Sunshine and Greens

A JOURNEY THROUGH CANCER
by: MUFFET DOLAR VILLEGAS

I like surfing the net. Not only because I had to write and prepare news for radio newscast everyday, but because I find it interesting to read more on recent updates about cancer and share it with you. I am biased with breast cancer for obvious reason that I went through it, but I’m trying not to be selfish.

A little bit of sunshine can help curb breast cancer, according to Marilynn Marcionne AP Medical writer based on a recent study. Although the amount of vitamin D needed to get a little more bargain with life can’t be determined yet.

The study shows that breast cancer patients with low levels of vitamin D have less chance to survive. Fifteen minutes of exposure to the sunlight a few times a week without sunscreen can be beneficial, too much of it can also raise the risk of skin cancer.

Study leader Dr. Pamela Goodwin of Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto said that “It has been the first time that vitamin D has been linked to breast cancer progression.”

But she also warns that people should be cautious in taking vitamin D since too much of it is also harmful. Experts are adamant on how much the amount should be taken, or what is the best way to benefit from it. Even if vitamin D can be found in some foods, D-3 which matters most is not present in some of those foods.

Early findings also revealed that vitamin D may help prevent other forms of cancer such as prostate and especially colon cancer. Doctors suggest that breast cancer patients should check their vitamin D levels if they are deficient or not.

People who lived in places far from the equator have higher occurrences of cancer while those who are near the equator have less incidence of the disease.

In another survey result, those who were found to be low in magnesium are also prone to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and some cancer. A lack of magnesium also accelerates aging in human cells.

Magnesium is essential to the body to make the bones strong, maintain the rhythm of the heart, and makes the muscle and nerve function normally. Magnesium can be found in green vegetables like spinach.

Beans nuts and unrefined grains are also rich with this micronutrient.

About 184,450 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States alone and 40,930 deaths are expected this year.

The incidence of this disease is rising everyday even here in the Philippines, and medical institutions, health practitioners, schools and cancer support groups are raising awareness on the importance of early detection. Awareness and prevention should start even with the young. Cancer is bad news.

But cancer is limited. It cannot destroy hope, love and faith. It cannot stop friendship nor suppress courage.

And most of all, cancer cannot take away eternal life.