This post is written for my dear friend, Toni Turchi, and her dear friend, Christi; may somehow, by the grace of god, a cure be found now, before it is too late.

On December 23, 1971, President Richard Nixon officially declared war on cancer. Since then, more than 12 million Americans have died from cancer–Approximately 1500 people each day.  That’s 45,000 each month.  Despite all, despite upwards of $45 billion spent since the war on cancer began, cancer still exists and kills. The problem is that each form can require a different approach to treatment, and it takes more than just treatment to beat the disease. Even when one therapy works, cancer has a habit of returning in a new and more virulent form.  Apparently cancer is a far more formidable foe than the Nixon administration realized.

That some progress has been made is great; targeted therapies as well as the delivery methods of these treatments have reduced the damage they inflict and improved survival. However, the solution is not to have to treat cancer…it is to prevent it entirely. The drastic increases in cancer rates over the past century are not due to chance.  They are due most likely to the lifestyle that has become standard in the modern world; poor diet, exposure to industrial pollutants, tainted and modified food sources, pesticides, toxic plastic and personal care products and a host of other things.

Experts agree that many, if not most, forms of cancer are preventable. We can do this with integrative, complementary and alternative approaches.  Cancer prevention entails doing what one can to avoid the  triggers and by reinforcing the body’s innate ability to defend itself against cancer with the best possible combination of diet, exercise, supplements, and mind-body therapies—always keeping in mind that carcinogenesis and cancer promotion are a combination of nature (genetic and biological factors) and nurture (environmental factors).  A great book to read on this is Nurture Nature/Nurture Health, by Dr Mitch Gaynor.

Some people are more vulnerable to cancer than others because of biological predispositions or genetic factor; still, there is much that can be done to prevent cancer within those parameters.

But for many, this is not enough, or is too difficult or costly to implement; further, it is no guarantee that cancer will not develop or recur.

In many cases, cancer prevention just isn’t an option; it isn’t enough.  The disease may have already taken hold as is the case for millions of people….many individuals have genetic or biological predispositions to cancer that have little to do with their lifestyle choices.  We need treatments that work; treatments that do not cause side effects, or resulting effects, that jeopardize health and survival.  We need treatments that work with the body’s natural healing processes without harming the immune and lymphatic systems, two of the body’s most important natural defenses against cancer; treatments that do not harm our vital organs.  And we need these treatments right now.

Current cancer therapies focus on the use of highly toxic therapies to try to kill off as many cancerous cells as possible; they are designed to target rapidly dividing cells, and so often the cells of the body that divide the quickest—including those at the roots of the hair and teeth, in bone marrow, and in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract—may also be attacked; heart muscles are damaged. In addition to the extreme fatigue and anemia resulting from the harsh chemical destruction of the cells, the patient’s immunity suffers and the patient becomes vulnerable to life-threatening infections; the collateral damage from this approach is considerable. Radiation, while helpful in this war, is in itself, a carcinogen.

Alternative cancer medicine seeks less toxic ways to treat cancer.  It makes use of a holistic view of this disease, and tries to figure out what tools the body needs to reverse the growth of tumors while minimizing collateral damage.  However, these treatments vary in efficacy, are costly, and are not covered by most insurance companies.

The key to winning the war on cancer is to fight it intelligently, with the best tools available.  However, here we are forty-one years later, and we still lack that intelligence.  It’s not for lack of trying; it’s not for lack of funding. Perhaps it is time to change the paradigm.

                                      A vaccine may well be the answer

My vision, my hope, is to end cancer through the use of safe and effective vaccines.  This may take years, years many of us do not have, but for the sake of our children and our grandchildren, I implore you, keep an open mind to the idea—fund the vaccines that are in the works, put research dollars towards this effort. Yes, these vaccines must not come with baggage, and therefore must be tested extensively prior to mainstream usage–but we can’t wait any longer to begin these trials. We absoutlely need a cure for those with advanced cancer and mets; no doubt.  I just don’t think that new treatments, while critical now,  are the ultimate goal. Ultimately, we want to prevent cancer so that we don’t have to treat it. Fund vaccines to prevent recurrence, vaccines to halt the spread and yes, vaccines to prevent the disease entirely.  Throw down the gauntlets….let’s see one world without cancer.

In good health,

Elyn

If history presents, roughly 230,000 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in the US in 2012…Please donate to the Toni Turchi Fondation; help fund the first ever preventive breast cancer vaccine.

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Elyn Jacobs is a breast cancer survivor, professional cancer coach, radio talk show host, speaker, and the Executive Director for the Emerald Heart Cancer Foundation. Elyn empowers women to choose the path for treatment that best fits their own individual needs.  She is passionate about helping others move forward into a life of health and wellbeing. Elyn lives in New York with her husband and two young boys.  Find Elyn at www.elynjacobs.wordpress.com. To tune into the Survive and Live Well show, visit www.W4CS.com, Tuesdays at 1pm, EST.

 Follow Elyn on Twitter@elynjacobs, Facebook @Elyn Jacobs Consulting and LinkedIn @Elyn Jacobs