BRCA: My Story of Hope and Healing: My Daily Regimine

Thursday

My Daily Regimine

I have had several people ask me to post about my daily nutrition routine. On an optimal day I get everything in...but being that I am a mother of six children, optimal days are few and far between! I would say that I get everything in about 70% of the time. I am dedicated to my health and it is A LOT of work. After awhile it mostly becomes a matter of routine.

I usually start my day off with exercise. Exercise cuts your cancer risks in half for multiple reasons. 1. keeps insulin levels low which prevents systemic inflammation (research is showing huge links to chronic inflammation and disease.) 2. Keeps your lymph system moving. Our bodies have twice as much lymph fluid as blood and our blood has a pump (heart.) Exercise and movement is what keeps our lymph system moving and preventing it from becoming stagnant. 3. Reduced estrogen levels which is particularly beneficial to breast cancers.

A study by Harvard Medical School showed that Women with Breast Cancer who exercised 3 times a week improved their chance of survival by 40%. This benefit also remained regardless of whether the cancer was an isolated tumor or it had already spread.

It has also been suggested that apoptosis (programmed cell death) is triggered by exercise, causing cancer cells to die.

Breakfast: 2 C freshly juiced veggies usually carrot, tomato, cucumber, broccoli, spinach celery. From there it varies to what i have on hand. In my juice I add iodine and liquid vitamin D3. I also take a probiotic in the morning.

Vitamins: magnesium, krill oil supplement, selenium (key to body utilizing the iodine)

Sprouts: I eat about a cup of alfalfa sprouts and a half a cup of brocolli sprouts. I put them in a bowl and eat them like a salad (I don't put dressing on them...some people do.)

Coconut Oil: I melt a coupled tablespoons of coconut oil into a small cup of hot chocolate sometime in the early afternoon.

Melatonin: I take a melatonin at night. We all know that sleep has a hand on our overall health and we produce melatonin when we sleep. The older we get the less melatonin we produce. I read a study (which I can't find now) that showed that nurses who worked the night shift had a 60% increased incidence of breast cancer (our bodies can't produce melatonin while sleeping during the light hours,) and blind women (who produce melatonin all the time) had a zero incidence of breast cancer. It has been suggested, especially as we age that a melatonin supplement in very beneficial. I prefer to get mine from Mercola.com (go to products) as his is bio identical melatonin and not artificial.

Other than this I try to fill the rest of my diet with as much nutritious whole, low sugar food. Do I eat desserts, absolutely...I just try to limit them. The more I embrace a wholistic diet the less I crave junk, but I definitely do indulge...keeps my diet realistic and not extreme!

Some reads on Melatonin

HERE

HERE

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About Me

My name is Cami, I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister and a friend. I have six beautiful children and an amazing husband.

In December 2010 my mother passed away at the age of 53 of breast cancer. Two weeks later I found out that I am a carrier of the same genetic mutation, BRCA 2, that my mother had.

I have taken some steps medically and naturally to beat my odds of cancer. I am sharing my journey here to benefit those seeking knowledge and information about cancer, genetic mutation and good health in general.

What are my chances for developing cancer with a BRCA gene mutation?

According to estimates, about 36% – 85% of women with a BRCA gene mutation will develop breast cancer. In other words, women with an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are 3 to 7 times more likely to develop breast cancer than women without a BRCA mutation.

Having a BRCA mutation increases your lifetime risk of developing ovarian cancer from an estimated 2% (general population) to between 20- 60%. Note that these figures are estimated ranges that may change with more research.

A woman's lifetime chance of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer is greatly increased if she tests positive for a BRCA mutation. If you have a BRCA mutation, you also have an increased risk of developing these cancers at a young age (before menopause), and may have an increased chance of developing colon cancer.

This mutatuion is passed down through a mother or a father. If your mother or father tests negative, the children need not worry about the genetic mutation.