Issue Date: September 18, 2005
Edgy advice on breast cancer
Trailblazing, all-natural preventions collected by a crusading doctor
By Frappa Stout
Medicine has come far in the treatment of breast cancer. But because one in eight girls born today will get the disease during their lives, prevention should be a major goal, says Christine Horner, a retired plastic surgeon from New Mexico who became a breast cancer activist after her mother died from the disease in 1994. At Horner's lobbying, in 1998 Congress required insurance companies to pay for breast reconstruction after mastectomy.
On her latest quest, Horner gathered all of the medical research available on breast cancer and was amazed by what she found. "There were thousands of studies, many published in very reputable journals, that point out exactly why we have a breast cancer epidemic," she says. "There are many natural things -- foods and supplements and herbs and activities -- that can cut your risk of breast cancer in half. And I never learned about them in medical school."
In her recent book, "Waking the Warrior Goddess: Dr. Christine Horner's Program to Protect Against & Fight Breast Cancer" (Basic Health Publications, $24.95), Horner prescribes prevention. Here are several of her tips for lowering your risk:
Drink green tea. This well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory helps prevent breast cancer by decreasing the amount of estrogen a woman's body produces. (Like cholesterol, estrogen has a good kind and a bad kind -- and an excess of the bad can promote breast cancer.) According to Horner's reading of the research, green tea also blocks new blood vessels from growing into tumors, and, for women with breast cancer, it enhances the effectiveness of chemotherapy while protecting against organ damage.
"In the presence of green tea," Horner says, "chemotherapy will concentrate inside tumor cells three times more than normal."
Add spice. According to Horner, turmeric, a popular Indian spice in curry dishes, may rid the body of cancer-causing toxins; block the estrogen receptor and COX-2 enzyme, which promotes cancer; and stop the growth of new blood vessels into tumors. "I found 1,300 studies on turmeric alone," she says. "You can add it to vegetable or rice dishes, and just 1/4 to 1/3 of a teaspoon per day is all you need for tremendous positive effects." Bonus: Have green tea and turmeric at the same meal. "They enhance each other's effectiveness," Horner says. "Green tea makes the anti-cancer effects of turmeric three times stronger, while turmeric makes green tea eight times stronger."
Learn about lignans. Found in highest concentration in flaxseed, but also in other plants and grains, lignans are nutrients that may help inhibit the formation of breast tumors and lower the amount of bad estrogen in the body. "If you take a flaxseed supplement and you measure [estrogen excreted in] the urine," Horner says, "you can see almost immediate effects -- within 24 to 48 hours."
Sleep right. Melatonin, a sleep hormone our bodies naturally produce, may help decrease the body's estrogen. One study found increased breast cancer risk among women who were awake during the critical hour in which melatonin peaks -- 1 to 2 a.m. The cancer risk increased with each night that sleep was missed during that hour. "And make sure your bedroom is as dark as possible," Horner says. "Melatonin is extremely sensitive to light."
Keep weight ideal. The ovaries aren't the only estrogen source. After menopause, fat becomes the main estrogen maker. "That's why women who are obese often don't suffer from as many pre-menopausal and menopausal symptoms as women who are thin. They have higher circulating amounts of estrogen," Horner says. "In about 20% to 30% of all post-menopausal breast cancers, obesity is thought to be a contributing factor."
Say no to alcohol. A recent study found that even modest drinking (an average of half a serving to one serving of alcohol a day) ups breast cancer risk by 16% in pre-menopausal women and 18% in post-menopausal women. Horner says alcohol causes a spike in production of estrogen and prolactin (a hormone that, at elevated levels, increases breast cancer risk). And alcohol kills liver enzymes, which help eliminate toxins and excess estrogen, Horner says.
Snack on whole soy. "Soy contains phytoestrogens, which act like estrogen blockers and have similar effects as tamoxifen, the anti-cancer drug," Horner says, "but it's natural." Examples: edamame (pea-like soybeans, found at most grocery stores), soy nuts (in flavors like Cajun and ranch), tofu and miso soup. Soy milk doesn't have as many phytoestrogens as other soy foods.
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A grain of salt
Medical doctrine agrees that obesity and alcohol are risk factors in breast cancer. But it may be premature to embrace Horner's other tips, says Carolyn Runowicz, M.D., president-elect of the American Cancer Society. "We're learning about diet," she says, "but ... the data today doesn't allow us to say definitively that it's specific micronutrients." For American Cancer Society advice, visit cancer.org.
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