Myths Regarding Cancer Causes

A few days ago my friend forwarded a post from one of her groups regarding myths on what causes cancer. She asked me to respond and so this is what I sent her.

Regarding what causes cancer.....

There is probably a myth out there for every living being about what causes or may cause cancer. The fact of the matter is that we can study and study and we can't know for sure. We can create relationships between certain conditions and certain cancers, such as: many people who smoke get lung cancer; however, we don't know for sure. Some people who smoke never get cancer. (But they probably DO get emphysema, though!)

Years ago when I was a child (40 years ago or so), there were not very many folks who got cancer of any type. Our Earth was cleaner back then. There were not as many toxins present as there now are. There are thousands upon thousands of toxic substances around today. They are in our food, in our water, in the very air we breathe. They can't be avoided and are a certain fact of life. Why do I bring this up? Well, since there was not much cancer 40 years ago and now it is running rampant, my conclusion is that toxins of some or many types can cause cancer. Can one toxin cause cancer in everyone? Probably not. But put a toxic cocktail together, factoring in all the nasty chemicals around us, it's bound to work on some of us -- or on many of us.

I believe that everyone has the ability to grow cancer cells. I believe that most of us are growing them right now. It's our immune systems which take care of those aberrant cells, blocks them before they can grow big enough to harm us. We can be sure that some chemicals out there will get us if our immune systems are not functioning as they should be. So, it should figure that we should do the best we can to take care of our immunity because we cannot avoid the chemicals all around us.

So on to the post about the myths of the causes for cancer. The first is about deodorants and breast cancer. There have been many studies which link the aluminum in some deodorants to the development of breast cancer. The body does not include aluminum in it's list of substances it needs. Aluminum can be toxic to the body. Everything we put on our skin is absorbed into our bodies because the skin is porous. It's interesting that when aluminum laden products are applied so close to the breast that it has been linked to cancer in that area. The studies have never proved anything for sure. The studies have never DISPROVED it either. Would you take the chance on getting cancer if you thought you might be able to avoid it? I wouldn't. Also, I should say that it is always a good idea to look closely at any studies on any of these things. Who conducted the study? Chances are that it was a pharmaceutical company in this instance and we know they can't be trusted! They can only benefit from our illnesses. Was the study done over a short period of time or a lengthy period? Was it done with many people of all types or on one specific group? Who funded the study and do they have anything to gain or lose from it's outcome?

Regarding microwavable plastics: The FDA says that it's okay to use certain plastics in the microwave, that they are not dangerous as long as the FDA has approved them for this use. First of all microwaves are dangerous things to use. They destroy the nutrition of your food. Yup, they're fast, but they completely kill your food, rendering it worthless to your body. However, if you think that's not true and you still decide to use a microwave please don't use plastics. Plastics are made from petrochemicals and it's possible that some of them can leach some toxins into your food. It's safer to use glass and if you cover your dish use a paper towel instead of plastic wrap. Also, as I said above, take a look at the study. Who did it? The FDA says we are good to go with some plastics in the microwave. This is the same organization who has huge financial ties with the big pharmaceutical companies. This is the same organization who told us that Vioxx was safe. That was before 100,000 people died from taking it. This is the same organization that swears that aspartame is safe. I believe absolutely nothing that comes from the FDA.

Good people do get cancer. While we can do everything we can to keep ourselves healthy and live a good, clean life, cancer is hard to avoid because of all the nasty chemicals in our world. Even the very good among us don't get a pass on cancer. I wish it were different. And cancer is not contagious. It may seem like it is sometimes because there is so much of it around. Like I said, it's hard to avoid. Don't we all know at least one person who has it?

So....what can we do to avoid cancer? We can take good care of ourselves to the best of our ability. We can start by eating nutritious foods, drinking alot of water, getting enough exercise and sleep, and avoiding stress. We can avoid as many of the toxic chemicals that we know about by changing our cleaning products to something less dangerous, by reading the labels to find out what nasty things are in our personal care products and getting some with good ingredients. We can look into natural health measures when we're ill and to keep ourselves well. And always think about what you put in your mouth as far as pharmaceuticals go; they all have bad side effects, even aspirin.

Do your own thinking about these things and don't take anyone's word for it if you think you know better. After you do your research make up your own mind. Take responsibility for your own life. Most of the time we know best what our bodies need and what they don't need. Good luck in your fight against cancer!

Jude