Breast Cancer Survivors Benefit From Healthy Lifestyles

by guest blogger Jody Perrecone

The World Cancer Research Fund International released its Continuous Update Project(CUP) in October of 2014. WCRFI gathers scientific research from around the world. An independent panel of scientists evaluate the data and publishes their conclusions in CUP. The CUP report on breast cancer looks at research on diet, weight, and physical activity. It involves 165,416 participants diagnosed with breast cancer and 85 studies. This is the first report that has linked lifestyles with breast cancer survivorship. Here are their conclusions.

3 Questions to Always Ask Your Doctor (or Pharmacist)

Chances are, at some point in your life, you’ve seen the inside of a doctor’s office (or pharmacy) while seeking medical care for a health issue. We are human after all, living inside a human body, and our bodies eventually break down.

Even the most health-conscious individual will end up needing medical care at some point in their life. If this weren’t the case then we’d all live to infinity, without a worry in the world, living in perfect health. But that’s not how the world works. People get sick, accidents happen, and individuals find themselves in the waiting room of their doctor or hospital.

So now what? What do you do when a problem arises? How do you figure out what’s the best treatment option for you? Where do you turn for answers?

Not Even a Stroke Could Keep Me Down - My Whole Foods, Plant-Based Comeback

by guest blogger Gary Wilkerson

Gary before his whole food,
plant-based lifestyle change

In April 2004, I was working in my shop when my left arm went numb. Someone suggested I go take a nap. Shortly after, I just collapsed. I had been vegetarian since the mid 90s. I heard a friend calling 9-1-1. The fire station was across the street. A young helper soon said, "Here they come! They're here!" I never saw them. I was out. Gone. That is until 2 weeks later when I awoke in a hospital downtown Fort Worth, Texas with tubes everywhere. One doctor had written: "Prognosis: POOR" on my record.

The stroke occurred on April 16, 2004, I awoke on April 30; and on May 10 I was transferred to a horrid nursing home in Arlington, TX. Fortunately for me, the friend who called 9-1-1 visited me almost every evening or else I would have never made it. She worked hard to get me accepted by Veterans Affairs into the Transitional Care Unit, Dallas VAMC. There, the dietician said I needed dairy to replace the protein if I didn't eat meat. I agreed. I was still vegetarian at the time, but soon started giving most of it away to other veterans. I was there nearly two months from Dec 30^th to late February 2005. And what about the nursing home food before that? Well, unfortunately, I wouldn’t call it food. On most days I was brought meat on a plate when I requested not to have meat.

Gary at Canyon Lake, Texas Hill Country