Susan G Komen

It's statements like this:

"The only thing that will PREVENT all cancers is the sun."

That brings scorn, to alternative treatments, when some of them, do have value.  This "absolutism" is distracting from a discussion of what could be of value.

Thanks again to the Moderators for making Alternatives a forum apart from Complementrary and Holistic.   

Leia wrote:

"Most people in Europe and elsewhere STILL smoke. And they are not dropping like flies. It is just statists, like jyg that claim that. A claim I just reject."

The following are more than statistics from Europe. They represent deaths of real people:

In developed countries smoking causes 90% of lung cancers in men and up to 86% of cases in women. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer among males. In the USA lung cancer is the leading cause of death among women.

About 26% of all deaths from any form of cancer in the EU are caused by smoking.

16% of deaths from CVD in men and 5% in women are due to smoking. The numbers dying in the EU from CVD due to smoking rose by 13% between 1990 and 2000.

Of all deaths in the EU in 2005 caused by COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) more than 64% were attributable to tobacco.

Mortality from COPD is 14 times higher in cigarette smokers than in never-smokers. Lower respiratory diseases are also partly caused by tobacco use.

In the European Union over 650,000 Europeans are killed every year because they smoke, which accounts for one in seven of all deaths across the EU, and over 13 million more are suffering from a serious chronic disease as a result of their smoking.

Today, tobacco use rates are decreasing among European men while they are increasing among women, particularly in eastern, central and southern Europe. Tobacco use is also growing fast in low-income countries.

Sorry, I thought I was on a different thread - yes this one has now been moved

leia and impositive, thanks for sharing that information, i will incorporate these things into my plan too....i have gathered that 45 minutes minimum sun a day. starting with 15 minutes and building up to 45.has therapeutic value..would you recommend more or less, based on your findings?, thanks, nerida.

I wrote this on another thread, but just to add to the sunscreen information...

If any of you has taken Retin A for acne, you will recall that your doctor always told you to avoid the sun while taking Retin A (Isotretinoin or Isotretenoic Acid).  Retin A is a chemically derived form of topical Vitamin A. Much like Accutane, but for the exterior of your body.

THe purpose of avoiding the sun?  Well, with topical application or large doses of Vitamin A (as in Accutane), you will tend to burn. Badly.

Now, pull out some of your commercial sunscreens.  One of the first ingredients you will note is Retinoic Palmitate, or Retinyl Palmitate.  THIS IS VITAMIN A DERIVATIVE.  By applying this type of sunscreen, you are actually opening yourself up for "bad" sun exposure, more burns, and taking in the harmful rays in large quantities. 

So if you are taking in more than the very much needed 10-20 minutes of direct sunlight a day, it's very important to get a "Block" or "physical barrier" type of sunscreen, a la 1970s style.... Zinc Oxide. Sure, it's messy, and doesn't blend in very well, but you won't be applying pure Vitamin A to your skin for optimal skin damaging moments.  If you are interested, PM me, and I will send a list of some of the sunscreens I have found that do not contain Retinal Palmitate. 

And, just for kicks, you will find Retinyl Palmitate in many cosmetics as well, so buyer beware.

wow, i didn't know that about the Vitamin A deriviative. thanks for posting, M.

sunscreens have always confounded me. i'm extremely fair, burn easily, and with the BRCA2-melanoma link, i don't mess around. but finding a more natural sunscreen is tough. did manage to find "kiss my face" suntan oil, SPF 30, which is quite nice, but at $13 for a small bottle...

great discussions of natural makeup on the natural girls thread. i'm already coaching my 13yo to look at natural first, instead of the usual junk.

j

Laura, that article pretty much says it all.  It's maddening to me that the very thing my derm told me to do has possibly caused my skin cancers.  Before this year, I had not have ANY sun exposure since 1994. I slathered on sunscreen before going outdoors, yet I have had numerous basil cells and 2 melanomas!

Hey Leia,

Congratulations for skipping those big, bad sugary treats and not giving a penny more to the medical industrial complex whose sole goal is to take your money.

Did you pick up your cigarettes at Safeway as well along with your healthy veggies? Oh wait a minute, I remember.  The tobacco industry is just concerned about you, and not your money.  Smoke away hon!

Sorry, just hard to take anything you say seriously while you continue to smoke up a chimney and chastise everyone else for not following your au-naturelle plan (again, I didn't realize that cigarettes were natural and plant-based, but maybe they are in your world).

I ignored the fact that Leia smokes. I read what people post and cherry pick the information that I feel is right for me. Still, I hope you do kick the nasty habit Leia. I'd hate to see all your hard work eventually go down the drain one day because of it.  Remember, as we get older, the body is way less forgiving.

Hugs,

Sharon

Leia, smoking harms nearly every organ of the body, not just the lungs. You are using cigarettes to maintain a low weight.  No health conscious person would support this "weight loss plan" or base their decision to smoke in part (or entirely) on some statistics gathered by The American Cancer Society. Don't you know who they're in bed with?

In the 1930's, when health concerns surrounding cigarettes began to get public attention, tobacco companies took defensive action. They portrayed doctors in ads openly promoting cigarettes. They took advantage of the public's trust in physicians in order to quash concerns about the dangers of smoking.  Do you know how many bodies are in the ground too soon because of those deceptive ads? Digger is right. The tobacco company is not your friend.     

Also, many of the medical conditions associated with obesity are a result of sedentary lifestyle and bad food choices. Obesity has been labeled "disease" by the medical community. This label was designed to discourage overweight  people from trying to restore their health. The more people who remain dumb, fat and sick, the more surgeries and medications for conditions like diabetes, heart  disease and cancer will be in demand.   

By continuing to smoke and not properly addressing your weight issues, you are increasing your chances of needing radical medical industrial treatments down the road. Of course, the body has the ability to heal itself, but only when we continuously feed it what it needs; do our best to avoid exposing it to things that could harm it; get enough fresh air and exercise, avoid toxic relationships etc, before irreversible damage is done. Simply eating healthy is really not enough. 

Similarly, Komen needs to stop pinkwashing and  stop trying to justify why partnering with corporations that produce carcinogenic products is somehow not harmful. Again, health conscious people are not buying the nonsense misinformation that this organization and others are trying to sell. 

Actually, Leia, I think I got cancer, as a non-smoker, because of smokers like you. Kinda strange, you are, promoting your healthy lifestyle while not giving a darn about anyone else around you that you're infecting with your nicotine lifestyle.  I'd say whatever, but you're hurting all of us. 

And just to clarify, I'm not saying this to all smokers, because I know it's an addiction and really hard to kick.  But when we've got real gems like Leia here telling us what we should do and how we should be healthy, while at the same time she's endangering everyone her, it's hard to igore.

Keep healthy, Leia.

@digger: right on.

Leia, seriously, nobody cares, you know?  I mean, snaps for you that you feel healthy, but beyond that, what's the point of your posting this stuff?  Is it applause that you're looking for?  Congratulations?  A pat on the back?  Why is it so critical to you to tell some anonymous people on an Internet board that you feel great, particularly given the fact that it's important for you to rely on yourself (I'm kind of sad for you aboout that...would be nice to have some real time people to communicate with)?