Early in my career as a scientist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and for my Ph.D. dissertation research, I learned that the largest risk factors for breast cancer are:
- Hitting puberty at an early age
- Going through menopause at a late age
- Having no or late pregnancies (over age 30)
- Having fewer pregnancies overall
- Not breastfeeding
- Taking birth control pills
- Engaging in post-menopausal hormone therapy
Granted, there’s not a lot that most women can do about some of those risk factors. But a recent study has uncovered a powerful way that women can protect themselves against advanced breast cancer. And I’ll tell you all about it in a moment.
But first, let’s back up to talk about why advanced breast cancer doesn’t get the attention it deserves…
Mainstream neglects women with advanced breast cancer
As I recently reported, the entire cancer industry, and the breast cancer industry in particular, suffers from an epidemic of useless screenings, with over-diagnosis and over-treatment.
It stems from mainstream medicine’s misguided approach to “catch it early.” Which means they end up finding and treating smaller and smaller lesions of supposedly “questionable” cells. But increasingly often, these lesions, even if left alone, would NOT have spread to other parts of the body or resulted in a woman’s death. In fact, some experts argue that we shouldn’t even call such lesions “cancer.”
To make matters worse, organizations like the Susan G. Komen Foundation put the “survivors” of these harmless “cancers” behind the podium at their pink-ribbon pep rallies. But most of these “survivors” were never at risk of dying in the first place! So really, it’s all just a profitable diversion from the real problem of advanced breast cancer—which can and does lead to death.
Tragically, the mainstream continues to trumpet its hollow victories against non-cancers. But the average three-year survival rate of women diagnosed with advanced, metastatic breast cancer—the type of cancer that does spread beyond the breast—has not improved one iota in the last 40 years.
Plus, only 7 percent of all breast cancer funding goes to researching the metastatic disease of advanced breast cancer. Even though metastatic disease accounts for up to 20 percent of breast cancer diagnoses. And nearly 100 percent of all breast cancer deaths!
The recent study I mentioned earlier does actually focus on women with advanced breast cancer. And it came away with some very important findings…
Women who get more sun exposure slash their rates of advanced breast cancer
For this new study, researchers recruited nearly 1,800 women, between the ages of 35 and 79, with advanced breast cancer from the San Francisco Bay area. They compared these women to a control group of about 2,130 women without breast cancer.
Both groups included women classified as non-Hispanic white, Hispanic, and African-American. So, they had a wide range of natural skin pigmentation and different capacities to produce vitamin D in the skin.
The researchers first measured the skin color of each woman’s underarm—an area not typically exposed to sun. Then, they sorted the women into three categories according to their natural, untanned skin pigmentation: light, medium, or dark skin color. Finally, they measured the pigmentation on each woman’s forehead, which typically does get some sun exposure.
And here’s what they found…
Naturally light-skinned women with darker, tanned foreheads (indicating higher sun exposure) were more than 50 percent less likely to have advanced breast cancer than light-skinned women with lighter, untanned foreheads (indicating less sun exposure).
No association was found between sun exposure and advanced breast cancer rates in women with darker skin. But that finding could simply mean that darker-skinned women need even MORE sun exposure to get a boost. Remember, people with dark skin pigmentation produce 10 times less vitamin D during the same amount of time spent in the sun compared to people with light pigmentation. In addition, previous studies show people with dark skin are more likely to be insufficient or deficient in vitamin D to begin with.
We’ve known about the vitamin D/cancer link for a long time
Of course, this study is far from the first to explore the link between more sun exposure and lower cancer risk, including lower breast cancer risk…
In fact, previous research found that women who reported frequent sun exposure had a lower risk of breast cancer than women who shunned the sun. And other studies show that women with breast cancer who have higher vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis have better survival rates and quality of life.
Which brings to my next point…
Spending time in the sun activates your body’s natural production of vitamin D—the critical vitamin that protects you against many types of cancer, not just breast cancer, as well as other chronic diseases.
And when it comes to sun exposure, here’s my advice for everyone…
Aim to spend 15 minutes each day in the sun. And, even though this particular study measured sun exposure on the forehead, I always recommend wearing a hat or cap with a visor to help protect the delicate skin of the face and the eyes.
Instead, focus on exposing larger areas of skin—such as the skin on your legs, arms, and even torso—to the sun. In fact, in Europe, women get sun directly on their exposed breasts. And there’s some suggestion this practice is particularly protective against breast cancer.
Topless sunbathing is even catching on in some places in the U.S., including southeast Florida, perhaps due to the influx of tourists from Europe and South America. Not to mention, the sun in Florida stays high enough in the sky year-round to activate vitamin D production in the skin. But even if you don’t live in sunny Florida, the sun in other parts of the country is now just beginning to climb high enough in the sky (between 10 AM and 2 PM) to activate production of this critical vitamin.
Of course, spending time in the sun isn’t the only way to up your vitamin D levels. You can also obtain it from some food sources, such as fatty fish (which is also a great source of essential omega-3s). Or from a supplement. (I recommend taking 10,000 IU of vitamin D daily.)
Plus, there are dozens of other safe, natural alternatives for preventing, detecting, AND treating cancer. I’ve outlined them all in detail in my groundbreaking online learning tool, my Authentic Anti-Cancer Protocol.
This all-inclusive protocol is the sum total of more than 40 years of personal research, study, and experience in natural cancer treatment. And every solution you’ll hear about has been studied and researched by countless, cutting-edge medical institutions. To learn more about it, or to enroll today, click here now!
Source:
“Sun Exposure, Vitamin D Receptor Gene Polymorphisms, and Breast Cancer Risk in a Multiethnic Population.” American Journal of Epidemiology, December 2007. 166(12): 1409–1419. doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwm259