Trip to Tijuana Mexico change my outlook forever

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Overweight, Obesity Linked to Cancers

Study Shows High Body Mass Index Ups Risk of Common and Rare Cancers By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Feb. 14, 2008 -- If you're overweight or obese you have an increased risk for developing many common and not-so-common cancers, a research analysis shows.

Researchers combined data from more than 200 sets of data -- including more than 282,000 people -- that considered the impact of weight on 15 cancer sites.

Increased weight was most strongly linked to an increased risk for cancer of the esophagus in men and women and for endometrial and gallbladder cancers in women.

A modest association was found between excess weight and the risk for more common malignancies such as postmenopausal breast cancer in women, colon cancer in men, and blood cancer in both sexes.

But carrying extra weight was not associated with an increase in risk for prostate cancer in men, premenopausal breast cancer and ovarian cancer in women, and lung cancer in men and women.

The analysis appears in the Feb. 16 issue of The Lancet.

"We were surprised to find associations to both common and less common cancers," researcher Andrew G. Renehan, PhD, tells WebMD. "We also saw very clear differences between [obesity-related] risk at different sites between the sexes."

BMI and Cancer Risk

Renehan and colleagues from the University of Manchester in England used body mass index (BMI) measures from the studies to assess risk.

BMI is a numerical measure of fatness based on a person's weight relative to height. A BMI of 18.5 to below 25 is considered normal weight, while 25 to just under 30 is considered overweight, but not obese. Someone is considered obese if they have a BMI of 30 or above.

To put the numbers in perspective, someone who is 5-feet 7-inches tall would have a BMI of 25, 30, or 35, respectively, if they weighed 160, 190, or 225 pounds.

In men and women, each 5-point increase in BMI was associated with a roughly 50% increase in relative risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is still relatively uncommon but growing in the U.S.

Other highlights from the analysis include:

• Among women, each 5-point increase in BMI was associated with a roughly 60% increase in risk for endometrial (uterine) cancer. About 39,000 new cases of the cancer were estimated in the U.S. last year, with 7,400 estimated deaths from the disease. 
• The link between overweight and obesity and colon cancer was stronger in men than in women; each 5-point increase in BMI was associated with a 24% increase in relative risk among men and a 9% increase in women. 
• Excess weight was a much stronger risk factor for gallbladder cancer in women than in men, with each 5-point increase in BMI associated with a 59% increase in the relative risk for the cancer in women and no statistically significant increase in men. Gallbladder cancer is rare, with only about an estimated 9,000 new cases diagnosed last year in the U.S. 
• Each 5-point increase in BMI was associated with a 12% increase in the risk of breast cancer after menopause in women, but no increase in risk prior to menopause. 
• Increased BMI was also associated with a modest increased risk for blood cancers like leukemia, multiple myeloma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in both men and women.

Estimating Future Risk

Being able to quantify cancer risk in relation to body weight should help public health officials estimate the impact of both the aging of the population and the obesity epidemic on cancer rates over the next decade and beyond, Renehan says.

Nutritional epidemiologist Susanna Larsson, PhD, of Stockholm's Karolinska Institutet tells WebMD that the analysis makes it clear that more needs to be done at the community level to help people maintain healthy body weights.

"We have not seen the initiatives that will be needed to address this problem," she says.

American Cancer Society epidemiologist Michael Thun, MD, MS, agrees.

"If people could lose weight easily they would," he tells WebMD. "But the fact is, there are many, many things in our social and physical environment that make it easy to gain weight. Food is everywhere, and physical activity is no longer built into our daily lives. For most people it is voluntary."

Although awareness is growing, Thun says most people still don't know that being overweight or obese makes them more likely to get cancer.

"They know that obesity is linked to heart disease and diabetes," he says. "But the average person on the street would still be surprised that obesity is related to cancer risk."

prettyinpink - Thank you so much for replying.  I am so terribly sorry to hear you lost your daughter.  I agree with you about placing too much hope in a particular treatment.  So many of us are struggling through this journey searching for answers.  Hugs Joann

DID YOU NOT GET IT WORRIEDHUBBY6 WE DO NOT CARE TO HEAR OF ANYTHING YOU HAVE TO SAY. MOVE ON... YOU HAVE NO CREDITABLY HERE.

YOU STILL HAVE NOT ANSWERED THE QUESTION WHERE THE WIFE WHAT HER DIAGNOSES!  YOU ARE THE SCAMMER YOU HAVE NO CONNECTION TO BREAST CANCER. WE KNOW YOU HAVE BEEN ASK TO LEAVE OTHER SITES.. SO BE (WELL I CAN'T USE THE WORD GENTLEMEN) BUT WHATEVER YOU ARE AND GO AWAY!

We are not saying Mexico is better than conventional treatment.  We are just saying it a option and this is why.

FLALADY

It is important everybody realize what the author to the first thread said here " This is the only place to go to save your life"  This person is suggesting that the Mexican Clinics should be the first stop for all diagnosed with cancer, i.e, forget all of the treatments for breast cancer offered in the US, despite the fact 90% of early stage cancers are cured with surgery, chemo and radiation.

It would be a sad day for this board if it were to quash contrary opinions to what some of the members like.  It is because of my profession and because I have been involved in litigation with "scamsters" that I am attuned to irrational and nonseical statements and skeptical of so much of what I read and hear.  Having had a friend die after he rejected traditional medicine because he was convinced by a quack of the superiority of alternative treatment, I especially have contempt for those who would prey on cancer victims for the sole purpose of making a profit.  When I interpreted the initial post in this thread as recommending the quack mexican clinics over and above traditional medicine, that was simply too much for me to keep quiet about.  Understand that I fully understand the lure of alternative medicine and having a wife suffering from breast cancer, I too have researched the internet for non-traditional treatments that might help her.  But we are hopeful she has been cured by early surgical intervention. Traditioinal treatment,including surgery, chemo (if necessary) and radiation (if necessary) are the best hope of nipping this disease in the bud.  If not, if a person progresses to Stage 4, it still often can be managed for years with traditional medicine.  But if not, people need to be skeptical of these alternative treatment centers that are very good at hiding and denying their failures.  And there is enough information on these Mexican Clinics to know that they should be avoided at all costs and that many of them are directed by criminals who are in it solely for profit. 

FloridaLady, thanks for the article on gene therapy.  It looks promising.  I saw the stats you quoted on number of newly diagnosed cases and then deaths this year over 40,000.  it really bothers me that people think we have licked this disease, that you lose your hair, it grows back, get on with your life, end of story.  I am so glad you are actively researching for us and giving us hope that that there is research out there, not just mammograms and early detection, which is not always possible.  Stay well, Maryiz

I have immensely enjoyed reading these posts because I like to reflect upon information. I appreciate the effort you ladies put into informing us of things and giving us much to think about. I am possibly the most down-to-earth and practical person I know, but I enjoy being open to information.

WorriedHubby6., I would like to make a respectful suggestion. I am sure there are many of us here who read this thread who are very disappointed that we cannot continue to enjoy it because of the snap/snarl that has crept it. This is not a forum for arguments and disagreements, but for information-sharing. I detect that you have some genuine stuff to get off your chest. I am thinking that there is probably a better support site to hop on to..not a breast-cancer site.

We girls here have our own agenda, and unfortunately for you, I think it's inconsistent with yours. Maybe a 'general' kind of cancer forum would be better for you?  Maybe a more 'consumer law' related one? I don't know.

Hallelujah!   Maybe worried hubby will give this thread a rest!    I have not enjoyed his antagonizing ways....I don't agree with all the alternative stuff either and at first I was direpectful of all your opinions....I have since changed my tune and realized we all have our own opinions and are entitled to whatever treatment we want or can afford.........I wish all you Stage 4 ladies well and wish for a miracle for all of us.....i pray for a cure all the time.......I hope it comes in my lifetime and if not maybe in my daughter's lifetime.....Peace to you all.........

Bren...is that the same as an autogenous vaccine??

If so I had it done in 1971 here in San Diego

He's got a "trooper" of a wife, who has never expressed any overt hostility and anger??? He's probably got her gagged and handcuffed in a closet someplace. Good riddance...........

I am concerned about this thread.  Alternative therapies are fine. I take certain vitamins and supplements, some not completely researched.   However, I think someone who goes ONLY for alternative therapies is seriously dependent on unverified medical practices.  Ladies, be careful, use the intelligence God gave you.  If something sounds too good to be true, it generally is too good to be true.  As individuals with breast cancer we all are suseptible to false claims.  During the Middle Ages the practice for hepatitis was to drink urine from the public toilets to "flush out" the bilirubin.  YOU MUST EXERCISE YOUR GOD GIVEN RATIONALE MIND.

I found the following information on transfer factor.  Remember, studies need to be peer reviewed, and are only as good as the institutions from which they arise.  You are playing with your lives, and unfortunately there are people out there that are more interested in your pocketbook.

"Transfer factor is currently a product being sold in an MLM scheme. The 4Life TF product you refer to is a product which has no proven value in any illness. Claims of it "boosting the immune system" are unsubstantiated by any peer-reviewed journal publication. I cannot find any reference in a Pubmed Medline search.

Medicine Man is an interesting article which tells of how this product is being sold via the MLM mechanism

But 4Life Research is not a typical health supplement supplier, either. The various Transfer Factor products generally are not sold in retail outlets, but by self-employed distributors who operate within a classic multi-level marketing plan. Their goal is not only to sell the products, but to entice others to become distributors as well as that's where the real money is. A distributor who spawns others, who in turn spawn still others, supposedly can make five or even six figures per year with shockingly little effort

What is "transfer factor"?

The term "transfer factor" has various unrelated meanings in science. Its first use related to immunity stems from research performed by Dr. H.S. Lawrence of New York University in the 1940s.
In Lawrence's work, transfer factor referred to "an extract of human white blood cells that could transfer a type of immunity called cell-mediated immunity," says Dr. Burton Zweiman, a professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania who worked in Lawrence's lab 40 years ago. "Investigation of TF has been somewhat erratic over the years, with both supporters and deniers of its biologic importance."
-
"I am not aware of any studies of transfer factor being obtained from cow colostrum and [transferring] immune reactivity to humans," says Dr. Zweiman. "Nor could I find any reference to it in a Medline search of the medical literature."
A spokeswoman for the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, says, "NCCAM has not funded any research on this therapy, nor have I heard of it before now."
-
But Dr. Fudenberg, reached at his office in Spartanburg, SC, says the report - which he described as the results of a review of other scientists' work - stated nothing of the sort. "The conclusion," Fudenberg says forcefully, "was that the commercial firms making this for humans were invariably run by people who were not scientists and who didn't care whether their products were harmful or not."

and more:

City Paper forwarded a transcript of 4Life's promotional audio cassette "From Here to Immunity," which was distributed at the seminar in Valley Forge, to various immunologists, microbiologists and biochemists. Those who responded were skeptical.
"Speaking from a standpoint of mainstream medicine, there is not a lot of familiarity [with] or support for this kind of practice," says Dr. James T. Li, professor of medicine at the Mayo Medical School in Rochester, MN, and member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "This is a form of alternative treatment," he says, which, he adds, almost by definition means there is little evidence to support its proponents' claims - at least not the kind of evidence doctors and scientists generally like to see.
Li hesitates to call 4Life's claims misleading or false, but says, "I would be skeptical, and I would advise others to be as well."

Others are more blunt.

"Most of the clinical studies of transfer factors have been based on the specificity of each transfer factor," says Dr. Charles Kirkpatrick, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology - who says he once declined 4Life's offer to act as a consultant.

For example, he explains, "a transfer factor that is specific for Herpes simplex will prevent recurrent infections with this virus. The approach being used by 4Life and other companies is to ignore the specificity issue and make non-specific claims for boosting the immune system."

and there is the usual disclaimer

And in the fine print, 4Life Research's own materials include startlingly blunt disclaimers such as this one: "Transfer Factor and Transfer Factor Plus do not claim, nor should it be interpreted, to cure, prevent or mitigate any serious disease." And this: "These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."

You claim that it is a "highly recommended as an alternative medicinal help to many chronic diseases especially by the Russian Ministry of Health." I am sorry but claims like these need to be backed up by solid clinical studies and sound scientific evidence. I can't find any.

**Testimonial evidence is NOT scientific evidence**

I am not reproducing the links to the websites you emailed as I do not condone unproven "health products". FYI the FDA has taken action against websites falsely promoting Transfer factor for unfounded therapeutic claims

Is colostrum from cows good for you? Yes, if you are a baby cow....."

JUST BE  CAREFUL

A personal PM from worriedasshole...Mediator how much longer will this have to go on? Women with Stage IV cancer are women who are fighters....how has this become all about him and his hurt pride?

Relation with my wife, I will be perfectly honest with you here, you are an incredibly mean, vicious, negative person and I suspect your miserable personality long pre-exists your illness. And it may even have contributed to your illness because studies show miserable people have weaker  immune systems and suffer from more illness.  I doubt you have a husband.  You have the type of personality guys universally hate and its hard to imagine your being in a long lasting relationship.  You would think a woman with a terminal disease would try to be more compassionate and generous about life, making peace with herself and the world around her.  But your bitterness shines through loud and clear.  So when you attack my wife and myself because you don't like my opinions, all I can say is that look what you have to show for what you are.  I wouldn't trade places with you.

motheroffour, I pray for taxotete too...also Gemzar, Carbo, Avastin, Abraxene.... Anything out there that can help just one person get healed? You are right there are many crooks out there.  I've even found the few in the medical industry also.  It does make me sick that people would take advanage of a cancer patient. Buyer beware no doubt.  That is why I want us to openly talk about what we learn with alternatives. Maybe we can help someone else.

Flaldy

This post has taken many turns along the way good/bad however I think we all learned something from it.  My take is I feel the current drugs are toxic and basically poison your system.  The side effects are documented.  Many patients successfully can get through these treatments with while others have serious problems. These treatments are all we have so far and they have saved lives.  However, I feel we are all waiting for better and safer treatments to possibly prevent bc but especially for those of us already diagnosed to prevent recurrence or worse.

Myself having gone through surgery, chemo, radiation and now AI have been doing my own research as my treatment facility does not provide information or guidance for recovery from cancer and the treatments.  So I look for nutrition, diet, supplements etc to improve my immune system and treat my permanent neuropathy.  I hope as more patients start to demand better recovery and post treatment guidance that it will be provided to us in a validated manner.  Maybe this is a grass roots movement saying we want and need more than just these treatments but we need guidance so we can survive.  We are fighting for our lives and sometimes that seems to be lost in the media articles, treatment profits, politics, etc.  So often the general public thinks if you are treated then you are cured.  Hopefully you are one of the lucky ones. However your live is changed forever once you are diagnosed - - - you are always wondering if the cancer has returned.

I just wanted to add kind of a funny story here.  In a previous post I mentioned that my supplements are charted by the onc nurses during my visits.  Twice I've had a nurse ask why I took a particular supplement as she had many patients taking it but she herself didn't know why.  I told the details of my onc visit to my 82 year old mother and described the supplements and vitamins.  My elderly mother knew of these supplements and vitamins as she learned all about them watching QVC!!!  Yes, she has taken her vitamins and supplements for years!  God bless her!!