How to Live Cancer-Free

Live an Anti-Cancer Life

4 Ways to Reduce Your Risk

The risk of getting cancer seems to come at us from every direction in our environment. Plastic bottles, cell phones, food. But it’s possible to cut your risk. A new book, Anticancer – A New Way of Life, by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, outlines a new approach to fighting cancer. Plus, find out how much you know about cancer myths and facts with our quiz…

We are all at risk of cancer each day of our lives. Our bodies continuously make defective cells. You can blame many factors, including your genes, but a more important influence may be our environment.

Take something as essential as the sun, for example. Exposing ourselves to sunlight damages the DNA of some skin cells, and that can lead to cancer. Our bodies are well-equipped with repair mechanisms to detect and eliminate damaged genetic material. But sometimes the damaged DNA leads to cancers that our bodies can’t repair without help from drugs and personal insights from physicians such as Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, author of Anticancer – A New Way of Life (Viking Adult, 2008).

Servan-Schreiber is no stranger to fatal and dangerous disease. He has criss-crossed the globe in search of a new perspective on illness. He volunteered with Doctors Without Borders in some of the world’s most dangerous places. And in the laboratory, Servan-Schreiber has modeled how the brain processes cognition and emotion.
But his greatest challenge yet has been coping with his own diagnosis with brain cancer. His book is the story of a brilliant and creative physician’s journey of self-discovery and of the role of alternative and complementary medicine in the approach to illness. Although he acknowledges the importance of modern medical science in treating disease, Servan-Schreiber is convinced that the healing process involves more than traditional medicine has to offer.

Ironically, it was Servan-Schreiber’s own brain research that led to his diagnosis of a brain tumor. He was doing MRIs on volunteers who performed mental tasks while being scanned in order to map brain activity. When one failed to show for his exam, Servan Schreiber jumped in. A walnut-sized tumor was detected in the front part of his brain, eventually leading the doctor to reach beyond modern medicine to find new perspectives on healing and wellness.

Servan-Schreiber sought to discover the role of environmental factors in the onset and cure of cancer. If we all naturally possess the ability to fight tumor development, he reasoned, we need to understand how to assist the body’s natural responses. This focus led him to explore mind-body and nutritional approaches to health and healing.
Cancers that afflict the West, such as breast, colon, and prostate cancers, are seven to 60 times more frequent in the U.S than in Asia. Japanese men under 50 years old have just as many micro-tumors of the prostate as American men, but they die far less frequently from prostate cancer. Could their way of life hold these tumors in check?

Once Asians move to the U.S, the discrepancy in cancer rates disappears over one or two generations. Could our way of life weaken defense against tumor formation?

In an article published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers reported that children of adoptive parents with cancer were five times more likely to die from cancer even though they did not inherit the same genes. Moreover, they found that the genes of biological parents who died of cancer before 50 had no influence on their children’s risk of cancer when those children were adopted.

Another study from Sweden, also published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2000, showed that genetically identical twins usually do not share the same risk of developing cancer. Nurture (our environment) has far greater influence than nature (our genes) on cancer mortality when looking at the influence of biological vs. environmental factors in adopted children or in twins.
Servan-Schreiber describes four new approaches to illness that engage both body and mind to optimize the chances of preventing and defeating cancer. In the first, he focuses on environmental factors that have emerged since the 1940s that he feels promote the onset of cancer. “Cancer used to be a disease of old people,” he says. “Now it is common to know a younger person with cancer.”

Second, he suggests changing our diets to include vegetable-derived compounds that are known to fight tumors. Some of the easiest steps we can take, he says, are adding certain spices and foods thought to have cancer-fighting capability. “Consider adding green tea, turmeric or garlic to your diet,” he says. (See related article: ChefMD’s 15 Ways to Eat Healthier)

Servan-Schreiber’s third focus is how psychology affects the biology of cancer. “There are several well done studies of people where major threats have occurred in their lives, such as concentration camps or loss of a child. There has been no link established between stress and the development of cancer,” he says. In animal studies, however, he says: “Reaction to stress can speed up or even slow down cancer growth.”

And fourth, Servan-Schreiber calls for “creating a relationship with our bodies that stimulates the immune system and reduces inflammation that makes tumors grow.” Focusing on yourself as a living, breathing human and “loving yourself” for as little as 15 minutes per day can have positive health benefits, he says.

Here are some of Servan-Schreiber’s suggestions for an anti-cancer way of life:

Approach #1:

Environmental toxins have mushroomed since the 1940s, according to Servan-Schreiber. Some of his strategies to protect yourself from common toxins include:

• Air out dry-cleaned clothing.
• Avoid pesticides and insecticides.
• Avoid parabens and phthalates in cosmetics.
• Avoid chemical cleaning products.
• Avoid cigarette smoke and other atmospheric pollutants.
• Filter your tap water.

He also has some precautionary measures to minimize cell phone electromagnetic radiation exposure:

• Don’t allow children under 12 years old to use cell phones, except for emergencies.
• Keep the device away from the body by using a wireless Bluetooth headset.
• Avoid carrying a cell phone with you constantly.
• Don’t use the phone when the signal is weak because it will maximize power to locate a source.

Approach #2:

So what changes does Servan-Schreiber suggest for our diets? He is particularly concerned about the differences since the 1940s. He notes that 56% of our calories are from three sources that were non-existent when humans were just emerging. These new sources include refined sugars, such as cane and beet sugar, and corn syrup; bleached flour; and vegetable oils, including hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated trans fats.

Servan-Schreiber recommends minimizing these and maximizing those that stimulate the immune system and reduce our body’s inflammatory responses. For example, he urges using low-glycemic foods in place of sweeteners and other starches. Agave nectar and stevia are two plant-derived sweeteners with a low glycemic index. Instead of bleached flours, he recommends mixed, whole-grain cereals, multigrain bread and whole grain rice, such as basmati or Thai.

Lentils, peas, beans, sweet potatoes and yams should be substituted for the higher glycemic starches found in potatoes. Avoid jams, jellies and fruit cooked in sugar or fruit in syrup. Fruit in its natural state is preferred and can be sweetened with agave nectar. Finally, a glass of red wine a day is recommended with a meal.

He proposes an anti-cancer diet that includes the following:

• Animal proteins (optional, presumably in deference to vegetarians) derived from fish, organic meat, omega-3 eggs and organic dairy products.
• Whole grains.
• Fats and oils, such as olive, canola or flaxseed oil.
• Herbs and spices, such as turmeric, mint, thyme, rosemary and garlic.
• Vegetables and fruits and vegetable proteins, such as lentils, peas, beans and tofu.

Approach #3:

Servan-Schreiber says persistent anger or despair, social isolation, denial of true identity, and sedentary lifestyle all contribute to a sense of powerlessness, which can inhibit immune cell production and aggravate inflammatory responses. He recommends that people should do the following:

• Resolve past traumas.
• Face one’s difficulties.
• Obtain support from family and friends.
• Find someone with whom you can share your emotions.
• Engage in regular physical activity.

Approach #4:

Servan-Schreiber calls for a new relationship with our bodies. Regulation and defense mechanisms that contribute to fighting cancer can be stimulated by movement and exercise, he says. Several studies have shown that touch and massage reduce stress hormones and increasing protective cells in women with breast cancer. He recommends these keys to success:

• Begin slowly and gently.
• Try easy activities that stimulate the body gently.
• Join a group.
• Have fun.
• Figure out the appropriate activity level for your cancer.
• Seek the energy of life and not the despair of disease.

What are the keys to getting started? “Start by adding things and not taking things away,” says Servan-Schreiber. So many self-help efforts start with a negative. He suggests adding “some new spices to the diet, walk each day for 10 to 15 minutes and work up, or join a group with common interests.” Once you build confidence in your ability to adapt new behaviors, “then you are better able to let go of old habits.”

Want more? Get your own copy of Anticancer – A New Way of Life.

What Really Causes Cancer? Myths vs. Facts

Cell phones, makeup, bug spray, and even fresh produce all have been rumored to cause cancer. But should you believe every cancer myth you hear? Can you discern fact from fiction? When it comes to protecting yourself from cancer, you need to know which seemingly obscure myths may actually be true. How much do you know about your everyday cancer risks? Find out now.

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