Five Servings of Fruit and Veggies a Day May Not Be Enough to Keep the Cancer Away

If we truly knew the answer to what cancer is, we would likely know how to stop it. I am living proof risk can run in families through my PTEN mutation. The risk is thereby embedded in my genetic code and the lack of protein inhibitor from the PTEN deletion exists in every cell of my body. I am prone to cancers everywhere as a result of that lack of protein. My case is one of many. Cases of certain cancers appearing in specific families are very common. There is no denying a genetic basis for this condition.

Fruits and vegetables do tend to have an effect on heart disease and obesity. People who are obese are generally at a higher risk of cancer so in that regard it continues to be important to consume fruits and vegetables no matter how nasty they may taste. At least five servings of fruits and vegetables lower heart disease risk by 28 percent. If four people followed this diet, one of them would save his or her life from heart disease. The study that found these results was performed by The Harvard School of Public Health.

What do the results of this study mean for us as individuals? For me, the results mean nothing. I try to eat as well as I can, I exercise, I go for check-ups, and follow a medical regime. For others, the results may be disconcerting. When something happens to make us feel safer such as learning fruits and veggies can ward off disease, we tend to trust that information.

Cancer is one scary phenomenon. From the words of someone who faced it three times before age 30, I know the nightmare it is. In these thirty-two years and especially the past 16 since I was taking treatments, I have been given a gift of a new outlook on life. It is not necessary to have something traumatic such as cancer, happen to change that outlook. The words of a song by Superchic[k] called We Live came to my mind in writing this last statement. One portion of the song speaks of a man waiting for his medical test to see if the cancer has spread yet. It continues, "Why did I wait to live until it was time to die?" The message is that at any time something could end our lives and it is pointless to worry about it. Do not live life in fear waiting to die. I write this because for some the news cancer risk is not helped much by fruits and vegetables may be devastating.

The power of fruits and vegetables in protecting against cancer is not what was once believed because of genetics. Some lifestyle changes certainly lower your risk-for example, the cessation of cigarette smoking. The hard truth is that unlike in many other conditions, this disease stems from being primarily genetic and even children who have undergone no real, life experiences have been diagnosed with it. As I previously stated, take comfort in knowing it is rotten but it certainly does not always mean death. Stay on top of things with regular medical checkups and remember many people are walking this earth several decades after survival if you do happen to be diagnosed. This year will be my 23^rd year of survival on October 7^th. At the time of diagnosis I was a nine year old in the fourth grade. Currently I am a 32 year old mom of two beautiful children. The worst case scenario---life can continue to happen after cancer. Sometimes it does not but if life is spent in worry about that, it is wasted.

Besides, with advances being made in science with each day, there in no way to know the advances that will come with time. Wouldn't it be great to find out soda pop protects us against cancer? I realize it does not but was trying to lighten things. Live life and love it.

The Superchic[k] song I referenced

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6l4AnJ5yjo