Subject(s)
Cancer Survivors , Neoplasms , Humans , Life Style , Neoplasms/therapy , Primary Health CareABSTRACT
Patients with a current diagnosis of breast cancer are enjoying dramatic cure rates and survivorship secondary to an increase in awareness, earlier detection, and more effective therapies. Although strategies such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October focus on early detection, lifestyle changes are seldom discussed other than dietary concerns and physical activity. Lifestyle modifications centered on diet and exercise have been demonstrated to affect overall disease-free survival in breast cancer. Since the early 2000s, the role of the human gut microbiota and its relation to breast cancer has become a major area of interest in the scientific and medical community. We live and survive owing to the symbiotic relationship with the microorganisms within us: the human microbiota. Scientific advances have identified a subset of the gut microbiota: the estrobolome, those bacteria that have the genetic capability to metabolize estrogen, which plays a key role in most breast cancers. Recent research provides evidence that the gut microbiome plays a substantial role in estrogen regulation. Gut microbiota diversity appears to be an essential component of overall health, including breast health. Future research attention should include a more extensive focus on the role of the human gut microbiota in breast cancer.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Life Style , Survivorship , Estrogens/metabolism , Female , HumansABSTRACT
By ignoring the root causes of disease and neglecting to prioritize lifestyle measures for prevention, the medical community is placing people at harm. Advanced nations, influenced by a Western lifestyle, are in the midst of a health crisis, resulting largely from poor lifestyle choices. Epidemiologic, ecologic, and interventional studies have repeatedly indicated that most chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, are the result of lifestyles fueled by poor nutrition and physical inactivity.In this article, we describe the practice of lifestyle medicine and its powerful effect on these modern instigators of premature disability and death. We address the economic benefits of prevention-based lifestyle medicine and its effect on our health care system: A system on the verge of bankruptcy. We recommend vital changes to a disastrous course. Many deaths and many causes of pain, suffering, and disability could be circumvented if the medical community could effectively implement and share the power of healthy lifestyle choices. We believe that lifestyle medicine should become the primary approach to the management of chronic conditions and, more importantly, their prevention. For future generations, for our own health, and for the Hippocratic Oath we swore to uphold ("First do no harm"), the medical community must take action. It is our hope that the information presented will inspire our colleagues to pursue lifestyle medicine research and incorporate such practices into their daily care of patients. The time to make this change is now.
Subject(s)
Chronic Disease/prevention & control , Health Behavior , Healthy Lifestyle , Preventive Health Services , Preventive Medicine/methods , Public Health/methods , Humans , Public Health/standards , Risk Reduction BehaviorABSTRACT
As breast cancer becomes a chronic condition rather than a life-threatening illness, survivors not only have the challenge of dealing with multiple long-term side effects of treatment protocols, but may also be forced to address the preexisting comorbidities of their therapies, which often include multiple other issues. It is imperative that the information available regarding survivorship issues be accessible in an organized and useful format. This article is a modest attempt to provide a comprehensive review of the long-term medical issues.
