Part 1 and 2 of “A Natural Approach To Breast Cancer” is featured in the November and December Tonic Magazine as part of a monthly column I write called “Wylde About Health”
Breast cancer is a malignancy of the breast that is common in women and rare in men. It is characterized by unregulated replication of cells creating tumours, with the possibility of some of the cells spreading to other sites – a process known as metastasis. Historically, the diagnosis of breast cancer typically occurred when a painless one-sided lump is discovered. In recent years, diagnosis begins with suspicious findings from a routine screening mammogram. In more advanced cases, changes to the contour of the affected breast may occur, and the lump may eventually become immovable.
If breast cancer spreads to a distant part of the body (distal metastasis), symptoms are determined by the location to which the cancer has spread. For example, if breast cancer spreads to bone, it frequently causes bone pain; if it spreads to the brain, it generally causes neurological symptoms, such as headaches that do not respond to aspirin. When it has spread to other parts of the body, breast cancer also eventually causes severe weight loss, untreatable fatigue-inducing anaemia, and finally death.
SCREENING: Most breast cancer is not hereditary, although a small percentage of women have a genetic weakness that dramatically increases their risk. Women with a strong family history of breast cancer may choose to explore the possibility of genetic testing with a geneticist, found on the staff of many major hospitals. Aside from this and the importance of a personal self screening and doctor ordered mammography, there are two other tests that should be considered…