A Recipe for Beating (and Preventing) Breast Cancer
The latest research on natural progesterone and breast cancer clearly indicates how important it is for women to maintain healthy, normal levels of progesterone that are in proper balance with oestrogen. Doing so could not only increase many women’s chances of recovering from breast cancer — as the latest research indicates — but could also help them to avoid getting breast cancer in the first place.
As Dr. John Lee and Dr. David Zava point out in their book, hormonal imbalances have reached epidemic proportions in most developed countries over the last several decades. Due to poor diets, lack of exercise, a rise in obesity levels, the widespread use of hormone-altering chemicals, and other factors, many women suffer from chronically higher than normal oestrogen levels and much lower than normal progesterone levels. In other words, many women are in chronic states of oestrogen dominance. This is one of the key reasons why breast cancer rates are as high as they are.
Considering the epidemic levels of hormonal imbalance we are experiencing, how can a woman know if her progesterone and oestrogen levels are in proper balance? If they are out of balance, how can she return them to proper balance and maintain them in that all-important state? Dr. Lee and Dr. Zava answered these questions in their landmark book: What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer. While it is not possible here to cover everything they wrote, here is a short summary of their recommendations.
Practical Steps to Restore Hormone Balance
1. Check Yourself for Symptoms of Oestrogen Dominance
While being oestrogen dominant is bad news, the good news is that it usually leaves a clear trail of symptoms. To find out if you may be oestrogen dominant, read Dr. Lee’s list of oestrogen dominance symptoms. If you find that you have a number of the symptoms on this list, chances are good that you are suffering from this syndrome.
2. Get Your Hormone Levels Tested
While symptoms are good indicators of hormonal imbalances, the most decisive tool for identifying imbalances is a hormone test. As a general rule, Dr. Lee and Dr. Zava recommended that women who are concerned about breast cancer test at least five hormones: oestradiol (the most potent oestrogen in the human body and the one most frequently linked to breast cancer), progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and DHEA-S.
Our Comprehensive Female Saliva Hormone Profile (LCMS) measures exactly these five key hormones — oestradiol, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA-S and cortisol — from a simple at-home saliva sample, giving you and your practitioner the data needed to assess your oestrogen/progesterone ratio and overall hormonal health.
3. Work with Doctors Trained in the Use of Natural Hormones
Beating breast cancer is a team effort, so build a team that will support rather than thwart your quest for hormone balance. While growing numbers of doctors are becoming aware of the value of natural hormones, many have not kept up with the latest research and may resist your suggestions.
4. Take Physiological Doses of Bioidentical Progesterone When Needed
When it comes to taking natural hormone supplements, it is critical to remember that more is not better. The goal is to return hormone levels to what would be considered normal for a healthy person. In most cases, this means taking relatively small amounts of bioidentical hormones and regularly reevaluating hormone levels through saliva testing. Many women find after testing their hormones that all they need is some bioidentical progesterone to establish proper balances between the major hormones. Others, however, find that they may need to add other natural hormone supplements to achieve balance and get adequate symptom relief.
For women who want to specifically monitor their adrenal hormones — cortisol and DHEA-S — alongside their hormone therapy, our Adrenal Function Saliva Test Kit (LCMS) measures DHEA-S and cortisol across four time points throughout the day, helping to reveal whether adrenal imbalance is contributing to oestrogen dominance.
5. Eliminate Hormone-Altering Chemicals and Xenohormones
Every day, our bodies are exposed to toxic chemicals that did not exist just a decade or two ago. There are synthetic hormones in the foods we eat, pesticides in our air and water, and oestrogen-like compounds in many of the products we use every day. Many of these chemicals and xenohormones are known cancer-causing agents. Fortunately, we can sharply reduce our exposure to these substances and dramatically reduce their presence in our bodies. What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer identifies the sources of these chemicals and offers concrete advice for avoiding them.
6. Use Diet and Exercise to Support Hormone Balance
Our modern diets are heavily tilted towards foods that promote obesity and oestrogen dominance. Our sedentary lifestyles only reinforce this problem. Both women and men can benefit from reducing their intake of sugars, refined carbohydrates, and foods that are high in trans-fatty acids while increasing their intake of organic, cruciferous vegetables (e.g. cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts), fruits, and fibre. They can also benefit from regular, moderate exercise, which helps metabolise and eliminate excess oestrogens.
7. Keep Educating Yourself — You Are Your Best Health Advocate
When it comes to preventing or fighting breast cancer in your body, you have every right to be the leading decision maker. Dr. Lee and Dr. Zava firmly believed this and wrote What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer for patients as well as their doctors. The book contains a wealth of information that can help you make important decisions with your doctor. For instance, if your doctor is recommending you take an oestrogen inhibitor such as Tamoxifen, the book can help you weigh the pros and cons of using such drugs as well as chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatment options.
Thanks to the latest research, we have further proof that Dr. Lee and Dr. Zava were ahead of their time when they said that natural hormone balance could help prevent and treat breast cancer. For women who want a comprehensive view of their full hormonal and overall health picture in a single panel, our Women All-In-One Test – Hormones, Neurotransmitters & Heavy Metals covers sex hormones, adrenal markers, neurotransmitters and toxic elements — with specialist interpretation included. We support you in learning from them, putting what you learn into practice, and sharing what you learn with your family, friends, and doctors.
Original of this article was published on ZRT Laboratory Blog.