Peach Mango Salmon

Are you looking for a new summer recipe to satisfy your pallet? Try something that has been already made and proven easy!

Peach Mango Salmon is a true staff favorite at Cancer Shop USA! In a rush? Instead of making the salsa homemade, buy the organic pre-packaged version in the store. It's almost as good!

What you will need:

- Peach Mango Salsa- homemade, or one store bought container
- 1 Salmon filet
- 1/2 cup chopped pineapple

First, we need to prepare our Peach Mango Salsa.

Peach Mango Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled fresh peaches
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped peeled mango
• 2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh cilantro

Directions:

• In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Serve with tortilla chips. Yield: 4 cups.

Editor's Note: Wear disposable gloves when cutting hot peppers; the oils can burn skin. Avoid touching your face.

Nutritional Facts 1/4 cup (calculated without chips) equals 14 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 2 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, trace protein. Diabetic Exchange: Free food.

Now that our salsa is made, let's  prepare the salmon! Rinse your salmon filet before placing in a glass baking dish. 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You will bake your salmon 8 minutes for every 1 lb.

Smother your salmon in the peach mango salsa. Poke fine holes in the salmon to help soak in the flavor! Make sure to save some salsa to have on the side. I like eating this dish with brown rice and broccoli. 

Place the salmon in the oven uncovered for the appropriate amount of time given above.

Place the remaining salsa and 1/2 cup chopped pineapple in a microwave safe bowl and heat 30-40 seconds. 

When your salmon is done baking, serve with brown rice, broccoli and your salsa pineapple mix over the rice. 

Let us know how you like this recipe! Rate it below.

Source

 

Top 10 Ways To Prevent Breast Cancer

1) Keep your BMI (body mass index) under 25: Breast cancer is often detected in later stages in obese women who more often than not, do not have as strong immune systems to help fight off the disease. Grab a partner and hit the gym this weekend!

2) Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week: Doing physical activities such as brisk walking can reduce your risk of breast cancer by 15-25%.

3) Avoid alcohol at ALL costs!: In 2000, the National Institutes of Health actually listed alcohol as a human carcinogen! One drink a day can raise your risk of breast cancer.

4) Diet from the past: Eat like our ancestors used to! Fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, no sugared drinks or refined carbohydrates.

5) No hot flashes? No need for hormones!: Hormone therapy may increase your risk of breast cancer. Although it is OK to use hormone therapy at menopause to assist with those unworldly symptoms, however, it is probably a good idea to take them no longer than 5 years.

6) Consider estrogen-blocking medicine: If you are over the age of 60 and breast cancer runs in your family, you may want to consider certain types of drugs that can actually help you block estrogen from your breast cells!

7) No Smoking!: We all know smoking leads to lung cancer, but did you know it can lead to breast cancer too? Active smokers and exposure to second hand smoke can increase the risk in premenopausal women by 20% or more!

8) Put the baby formula away: Breast feeding your baby plays a significant role in the risk of developing breast cancer. Your body produces more of the hormone prolactin which in turns lowers the amount of estrogen in your breasts. In countries where breast feeding is done for longer periods of time, the number of women that develop breast cancer is much lower than that of the United States. The longer you can breast feed, the more protected you are.

9) Become a lab rat: Taking part in ongoing research is a great way to learn about new and improving ways to lower your risk of breast cancer while helping other women find answers too.

10) Show your support: Joining the fight against breast cancer by attending a charity event, walking for a cure, or making any donation can all help raise money for breast cancer research.

Read the full article here...

Cancer Connect Episode 6

Cancer Connect reunites with Julie Grimm after the ONS Conference in New Orleans. Julie tells us WHY it is so important to have a planner when first diagnosed and HOW her planner will not only keep you organized, but act as your comfort blanket and friend during this uncertain time.

Julie Grimm is a breast cancer and brain tumor survivor and knows first hand the feelings and emotional state the flood a patient's mind and body when newly diagnosed. Inspirational and motivational, Julie is a great person with an amazing product!

How To Convince A Friend To Get Genetic Testing

Dear Dr. Bone,
My friend was diagnosed with fallopian tube cancer. I remember reading your column that mentioned it could be hereditary. I want to tell my friend that she should ask her doctor to be tested, but I worry that I am invading her privacy. What do think?

E.R.


Dear E.R.,

I can see how your situation is a sticky one. On one hand you are concerned for your friend’s health and the health of her family members. On the other hand, discussing personal issues like genetic testing can seem too private. There is no one right answer. However, if you put yourself in your friend’s shoes, you might be able to figure out what to do. If she tests and is positive, she will be able to help save her children, siblings, and grandchildren from going through what she is experiencing now. If she tests negative, she will know that she did not pass on a very high risk to develop fallopian tube and other cancers related to it. Since she already has cancer, there is little downside to getting her tested.

So how do you broach the subject? It can be difficult to bring it up in a face-to-face conversation. Perhaps you can include a pamphlet on genetic testing in a greeting card. Your note should explain that you are offering this information because you care so much about her. After that, I would drop the subject and let her decide on her own what to do. To that end, I am sending you some pamphlets and you can decide on your own what to do.

Best of Luck,
Dr. Bone

Self Breast Exam

Dear Dr. Bone,

I am a good patient who goes for annual mammograms, but I do not do breast self exam.I am afraid that I won’t know what I am feeling or that I will find something. I feel guilty about it but have heard various things about how important it is to do regularly. What do you think?

M.M.

Dear M.M.

If only I had a nickel for the number of times that I’ve heard those comments! You are not alone. There are many studies pointing stressing the importance of self exam to find cancers, especially ones that do not show up on mammogram and come up between mammograms (called interval cancers). Other studies show that breast self exam does not necessarily improve survival from breast cancer or long term outcomes. My feeling is that you should try to do them, but not beat yourself up about it if you do not do them regularly. There are now kits available to improve your technique by using silicone or other liquids between to layers to improve your skill. While these may be helpful, if you can just start with soap and water in the shower and try to cover all areas of the breast and armpit it is a good start. Remember, almost every woman has some lumps and bumps. Anything hard, stuck, and painless may be important. Try to examine during the week after your period is over when the breasts tend to be less sensitive. If you are postmenopausal, just pick the first of the month or your birthday number. I liken breast self exam to moving to a new city. In the first few months you don’t know your way around, but eventually, you know the streets well and would notice if there is a traffic detour. Once you make breast self exam a habit, any changes, even small ones, will probably stand out without a conscious effort.

Having said all that, don’t cancel your mammogram! Do them both.

Dr. Bone

Please take advantage of the following videos of Dr. Melanie Bone explaining both a stand up and laying down breast self exam.

Plastic Bottles and Cancer

Dear Dr. Bone,

 I drink a lot of water everyday and got nervous when I was sent a message on-line that drinking water out of plastic disposable bottles, especially if they are hot after being left in the car, poses a risk for developing breast cancer. I even read that Sheryl Crowe thinks this might be why she got breast cancer. Is there any truth to this?

Heavy on H20

Delray Beach

Dear Heavy,

First let me remind you that although water is healthy to drink, Americans (and many of my patients!) think that they need to drink large amounts of water each day to cleanse and “detoxify” their systems. The truth is that the human body does not need quite as much water as one would think and those people that drink water only when they are thirsty are no less healthy. I do see women who are depleted of electrolytes because they drink too much water and urinate so much that they lose potassium and sodium along the way, so be careful.

As for the association between plastic water bottles and cancer, the answer is a bit complicated.  There are different plastic bottles. The pliable ones that are designed to be disposable are made of PET (polyethylene teraphthalate), or a #1. This type of plastic is used in many different products and appears to be safe. The hard plastic bottles (like Nalgene or Lexan) are made out of BPA (bisphenol A). There is controversy about this compound. Some scientists believe that BPA acts biologically like estrogen and could promote estrogen-related cancers.

Until more definitive studies are done, it is best not to take any chances. The “green” advice is to use glass, or an old-fashioned thermos (lined with glass). It is better for the earth and, to my knowledge, glass has not been associated with any particular health hazards.

Dr. Bone

Prevention

Dear Dr. Bone,

With all the time, money and effort spent on finding cures and treatments for cancer, why is there not the same done to prevent? If we never got cancer in the first place, we wouldn’t have to cure it! You really don’t need to reply.

Reader

Dear Reader,

That is the million-dollar question. I hope to devote an entire column to it soon. Suffice to say that cancer is not just one disease. The causes are numerous. Each person’s body deals with cancer cells differently so each person would probably require a different prevention strategy. Lastly, there are already a lot of medical and charitable dollars spent on prevention. Open the paper and you will read about the dangers of excess alcohol consumption and cancer. Still, a large percentage of the population drinks too much. I don’t even need to discuss the risks of smoking. Yet we are not a smoke-free nation. The challenge for public health experts is to get America to adopt more healthy lifestyles that would not only decrease cancer, but heart disease, lung disease, diabetes and a host of life-threatening ailments.

Dr. Bone

Deodorant and Cancer

Dear Dr. Bone,

I read that underarm deodorant can cause breast cancer. Is this true?

~Sweaty

Dear Sweaty,

I remember getting an email many years ago about the hazards of deodorant. Actually, it was about antiperspirants, not deodorants.  What is the difference? Deodorants prevent or control odor related to perspiration, whereas antiperspirants work to prevent perspiration in the first place. A major concern about antiperspirants surrounded the aluminum content found in these products. Aluminum was thought to be linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The relationship between aluminum and breast cancer came later and still is hotly debated. Aluminum deposits are found in greater concentration in the areas of the breast where most cancers are diagnosed, and aluminum, like cadmium, has estrogenic-like activity on breast cancer cells.  A further risk involves the ingredients called parabens, which are used throughout the cosmetic industry. When absorbed through the skin sometimes from underarm shaving cuts, these parabens might conceivably accumulate in the fat cells of the breast or in the lymph nodes near the breast.

Despite these associations, there is no definitive study proving that deodorant or antiperspirants cause cancer. However, it makes sense that you should avoid unnecessary exposures that might be related to cancer, even if remotely. I advocate using only deodorants, not antiperspirants. Sweating is a natural mechanism to help us rid our bodies of toxins. Instead of trying to prevent sweating, I prefer to use a deodorant that eliminates odor naturally. The crystals in Naturally Fresh Deodorant products are pure, aluminum-free and paraben-free, and are hypoallergenic.  They are perfect for people working to prevent cancer, for cancer patients, and for cancer survivors.

And, in addition to their original fragrance-free line, Naturally Fresh now has lovely scented products, including lavender, papaya fusion, ocean breeze, and tropical breeze to appeal to men and women everywhere.

~Dr. Bone

The Truth About Vitamin D

Know your (Vitamin) D- factor

Vitamin D: The “Super-Vitamin”

Vitamin D was once thought to be just another vitamin that was just as important to your health as all the other vitamins.  We know it plays a huge role in the regulation and absorption of Calcium, (that’s why you will see it in your Calcium supplements) but it’s just over the past several years that people are “doing extra D” for important added benefits...and rightly so!

The major biologic function of vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain strong bones. Recently, research also suggests vitamin D may provide protection from hypertension (high blood pressure), cancer, and several autoimmune diseases including Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes, and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Vitamin D is a somewhat “special” vitamin as well because the body actually manufactures Vitamin D from sunlight.  No other vitamin is produced in our systems.  The fact that our bodies produce it and the fact that it has such an impact on many of our bodies systems, actually puts it in the category of a hormone.  This all important “super-vitamin-y hormone” has made headlines recently because of the link that was discovered with breast cancer.

Vitamin D and Breast Cancer

It was found that a significant number of breast cancer patients, for whatever reason, had very low levels of Vitamin D.  It was suggested that increasing women’s Vitamin D level to “adequate” (35-74 ng/ml in the blood measured as calcifediol or Vitamin D 25-hydroxy) could save 65,000 women from developing breast cancer every year. A study of over 1400 women in the general population showed that over 50% of them had inadequate Vitamin D levels. (myself included)

When I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer my Vitamin D level was 23 ng/dl! (desirable is considered to be 35 - 74 ng/dl)  A few weeks of high dose vitamin D under a doctor’s supervision, with a daily supplement intake of 4000 mg/day is keeping me in the 50’s. 

Since the breast cancer study, it has been discovered that other cancer patients as well had low Vitamin D levels (but not prostate cancer).  We are learning more and more about vitamin D and the role it plays on your immune system.  Poor immunity is related to your risk of cancer, but also is linked to heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, and Multiple Sclerosis among others.  the reason is the role Vitamin D plays in “apoptosis” or regulating the destruction of unwanted cells.  A lapse in the regulation causes overgrowth.....cancer.

It would make sense, then, to assume that it is vital you know what your Vitamin D levels are and supplement to keep them stable.  This can be done with a simple blood test called “serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D”.  This has become a very routine blood test and it is the only way to know if you are getting enough D.  With repeated tests you can tell what  “your personal” level of supplementation is in order to keep you within range.  The fact that Vitamin manufacturers are now making Vitamin D in 2000 mg sized pills tells you that people are wising up.

D2 vs D3

Vitamin D comes in two forms when buying supplements. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) comes from plant sources, and Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) comes from animal sources.  Your body produces vitamin D3 from sunlight.  The jury is still out on whether Vitamin D2 or D3 is absorbed better. For vegans, obviously the choice is clear.

How do I get enough Vitamin D?

Naturally:  Our skin will produce vitamin D3 by exposing it to sunlight without sunscreen.  5 – 10 minutes a day 3 x week is sufficient to get adequate doses of Vitamin D in your system.  I must warn you of the Skin Cancer Foundation’s recommendations that you don’t go out in the sun without sunscreen.  (They would rather you just take a pill, thank you)

Foods:  It is hard to eat enough foods to get the levels of D you need. Foods contain, or are fortified with, the form D2 or D3. You will find D in eggs, fish and fish oil, fortified dairy products and (dare I say it?) beef liver (ugh) and cheese. Difficult for those on vegan or low fat diets, but many many foods are fortified. (D3 is the usual form in supplements, but not all are Vitamin D3)

Supplements: Here is where it gets tricky…..initially, the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamin D was thought to be 200 UI/day but we now know that this amount just is not enough. The consensus from many sources is that every adult should be taking 2000 IU/day.... especially, the elderly, dark skinned people, those who live in colder climates (don’t get sunlight exposure), over weight (vitamin D is prevented from absorption in overweight persons) and those who have inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s that affect absorption.

Toxicity: Initially, there was not enough evidence to put a number on the upper limit for intake of vitamin D. Early studies showed that abnormally high levels of blood calcium were observed in those that took in excess of 50,000 IU /day of vitamin D.  This led the Food and Nutrition Board to establish VERY conservative maximum upper intake levels of 2000 IU/day.

Since 1997, more and more studies have been done that show vitamin D toxicity is very unlikely in healthy people at intake levels lower than 10,000 IU/day. 

Toxicity can further be avoided by taking it in conjunction with Vitamin K. When taken with Vitamin K, vitamin D is less likely to reach toxic levels.  Certain companies are now making Vitamin D with Vitamin K together.  Not much info on this, but I’m told by experts in the field that the data is there, and there will be more supplements that contain a combo of vitamin D and K in the future.

Be careful

Vitamins are not regulated by the FDA and because of that there is no guarantee that because the bottle says “Vitamin D3 1000 IU, that it contains what it states.

Pick a vitamin company that you trust. Look at their philosophy….look at who owns the company…. how long have they been around….any claims about certain products should have data to support it.  Call the company and ask questions.

Vitamins lose their potency so check expiration dates.

Look for a descriptive label…..does the bottle say just “Vitamin D”…..or Vitamin D3?

Look at the fillers….yeasts, preservatives….bulking agents, binding agents, etc….

Do they “do good” for the community?  do they donate a portion to research etc?

Bottom line

Even if you don’t like taking supplements, you may want to consider getting your Vitamin D blood level checked.  Having the right level may do more for your health than you realize.


Author Susan Gonzalez is a registered nurse, breast cancer survivor, and the creator of MOON Organics Inc. MOON organics is committed to providing organic, healthy products while helping those going through treatment for cancer. Please visit MOON-Organics.com for details.

References:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/study-vitamin-d-kills-cancer-cells/story?id=9904415#.Ty8i-pjNB5g 

http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20101213/low-vitamin-d-levels-common-in-breast-cancer

http://www.skincancer.org/healthy-lifestyle/vitamin-d/the-skin-cancer-foundation-statement-on-obtaining-adequate-vitamin-d

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17145139

http://www.ajcn.org/content/80/6/1678S.long

Meet John Kaplan

Diagnosed at age 49 with a potential deadly form of lymphoma, Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist John Kaplan turned the lens on himself and chronicled his experience in a moving and inspiring visual journal.   Not as I Pictured

Friday, March 2 showing at Embassy Suites Hotel  1601 Belvedere Road, West Palm Beach (just West of Australian Avenue)  8:30 PM  $5 suggested donation.

John Kaplan is donating 10,000 copies to those with cancer. (Please share this with others). 

NEW! Cancer Connect Podcast

STAY TUNED!

Cancer Connect (to be released this week), is a weekly short through inspiration and motivation. Feel free to listen at home, or work to the wonderful people who have become innovative during the healing process and would like to share their journey with you. We will also be interviewing caregivers to help express the anxiety and stress they undergo with little to no support. Our goal is to change the way people think of cancer and bring a new resource into the homes of that many more patients, caregivers and professionals.

Our first guest will be recent blogger Susan Parker. We are so excited to share this new journey with our followers and we hope you will enjoy!

Lean On Lavender, The Color Of All Cancers,
Cancer Shop USA Team

Veterans and Cancer Survivors much alike

A few years ago Eric and I were strolling along Fifth Avenue in New York City. A commuter bus passed us displaying an advertisement on its side that was unforgettable. It was a picture of three bald heads. Under the first was the word MILITARY. Under the second was the word FASHION. Under the third was the word CANCER. Neither Eric nor I could recall what organization ran the ad - he thought it was the American Cancer Society but I wasn't so sure - but it was a powerful image. Eric remembered that it was about breast cancer during October; he thought the first two heads were male and the third was a female, making it even more poignant.

Dr. Melanie Bone's Family

To this day my memory is not what it was before chemotherapy (or is it my age?), and I'd forgotten completely about that bus until I found myself back in Manhattan for a weekend getaway. I thought the weekend after the marathon would be perfect. Not as hectic and still not too cold to walk in Central Park. Somehow it escaped me that it was Veterans Day weekend. We planned out our day to visit Occupy Wall Street and make it back uptown in time to catch the parade. A veteran in uniform marched by. He had a shaved head. Out of nowhere, a memory of the bus flashed into my head.

Instead of thinking about the image as an advertisement for cancer, I tried to think about it from the perspective of the veteran. After all, veterans and cancer survivors have a lot in common.

Going to war as a soldier and "fighting" a battle against cancer are analogous. The experience, often scary and overwhelming, is one not easily understood if you have not been through it. Soldiers develop a camaraderie during war in much the same way that cancer patients do. They are subjected to difficult and challenging situations and always are aware of the imminent threat of loss of life or limb.

There is a certain mysteriousness to the "secret lives" of soldiers and cancer patients. They are assumed to see, hear, feel, and do things that most of us would never see, hear, feel, or do. At the other end, most are left with strong memories, be they good or bad, and some with nightmares that can be long-lasting.

Having survived war or cancer earns you the title of "veteran" or "survivor." With these titles come an identity and certain expectations. Many vets and survivors forever remain identified by their status. They hold onto it for a multitude of reasons.

Some are empowered to use their status to raise awareness and others to help those that come after them. Some just feel that they are forever changed and are at a loss to reinvent themselves as anything else. Post-traumatic stress disorder abounds as does guilt that they have made it and other soldiers or cancer patients died.

I am certain there are many veterans who have returned home and moved on just as there are cancer survivors who are cured and moved on. Why don't we remember them as often? Because their status as veteran or survivor is now a part of their persona, but not the central, identifying component of it.
I am known for trying to take the war and battle analogy out of the cancer experience. I support the concept of approaching cancer sensibly and thoughtfully. In war there are winners and losers. Even the winners suffer.

With cancer, many patients are cured. They are the winners, but are always left with scars. For those that die or live with cancer as a chronic disease, is it right to label them losers? I don't think so. Unlucky yes, but the connotation of the word loser is not one that should be associated with people who are not cured of their cancer.

As we boarded the Jet Blue plane home, I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences. There on the wall of the jetway were the exact pictures of the bald heads we'd seen a few years earlier. What are the chances of that happening?! One read SOLDIER, the second STYLE, and the third SURVIVOR. They were being used as part of a bank advertisement. Eric and I looked at each other with disbelief. I knew this column was destined to be!

Please take a moment to visit Cancer Shop USA It's a great resource for cancer patients and professionals.

Who is Libre Clothing? By Guest Blogger Megan Stengel

Hi readers, I’m Megan from Libre! I was honored and excited when Cancer Shop USA asked us to be their FIRST guest bloggers! We happily accepted.

Libre is a clothing line made specifically for chemotherapy, dialysis, and other infusion patients. Our clothing is an everyday staple in your wardrobe, BUT has discreet areas of access specifically for a patient’s treatment site. This makes it easier to wear easily accessible clothing, keeps you warm, and makes it easier on the nurses. You just zip open when you get there, and zip it up when you’re done.

This idea came about from my own mother’s problems. She was a dialysis patient for three years and during that time she would cut holes in her clothing so that the nurses could get to her fistula, but she would also be able to keep warm during the treacherous 4 hours. It would get so cold in the center sometimes, that she wanted to bring a blanked but couldn’t. Nothing was allowed to cover any part of the access at any time during treatment. Because of those problems, the solution was brought forth by Libre. Stylish, comfy, and warm clothing that made treatment easier for patients and nurses.

Libre was initially formed at Miami University in the fall of 2008. Myself, along with the 3 other co-founders (Mandy Eckman, Tess Schuster, & Bethany Skaff) were in a senior entrepreneurship class where each member of the class had to pitch an idea, then we chose our top ideas and formed teams for the business competition that was at the end of the semester. Each of us felt a strong tie to Libre’s purpose, since we’d personally watched family and friends had been through this, and decided that this is what we wanted to pursue after graduation. It’s been a long, hard, tough road but we are so happy with how far we’ve come in just 3 short years.

        

                                      
After starting with just 2 products (both being shirts), we have now expanded to 5 products, some of which include chest access as well as leg access, with multiple color options. We’ve began partnering with other organizations whose mission and purpose is right on course with ours, and that we believe in. We’re very excited that Cancer Shop USA has started to carry Libre products and are looking forward to seeing them on our blog shortly!

Thanks again to Cancer Shop USA! For more information you can e-mail us at Info@LibreClothing.com. You can also see our products on Cancer Shop USA’s site by clicking here.

Megan Stengel
Co-Founder; Libre, LLC

Stengel@LibreClothing.com

Answers to six common questions about cancer

Dr. Bone's Cancer Quiz:

1. What is the most common kind of cancer worldwide?

The most common cancer worldwide is lung cancer, causing over 1.2 million deaths each year. While 85 percent of the patients with lung cancer are or were smokers, more and more lung cancer is occurring that is unrelated to smoking.

In developing countries where smoking is more common and pollution is not as well regulated as in the United States, the incidence of lung cancer is rising.

2. Which cancer is considered the most curable?

Many cancers are curable at an early stage. Skin cancers, breast cancer, testicular cancer, and prostate cancer all have excellent prognoses when detected early. Skin cancer is easy to detect and treat if you are having regular skin checks. This has earned it the reputation of most curable.

3. Which causes more deaths in the United States: cancer or heart attack and stroke?

Though they are neck-and-neck, the combination of heart disease and stroke causes more deaths than cancer in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

4. Which cancers are most preventable?

Lung cancer is highly preventable by avoiding smoking. Having regular colonoscopies should reduce the diagnosis of colon cancer dramatically because precancerous growths can be removed before they turn into cancer. Cervical cancer, a major worldwide risk in developing countries, could be reduced dramatically by the HPV vaccine and by implementation of global screening for this sexually transmitted virus.

5. What percentage of cancer is probably preventable?

A full 3 percent of cancer could be prevented by not smoking, eating fruits and vegetables, and maintaining a normal body weight through regular vigorous physical activity. Unfortunately there are many socioeconomic barriers to attaining these goals.

6. What is the biggest risk factor for cancer?

Tobacco smoking is the highest risk for cancer.

These answers may seem obvious, but I was amazed at the number of people who thought that breast cancer was the most common and most deadly worldwide. We take it for granted that people all over the world know the dangers of cigarette-smoking, but data show that people living in other countries are unaware of the health hazards of smoking.

Few people realized how rare some cancers are in the U.S. For example, there are only about 11,000 cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the U.S. annually, but this cancer is a leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Again, lack of effective public health education about the risks of HPV along with lack of easy access to health care, pose an enormous obstacle to prevention, early diagnosis and virtual elimination of this cancer.
I used to think cancer was an equal-opportunity disease, but I am beginning to see that it isn't. Members of the lowest socioeconomic class are more likely to get cancer and to die of it. A large portion of the population worldwide can't afford fruits and vegetables, let alone organic ones. They survive on a starch staple like rice. If they eat vegetables, they are not a variety of bright-colored ones, but rather whatever they can afford. Regular exercise is a luxury; millions of people who work 16- to 18-hour days just to eke out an existence will never jog or go to the gym. For those of us naive enough to think that poverty alone was bad, now we have to add susceptibility to cancer to really appreciate how fortunate we are.

 For a variety of products that can help you maintain a well balanced diet visit the nutritional section at Cancer Shop USA.

Welcome To Cancer Shop USA

Welcome to the first and only patient requested-doctor approved on-line store to offer products to help with the side effects of chemo and radiation.

Cancer Shop USA is one of a kind! Founded by Dr. Melanie Bone, Cancer Shop USA offers a myriad of over 300 practical and appropriate products to comfort those undergoing treatment and on their journey to recovery.

Many of the specialty products Cancer Shop USA has to offer are actually designed by cancer survivors. Survivors know best  because they already rode much of the path to recovery. Cancer Shop USA helps survivors get their products into the hands of cancer patients.

One of the many products Cancer Shop USA offers that is designed by a survivor, includes the Chemo Port Cover. This beautiful handmade creation was designed by an Ovarian cancer survivor who was tired of hiding behind old baggy shirts and jackets. She decided to create something that was durable and could easily clip onto any strap thus hiding her chemo port. Cancer Shop USA now offers Chemo Port Covers in over 16 styles and 20 different colors.

Dr. Melanie Bone is a mother of 4, practicing physician, and published author. Maybe you have read her syndicated column Surviving Life, or perhaps you read her book Cancer: What's Next. You may have even "Asked The Expert" on her foundation's page. These are all resources Dr. Bone creates for patients to eliminate the fear associated with cancer. 

Please visit our video bar and Twitter updates to the right --->.

You can browse all the unique items Cancer Shop USA has to offer by click the "Shop Now" tab above. 10% of profits get donated to different foundations monthly. To submit your foundation, please email arielle@cancershopusa.com for more information. We are currently getting ready for Ovarian cancer month in September. If you would like to nominate a foundation please email Arielle our Director of Marketing. 

"It's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years."  ~Abraham Lincoln