Are You at Risk for Cancer?

By James Templeton

Just because you don’t feel sick, doesn’t mean you’re healthy.

This couldn’t have been more true in my case. I thought I was doing everything right for my health by eating a low fat, almost vegetarian diet and doing long distance running. I thought I was in the best shape of my life! Then I started feeling tired and generally unwell and suddenly I was diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma. This means the first 3 stages went by without me even knowing cancer was growing inside my body.

You’d be surprised how many people share a story similar to mine. According to the National Cancer Institute, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the US will get cancer in their lifetime, and the warning signs can be subtle. In my case, it was fatigue that wasn’t relieved by rest that prompted me to go to the doctor, because I was worried about the heart disease that runs in my family – cancer never crossed my mind. In others, it’s a nagging cough, a sore that won’t heal, a lump that appears, bloating, or changes in digestion.

Your Body Kills Cancer Cells Every Day

Every day, your immune system kills 1 million cancer cells. This may sound like a big number, but it’s small considering your body makes over 200 billion new cellseach day. So we all have cancer in our bodies, but a diagnosis of cancer comes when your immune system can’t kill all the cancer cells being made and they start to accumulate.

Every healing system out there, including mainstream medicine, relies on this innate power of the immune system to rise up and kill the cancer. Doctors focus on killing the cancer they find by cutting (surgery), burning (radiation), or poisoning (chemotherapy) it, but once they’re done, they’re looking for your immune system to step up to keep it gone. Recurrence rates come from not dealing with the underlying issues that caused the cancer to accumulate in the first place. This makes about as much sense as finding out you have a plumbing leak and just constantly mopping up the water without finding out what caused the water to flood your house and fixing that.

What Really Causes Cancer?

When I was diagnosed with terminal cancer over 30 years ago, I started with the mainstream medical approach of multiple surgeries and experimental chemotherapy, which almost killed me. I walked away from all of that and found a better, more natural way to heal. (If you haven’t read my story, you can find it here.) In doing the research, I came to an understanding of cancer far different from what I’d been told.

An overabundance of toxins bogs the immune system down and keeps it from being able to kill the cancer cells that are made each day. But most toxins aren’t seen, tasted, or noticed as we are exposed to them. There are over 80,000 chemicals in our environment and most haven’t been adequately tested for their effects on our health.

Did you know when the artificial sweetener aspartame (Nutrasweet) was approved, the only criteria the FDA required it to meet was that it didn’t cause tooth decay? Once it’s broken down in the body, aspartame converts to formaldehyde, the same substance used to preserve corpses for burial, and is a known carcinogen. This dangerous chemical is now added to even the milk served to children with their school lunches.

People commonly think carcinogenic pesticides and herbicides can be washed off their genetically modified food, but when these chemicals are applied during its growth, it becomes part of the structure of the food and cannot be removed. And some grains are sprayed with glyphosate (Round-Up) right before harvest, then ground into the flour used to make the bread, cereal, and pasta you serve to your family.

Erin Brockovich gained notoriety when she discovered Chromium-6 in the water supply causing cancers in those drinking and bathing in it. That chemical, which started in a small town in California, is now showing up in municipal water across the country. Flint, Michigan made headlines for dangerously high lead levels in their water, but this is also a common occurrence throughout the country. People receive letters every month notifying them their drinking water has chemicals and heavy metals in levels known to cause cancer, birth defects, and more, yet they throw these notices in the garbage without even researching what they mean.

Radiation comes from multiple sources now, from the nuclear facilities in your close proximity to the cell phone you always carry with you. I even saw one children’s playground that had been built right underneath high voltage power lines! Epidemiological data shows brain cancer rates are on the rise, most notably since cell phones have been in use.

All of these invisible toxins we are getting through our food, water, and air add up over time and become more than our bodies can process. As a result, the lymphatic system, which is your body’s sewer system, can’t filter it all and becomes bogged down. The liver gets congested trying to do its part to shuttle these toxins out, and instead they’re stored in fat cells, and water is sent to swell those fat cells to dilute the toxins, resulting in us becoming overweight. All of this congestion and backup stresses the immune system, because even if it can do its job, the cells it’s killed have nowhere to go. Overwhelmed and overloaded, your body then grows cancer cells, unchecked.

How to Clean House and Clear Out Cancer Risks

Learn from my experience – don’t wait until you feel bad to do something about your health. And it’s not too late to turn things around if you are already facing a health scare or were just declared cancer-free by your doctor. I’ve found the Keys to making your body a fortress that can fend off cancer are to Detoxify and Rebuild. Continue reading to find out how to clear out risk factors for cancer.

1. Detoxify Your Body and Take Out the Trash.

Anything that stresses your immune system can be a risk factor for developing cancer. Detoxification is the place to start. Not sure you need to detox?

The 5 most common signs you are toxic include:

• Having Low Energy
• Feeling Cold easily
• Being Constipated – defined as not having a bowel movement after every meal
• Getting Sick easily and often
• Being Overweight

Start by cleaning up your diet. Cut out the sugar, which depresses the immune system and feeds all the things you don’t want, from bacteria to parasites to cancer cells. Cancer loves sugar. Eat organic foods, you can even grow your own without chemicals. Choose grass-fed and organic meats and eggs. Don’t eat raw foods, like sushi and salad bars, which are known sources of parasite and bacterial contamination.

Mind your mouth. Have your dental amalgams safely removed and replaced with white composite fillings by a good biologic dentist. The mercury and other toxic metals in these fillings could be stressing your immune system and leading to lower energy and neurologic symptoms in your body. Removing root canals and finding hidden dental infections and cavitations will go a long way toward boosting your immune system health. Choose the right toothpaste as well, free of toxic fluoride and unnecessary chemicals.

Filter your water, both to drink and bathe in. I don’t mean buying an inexpensive carbon filter that makes your water look clear. Get your water tested then invest in a good filtration system that takes out the contaminants specific to your water supply. Call us here at UNI KEY, we can help.

Breathe clean air. Indoor air quality has become a big issue. Get your ductwork cleaned, remove old carpeting, use furnishings and mattresses free of harmful chemicals, have your home tested for hidden mold, and invest in a good quality air cleaning system that works for your specific issues. Big cities with toxic fumes have different issues from suburban areas with high mold and pollen counts, or agricultural areas where crops are sprayed with toxic chemicals.

Protect yourself from EMFs and other harmful radiation. Everything from grounding plugs for your home to shungite jewelry is available to protect your home and your body.

2. Rebuild Your Body, Restore Lost Nutrients, and Maintain Your Health.

Everything you put into your body should support your health. With so many toxins bombarding us, your detoxification organs and immune system need support. Your gut and your immune system are very closely linked, with 80 percent of your immune system tissue in your intestines, so it makes sense to start with your digestive health. In addition to clean, nourishing foods, probiotic, lacto-fermented vegetables that haven’t been pasteurized should be a staple in your anti-cancer diet. My favorite is Bubbe’s Sauerkraut. These foods feed and seed healthy gut flora, and help your body make and break down essential nutrients. They also help with digestion, immunity, and keeping out foreign invaders.

Rebuilding yourself at the cellular level is the key to preventing “bad genes” from expressing themselves. A lot of people think when they get cancer that it was destined to happen because of their genetics. The truth is, while genes may load the gun, it’s environment that pulls the trigger. The most important environment is your cellular environment. When your cells are fed what they need to thrive and toxins are kept to a minimum and ushered out of the body quickly, those “bad genes” don’t have a chance to express themselves.

Exercise is an excellent step to a cancer-proof body. It moves your lymph, cleanses your muscles and lungs, and releases endorphins, the body’s own “feel good” hormones, in addition to many other benefits. It’s the extremes that get us, though, when we either don’t exercise at all or over-exercise. Over-exercise, like I did when I was long distance running, leads to lactic acid buildup and free radicals in the body, while stressing the adrenal glands and weakening immunity and stress response. At the other extreme, living a sedentary lifestyle is a risk factor for many chronic diseases. As they teach in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), practice “the middle way” with moderate exercise.

Rest, relax, and do things you enjoy. Try to see the joy in taking good care of yourself, rather than seeing it as a chore or burden. Find your purpose, work at a job you like, and learn to manage stress. All of these things will go a long way toward maintaining health and keeping cancer away.

Cancer statistics show a third of all cancers are preventable, but I honestly believe that number is much higher. When you take into account all you’re being bombarded with in your food, water, and air, it’s easy to see how your immune system can get bogged down and let cancer cells grow unchecked. But when you remove as much of that burden as you can and nourish your body, it’s like fixing the plumbing leak that’s flooding the house and it goes a long way toward a healthy, cancer-proof body.