"Breast cancer remains one of the greatest challenges in modern medicine, but it is also one of the most hopeful areas of oncology. Advances in surgery, radiation, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy have transformed outcomes for millions of women. At the same time, emerging insights into metabolism, immune dysfunction, and the tumor microenvironment are reshaping our understanding of the disease." - Dr. Paul Marik
Every October women of all ages all over the world are reminded of the dreadful disease that accounts for 30% of all new cancer cases diagnosed each year. The disease also affects men but with 1% of cases it is rather rare.
I always believed that prevention is better than cure but I am also aware that breast cancer is a very complex disease. Different subtypes may require different therapeutic approaches and have a different survival prognosis.
For many years I have been using food to prevent illness, but I understand that some foods may be contraindicated for hormone sensitive breast cancers while other breast cancer subtypes may profit from the compounds in that very same food. Sesame seeds, for instance, contain powerful lignans such as sesamin and sesamolin. These compounds may slow tumor growth and induce cancer cell death but they should be avoided by patients with estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer because once digested, sesame lignans convert to estrogen-like compounds that may actually stimulate the growth of cancer cells in breast tissue.
In breast cancer diagnosis it is not always the hormones or the genes that are solely responsible. Our lifestyle and the environmental factors contribute to about 90% of cancer genesis of all cancers, and play an increasingly growing role in the development of breast cancer.
In a recent study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scientists identified 920 chemicals linked to increased breast cancer risk. These chemicals are present in food, drinking water, pharmaceuticals and consumer goods such cosmetics, personal care and hygiene products, detergents and household cleaning products, fabrics, furniture, building materials, and pesticides. Annually, tens of millions of pounds of these chemicals are released to the environment making an escape from the exposure extremely difficult if not impossible.
We can try to minimize our exposure but we cannot completely avoid it because even if you install a water filter in your house, remove everything that contains offensive chemicals, use clean beauty products and eat only organic foods, at some point you have to leave your home to go shopping or go to work and breathe the air that is not pure or drink water that is not filtered. Exposure is ubiquitous and unavoidable.
The beauty industry is a big culprit. Putting a pink ribbon on a product that contains harmful, cancerogenic chemicals, does not make the product safe. Some chemicals do not even have to be listed and are hidden in ingredients such as "fragrance". This is why knowledge may save lives. Stay informed, do your own research, educate yourself to minimize your exposure whenever possible.
By Dominique Allmon
Dominique Allmon©2026
This article was first published on my raw food Passionately Raw! blog
Image by magnific
Information about BC chemicals here
Also of interest:
Food For Breast Cancer website
Breast Cancer Research Foundation
*Information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure a disease.