October is here, and we enter the darker days of the year.   Fall sports and hunting are in full swing.   I just harvested the last thing out of my garden, a bumper crop of carrots which I was super excited about but also sad to see the end of something that gives me much joy.   October is also breast cancer awareness month, and I typically write an article on this subject, so this should not surprise those who routinely read this article. 

Today I will focus on prevention. The reason is that there were 290,000 new cases of breast cancer diagnosed in 2021. That's a lot of cancer, making prevention a topic that needs to be discussed.   The first thought that may come to mind is mammograms.   A mammogram is a tool used to diagnose breast cancer, and the earlier it is diagnosed, the better off a person is when it comes to treatment, but we want to look at what you can do to prevent this dreadful disease.

Most of you can say you know a family member or friend with breast cancer.   The reason is that the prevalence in the United States is significantly affecting about 1 in 8 or 13% of our female population and our male population, which accounts for less than 1% of all breast cancers.   Breast cancer also has one of the highest cancer-related deaths among women.

There are many challenges with treating breast cancer, but some of the hurdles that make treatment more difficult: cancer resistance to drug therapy, drug therapies causing side effects, and probably the most significant concern, the cost of treatment.   As you can see by the list, doing everything we can to prevent breast cancer and any illness is the best option.

You can do many things to prevent breast cancer, but today I will focus on vitamins and micronutrients and the data linking them to prevention.   A recent review from the London Breast Institute examined the data from 104 published studies on breast cancer and nutrients.   The study's findings suggested that the following four vitamins protect against breast cancer, and they do that by inhibiting the growth, invasion, and metastasis of breast cancer cells.   The nutrients are vitamin D3, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B9(folate), and Vitamin A.

It seems like Vitamin D is the answer to most disease states, and it is a nutrient that shows up in this column regularly.   Vitamin D has been shown to decrease cell growth and increase cell death when looking at breast cancer.   The study showed a 35% risk reduction and a 42% decrease in the odds of dying from breast cancer when the vitamin D level is greater than 30ng/ml.   Keep in mind that this is at the low end of normal, and a level greater than 30ng/ml can easily be achieved.

In another separate study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, women who reported taking at least 400 international units of Vitamin D every day were at a 24 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer.   The study evaluated 3101 breast cancer patients and 3471 healthy controls regarding their food intake and supplements.   This study aligns with countless others supporting Vitamin D's benefits of reducing risk factors of other cancers, hypertension, heart failure, kidney, auto-immune diseases, and chronic infections.

Vitamin B6 intake was looked at in 5 studies and 2509 patients, looking at the level of P5P, which is the active form of vitamin B6.   Those patients with a higher level of P5P had a 20% risk reduction compared to those with a lower level in postmenopausal women.   A group of studies showed that a higher dietary intake from food of vitamin B6 showed a 22% lower risk of all cancers.

When looking at vitamin B9 or folate, it indicated that folate was associated with an 18% decrease in hormone receptor-negative breast cancer.  Women with a BRCA1 positive who took a folic acid-containing supplement had a 55% lower risk of breast cancer than those who never supplemented.   Therefore, supplementing 400mcg of folate vs. folic acid makes perfect sense for women.

Beta Carotene, the precursor to Vitamin A, is found in many foods, including carrots (fresh out of my garden), mango, dark leaves, amaranth, and spinach.   The study looked at 7000 women and showed that high levels of beta carotene are associated with a 17% decrease in breast cancer risk. They also looked at dietary intake of beta carotene showing an improved survival from breast cancer with a 30% reduction in the odds of dying from breast cancer.   Higher levels of beta carotene were associated with a 28% decreased risk of breast cancer. Many of these vitamins can be found in a good multi-vitamin.

The study also looked at the decreased risk with various dietary micronutrients such as curcumin, piperine, sulforaphane, indole-3-carbinol, quercetin, EGCG, and omega-3 fatty acids.   Each of these nutrients displays antitumoral activity against breast cancer prevention and reduces the recurrence risk.   Supplementing with these nutrients should be considered if you are at high risk through family history or are currently in treatment for breast cancer.

The bottom line is that if your diet is not where you want it to be, you need to consider a quality multivitamin supplement to fill in the gaps along with micronutrients to stack the deck in your favor.  You may also want to consider additional testing for all of the vitamins listed. Optimizing your levels is a way to reduce your risk in the fight against breast cancer.

If you are unfortunate and are diagnosed with breast cancer, my staff and I are a solid resource for you in the fight.   We have some great tools to help you get through chemo and radiation, as both pose some unique challenges.   Nausea, GI upset, bone pain, mouth sores, incision scaring, and radiation burns are just a few side effects of treatment.   Conventional therapies don't work for everyone, which is where we help partner with you in your journey.

Please call the pharmacy @ 701-483-4858 or stop in to visit with my staff about solutions for your cancer concerns.   Please visit my website at www.irsfeldpharmacy.com to find this and other archived articles in the blog section.   Until next time, be vigilant about your health!!