer risk factors that you CAN control.

Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. According to the American Cancer Society, about 1,685,210 new cancer diagnoses are expected in 2016. Additionally, about 595,690 Americans are expected to die of cancer in 2016.

With numbers such as these, it is understandable to have concerns over one’s health and future. Being aware of the risk factors associated with cancers can help you take the necessary steps to safeguard your health and to help protect your future. However, it is important to note that not all risk factors are under your control.

Generally, there are three categories of cancer risk factors: Environment, Genetics, and Lifestyle. In this three-part blog series, we will be discussing each of these categories, starting with today’s article on environmental risk factors.

Environmental Risk Factors

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI):

“Cancer is caused by changes to certain genes that alter the way our cells function. Some of these genetic changes occur naturally when DNA is replicated during the process of cell division. But others are the result of environmental exposures that damage DNA.”

One’s environment is the surroundings or conditions in which a person lives or operates. This environment is not so easily controlled. In order to change your environment, you would have to leave it, and picking up your entire life to reestablish it somewhere else isn’t a simple action. As such, environmental risk factors are generally not within your control, especially if you are not aware that you are being exposed to cancer-causing substances.

When carcinogens are in the air, water, food, or at the workplace, they are more difficult to avoid. In the United States, regulations have been put in place to reduce carcinogen exposure in the workplace, and continuing research is conducted analyzing the presence of carcinogens near schools and neighborhoods. Below is a list of known carcinogenic substances. For more detailed information about each one, visit
http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/substances.

— Aflatoxins

— Aristolochic Acids

— Arsenic

— Asbestos

— Benzene

— Benzidine

— Beryllium

— 1,3-Butadiene

— Cadmium

— Coal Tar and Coal-Tar Pitch

— Coke-Oven Emissions

— Crystalline Silica (respirable size)

— Erionite

— Ethylene Oxide

— Formaldehyde

— Hexavalent Chromium Compounds

— Indoor Emissions from the Household Combustion of Coal

— Mineral Oils: Untreated and Mildly Treated

— Nickel Compounds

— Radon

— Secondhand Tobacco Smoke (Environmental Tobacco Smoke)

— Soot

— Strong Inorganic Acid Mists Containing Sulfuric Acid

— Thorium

— Vinyl Chloride

— Wood Dust

Carcinogen Exposure Does Not Mean Definite Cancer

It is important to understand that many other factors influence whether a person exposed to a carcinogen will actually develop cancer, including the duration and amount of the exposure as well as the person’s genetic background.

To learn more about how genetics play a role as a cancer risk factor, visit our blog next week!