The U.S. war on cancer has been going on for almost four decades. It may be time to admit that we are not getting to the real cause of the disease nor are we providing the right kind of cures.

Most of the things known to cause cancer, such as tobacco, radiation, asbestos, solvents and some drugs and hormones are not being addressed properly.

However the FDA and the EPA often lack the authority and resources to monitor and control these causes as well cancer causing agents in food, water and everyday products.

Because of antiquated laws, chemical and radiation hazards are examined one at a time. Of the nearly 80,000 chemicals bought and sold today, fewer than 10 percent have been tested for their capacity to cause cancer or do other damage.

It really doesn't matter how much effort there is in finding treatments for cancer; the best way to reduce cancer's toll is to keep people from getting it in the first place; and that's being mostly ignored by all the modern cancer fighting enterprises.

Over 1.4 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in 2008, according to the American Cancer Society. So what are we doing about it? Well the media attention is usually on the "charitable walks"' and the drug companies' dollars, which are focused on finding a treatment or cure.

The "cure" that modern medicine has in mind is using varying degrees of toxic chemicals, chemotherapy and radiation. These are some of the same things that have been blamed for causing cancer.

It would be rare to ever hear in the press any of the well-known ways to prevent cancer. In reality, despite the dramatic effort for stopping cancer, the disease is still regarded as a mysterious gremlin that attacks victims at random. However the major causes of cancer are no longer a mystery and neither are the ways of prevention.

There have even been discussions about genetics and family history when it comes to cancer. It's been mentioned that cancer could be predetermined from the day you were born whether or not you get the disease. So if that were true, what would you do just sit and wait to get sick?

In reality, your genes have little to do with your likelihood of getting any disease. Your genes are only storing facilities. They have no intelligence whatsoever. But what is very important, is the expression of your genes and the stimulus that actually causes your DNA to replicate proteins.

According to the field of epigenetics, the power of your own thoughts can affect the expression of your genes and even potentially cure cancer and other diseases. your emotions, your stress levels and even lifestyle choices also influence the expression of your genes.

This was proven in a study conducted by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences recently. The study proved this point with some amazing data.

It involved men with prostrate cancer who declined surgery, hormonal therapy or radiation. Instead they participated in an intensive nutrition and lifestyle intervention while undergoing surveillance for tumor progression.

The men made changes in their diets, exercised moderately, used stress management techniques and also participated in a psychosocial support group. These changes influenced the expression of hundreds of genes. Here's what happened:

* Some of the changes positively impacted genes that help fight cancer.

* Other changes helped turn off genes that promote cancer development.

Even the American Cancer Society states that "one third of all cancer deaths are related to diet and activity factors." That's interesting isn't it? I wonder why they don't provide some extensive education about that?

The bottom line is, there's a lot you can do to lower your chances of getting cancer. You and your family just need to take control of your health.

Several ways of prevention have already been mentioned in this article; bur here are some other basic steps you should take every day that could be beneficial.

* Learn the basics of a healthy diet.

* Exercise like walking, bike riding or simple indoor exercises are great for you and better than no exercise at all.

* Stress management is very crucial

* Unhealthy habits like alcohol and drug addiction or smoking should be addressed immediately.

* Add nutritional supplements to your daily regimen.

* If you are taking prescription drugs, find a naturopathic doctor or nutritionally-educated doctor for clues on withdrawal.

Make sure you clearly understand, which has already been pointed out, you will NEVER solve your illness or disease with prescription drugs. So if you are taking any, get on a withdrawal plan immediately

To your good health,

Sonnyj@TheSunnySenior.com 

www.HealthyIdeas.homestead.com