Living Well Today And Tomorrow

Living Well Today and Tomorrow

The word cancer strikes a deadly fear in almost all who hear it. The fear itself can be a self fulfilling prophecy. . It is likely you have known someone who battled with cancer, or knew someone who knew someone who fought the fight. I too have known someone with cancer, my father. My father, who my sister and I referred to as "Mr. Nutrition" since early in life, was diagnosed with urethral cancer last year. He hid the problems from us for a while, most likely to not strike us with fear, prematurely. I rode with him and other loved ones to Ohio State University Medical Center in February 2006, still not knowing exactly what was happening, but knowing it was likely to be serious. He went into operating room for a few hours and then we spoke to the head of urology. I then learned the harsh news, my father had a growth and it was cancerous. Dr. Bahnson, the head of urology, said he had never seen such a thing in his entire career. Even after finding out what the problem was, the uncertainty grew, along with the fear. My father, who had always lived a lifestyle that would be called low risk and healthy, had some crazy sort of cancer-most common in third-world countries. How such a thing could happen, was hard, impossible even, to process. The dark cloud continued to grow visit after visit. The cancer was in the 4th stage. The cancer count was high. The cancer had begun the deadly spread into the body. It was in the lymph nodes. It was serious. The staff at the medical center told us the chance of survival was 2 to 4 percent. They gave him 6 months to live. While others might have thought of this as a death sentence, my father referred to it as the little "c."

Proving that he was taking survival seriously, he took the first step: serious research for unbiased, objective information. Research is not an easy task; there is plenty of information-some influenced by special interests and greed, some formulated through ignorance, and some suffering from poorly designed studies. There are a few truths that are consistent. Cancer happens when cells go buck wild. To be very basic: a mutation happens in a DNA cell, which then reproduces, and the take over begins. Cancer is the main cause of mortality in developed countries (Nutrition Reviews Oct. 2006 p. 40). The likelihood of developing cancer is great, forty two percent of Americans living today can expect to develop cancer. In 2004 roughly 563, 700 people died of cancer in the United State, approximately 1, 544 a day (Quinn 52). Eight out of ten people will die from either coronary heart disease or cancer (Rath 11). Although the numbers do not lie, and I too thought for a little while, what does it even matter? There is much proof that cancer, and many other health problems can be prevented by simple measures, such as to quit smoking, eating properly, and exercising.

Clearly, smoking is a bad idea. Nowadays everyone knows that smoking will greatly increase the chances of lung cancer. Smoking is one of the most obvious causes of cancer to understand and arguably the easiest to stop. However, smoking still causes 30 percent of cancer deaths, not to mention deaths from respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease (Alabaster p. 21). Many still continue to smoke, knowing the future effects printed on the side of the box. It is hard to know the exact reason people still choose to smoke.

Along with the different diets around the globe, the types of cancer are also different. It is believed that one third of cancers are related to diet. Some think as much as 40 percent of men and 60 percent of women's cancers are related to diet (Winawer & Shike 21). The problem is America's diet is way too high in total fat, sugar (which is what cancer feeds from), processed grains, and animal protein, while deficient in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fiber. Without the proper nutrients, the immune system becomes weakened and is more susceptible to cancer.

As with the other two factors of cancer being well known, so is the third. It is well known that being overweight will cause health problems. Although many Americans will develop cancer, only 14 percent of active Americans will develop cancer (Quinn 49). This is a huge reduction in numbers and in human suffering. Chemical carcinogens are stored in body fat rather than being expelled from the body (Winawer & Shike 79), therefore increasing the likelihood of the disease. I tend to think this is the most difficult area out of the three to change. It is well known that exercise has many benefits; however poor nutrition, as experienced by most Americans induces lethargy. Life will be lengthened if excess weight is lost, and increased energy levels will lead to a higher quality of life. The first steps are the hardest- to change your diet and begin to exercise. What is needed is determination to overcome the lack of momentum and motivation. As for many things in life, determination will take you far.

Determination is also the only thing that can help a smoker to quit. Time after time we hear the saying you can't quit until you want to. This is true. Smoking is really up to the individual. It is hard to give up, and almost always it is a very strong addiction. I think it seems irresponsible for our government to allow something with so much evidence as being harmful and addictive (to continue to when it outlaws less malignant things). It is not that simple though, there is a lot of money and a lot of people involved with tobacco production and processing. Huge profits would all be lost if everyone quit smoking and a lot of workers in this industry would be displaced. Also, the government would pay out a lot more with the social security program and such if everyone made it to ripe old age (Alabaster 26).

Eating healthy has gotten much press recently. The food pyramid has even changed lately. The foods and vegetables are now the most important part. We are learning more about nutrition and what is important and essential to the body. Cancer is strongly associated with smoking, but not so much nutrition. Eating right is linked to maladies like heart disease and diabetes. However, with nutrition, all of these things are stopped, and even reversed. My father used nutrition and alternative healthcare to turn around a very serious condition. He received high doses of intravenous vitamin C and phytochemicals. In addition, my father took aggressive steps to increase his omega-3 levels and eat the most effective foods for cancer reversal. In addition, he drastically reduced sugar intake and animal protein consumption.