Comment on Obesity Post
I normally won’t post a comment as a new post unless it meets two criteria – the author has a blog that is legitimate and the post is so well written that I don’t want it buried in the comments. This response to the Obesity Fuels Cancer in Women Post only meets the well written rule, but the reference blog was non-existent. Too bad – the comment is so full of good information that this commenter should be writing her own blog, and I hope she is.
Guess the link between obesity and breast cancer is significantly higher in comparison to other cancers because fat has an oestrogenic effect, which stimulates the lining epithelium of the mammary glands. The more stimulated the gland the greater are the chances of spontaneous mutations happening which could result in cancer.
By that metric, women with rather large breasts could also be at risk. Suddenly, breast augmentation doesn’t sound like a brilliant idea anymore.
My prof. would insist you could cut your breast cancer risk in half simply by taking a brisk walk daily for 45 mins and cutting back on red meat, smoking, alcohol and spicy food.
This after undergoing molecular testing for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation analysis if a first degree relative suffers early onset breast or ovarian cancer ( before age 45) so that you can begin annual screening by mammography alternating with an ultra-sound, a full 10 years ahead of the rest of the population starting at 30.
What’s useful to know is that you should not change your radiologist or the mammography machine as there can be wide variation in result interpretation with different machines and/or operators.
A final word of caution – ladies, don’t let’s apply deodorants under our armpits. Studies claim a higher incidence of cancers in the left upper quadrant of the breast due to such an application in mostly, right handed women. It is a truism – every little helps; baby steps can go a long way.
Monthly self-examination of both the breasts with flat of the palm; taking care to avoid the time of monthly periods can enable the detection of small pea sized cancerous lumps.
It is a step in the right direction that Q8 is slowly but surely awakening to the need of mass public education on breast cancer through TV and print ads, as well as through sharing space with commercial ads in cinemas and the distribution of flyers and brochures with the testing of perfumes and cosmetics in malls and shopping arcades across Kuwait.
It is unfortunate that similar campaigns are not being directed at men for lung and prostate cancer as well as to raise the awareness of the rare breast cancer happening in men with a far worse prognosis.
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Heeey Intlxpatr š I decided to check out Safat today after a two-month hiatus and smiled when i saw your name. Good to read your posts again.
This is very informative stuff, thanks. But you know what, life just somehow does seem to listen to statistics and research findings. My mom was very health conscious, very active, never ate microwave food, or TV dinners, or applied deodorants under her armpit, hardly every ate or drank anything packaged in plastic, got plenty of clean fresh air,…in short she did everything right. But she was still diagnosed with breast cancer last March. My grandmother, on the other hand, was a chain smoker for over 60 years. She died of natural causes at the age of 93. (I wonder which genes I have inherited, hmmm š )
There’s another woman I know who was quite athletic, she was also diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago. She, however refused chemo since she couldn’t bear to see her body weaken. Well, her body did die along with her soul. She passed away last July.
Anyway, what I have come to realize is that as long as you are happy, doesn’t matter what illness or disease comes your way; you can fight it. Be active, eat right, do the right things, but don’t expect that you are immune just because you do. As long as your spirit is healthy, everything will be alright.
Boy that was a long comment :D…sorry
Magical Droplets! It’s you! I was just asking the Kuwait blog world about you last week! Oh! I am so happy to see you back again! *dances – privately, not publicly, so as not to get arrested – for joy*
I had an aunt and father like your grandmother, and two semi-vegetarian aunts. The two “good” clean living aunts got Altzheimers, which shortens lives, and my father and his older sister, who smoked and drank and ate meat and butter lived long long lives! Sometimes it really makes you wonder if trying hard to do what the experts tell us is right is worth it!?
Oh, I am so happy you are back. Did you see the terrible things that happened to your old blog spot? Horrors!
Cancer biology is not an absolute science, like physical sciences or math is. There is only so much your primary health care provider can do for you by arming you with enough information to allow you to make informed health choices leading to better living.
Risks can be stratified depending on presence or absence of certain risk factors in our lives but at the end of the day they remain just that – risk factors, which are only relative and often there is an intricate interplay happening between nature and nurture. So it is impossible to zero in on the precise cause of a cancer in a given instance.
The first commentator quite rightly posits no matter how carefully you’ve played your cards you can still get caught out but, at least, if you know that smoking with heavy drinking is going to make getting esophageal cancers more likely, you are going to think twice about doing both at once which can have spin off effects for other bodily functions.
As an aside, I wish also to bring to the table the danger of giving one’s two cents on all things medical & health related without proper substantiation from references appearing in high impact peer reviewed medical journals or texts. We are living in dangerous times of information overdrive where a lot of stuff which appears on the Net is unmoderated and unfounded. Wikepedia is a classic case in point and I feel we owe it to our readers to direct them to sites, such as patient.co.uk or nhsdirect.nhs.uk or somesuch.
Seconding “Uncensored”‘s caution regarding facts and misinformation.
See http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo
for more information on deodorant/cancer question.
Uncensored – thank you for your thoughtful perspective here, and the emphasis on risk factors, not causality.
Sparkle – I wondered about that. Thank you for a great reference.
Dancing in public is fuuuuuunnn š On my last trip to Iran I danced on a small boat in the middle of a lake in the middle of the mountains in Kurdistan!!! ;p
*goes to check out post*
Ahhhhh, i didn’t know you posted that. Thank yooooouuuu.
*wipes tears*
I stayed away from cyberspace for 2 months so I have a lot catching up to do I guess. What happened to my blog?
Dancing, singing, laughing out loud and staying cheerful no matter what the externalities, are all perfect antidotes against the Big C. Local health agencies should be doing more to encourage laughter clubs, various dance forms in the school curricula besides promoting meditation and yoga in the community. Just think of what you can do with all the space available in the Avenues courtyard before the stores open at 10 : a perfect setting for meditation, group laughter sessions and yoga.
It is mind blowing just how strong the mind body connexion really is. It has given shape to a whole new practice of neuropsycho-immunology in contemporary medicine. Simply put, you are more likely to catch the cold when you are feeling low or burned out because your immunity’s taken a beating.
The same logic is operative with raised cholesterol and serum triglycerides in lean persons with a controlled diet. Stress is a much greater trigger for giving you high cholesterol than diet alone. Roughly translates to a 2/3rd contribution from stress and 1/3rds from dietary saturated and trans fats.
Speaking of dancing in public, Mirror polisher is spot on.I am sure her dancing in the middle of the lake in Kurdistan must surely have rocked the boat of the local administration there : ) sending ripples as far away as Baluchistan, Afghanistan and Q8.
Good on her.
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Wooooo Hoooooo Magical! I woulda loved to be there! I would have danced right next to you!
I am so sorry to tell you this, and I didn’t mention it in my post on purpose. First, a lot of ads showed up that didn’t look at all like your former content, and then . . . a girl who was taking her clothes off for the web cam! Aaarrrgh! I LOVE your new look!
Kuwait Salsa, you sure sound a lot like my friend BL. š
And tai chi! Think about Tai Chi on the beautiful space at the Science Center on the Corniche!
A couple years ago, some American soldiers got out of their car and danced at a long stop light. A religious couple called the police, and unfortunately the soldiers also had weapons in the car – ;-( – and got in a lot of trouble. I’ve always thought dancing at the stoplights might change the hostile, aggressive, competitive nature of Kuwait driving, but oh well. . . .
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