Tag Archives: prevent cancer

Cancer – A Virus to Our Cellular HTML

Cancer – Think of it as a Virus to the HTML Programming our Cells

Cancer - Virus to our cellular HTML Best In Corporate HealthI sometimes get annoyed when people say/think “Everything causes cancer”. This thought often engrains a sense of helplessness within.The truth is, if we understand what cancer is, it helps us a deeper appreciation of prevention – we are certainly not helpless…A life to prevent cancer is a life to prevent all of our chronic illnesses,  infusing us with energy & power.  Let’s think of cancer as a virus that has reprogrammed and is spreading malicious coding to the  HTML of our cell’s genetic code.

Take a look at a beautiful website. Behind every beautiful site is HTML HyperText Markup Language, the “mother tongue” of our web browsers. Behind our being, is genetic code that dictates every cell of who we are, how we think and feel.  If we have one wrong little character in the HTML of our website it can completely destroy the function of that website. Well, the same is true for our genetic code.

Now, what is cancer? Cancer is a genetic mutation, something has reprogrammed the HTML of that cell. That cell is now reproducing incorrectly and potentially very dangerously, destroying healthy cellular function.  If our ecosystem is unable to shut that cell down, there is trouble. If our ecosystem is not optimized, the genetic saboteur is allowed to reproduce, and that deadly coding is reproduced.

Our bodies are a wonderland. Wonderland has an inner ecosystem that like any ecosystem needs to be kept in balance.  Chinese medicine describes our flow of Qi. Without the flow of Qi, our life’s force, the ecosystem is jolted out of balance.

We live in a world that is constantly bombarding our ecosystem.  Many times we are responsible for that attack: smoking, poor food choices, lack of physical activity…. And many times we do not know we are exposed to attacks on that biochemical terrain. Enter illness and disease.

Cancer is thought to be only 5-10% genetic. The rest is lifestyle, however, as mentioned above, our lifestyles consist of unknown as well as known carcinogens…..exposures that cause a cell to mutate.

Now……how magical are the powers of the right exercise? Exercise and nutrition are our body guards. When carcinogens attack, by empowering our body with the strongest possible biochemical terrain, one that is totally inhospitable to mutagens, we are able to fight the attacker and win.

Cellular Malware   (aka carcinogens and pathogens):

Certain chemicals (in our food, in our air, in our meds, in our soils……..)

Viruses and bacteria

Geophysical exposures, radiation…….anyone use a cell phone?

Hormonal imbalances…..including our big wide world of phytoestrogens endocrine disrupters…

Oxidative Stress & Inflammation…..at the root of all disease

Some nasty lifestyle choices: smoking, sitting, poor food choices, stress, alcohol….

Our body depends on us to supply it with sustenance to empower the ecosystem.  This not only includes our immune system, but our digestive function as well. Think of our digestive tract as the first step of our immune system. A great deal of our mood and “happy functions” come from that mysterious land called our enteric nervous system……Unfortunately – even if we eat “the right” foods, our digestive tract can be impeded by that same cellular malware. Keeping our digestive tract a “united front” against the cellular malware includes a healthy balance in our gut microbiome, and assuring we maintain healthy levels of stomach acid. Unfortunately, there is a detrimental abuse of antacids – as low stomach acid is frequently mistaken for high stomach acid. And of course our digestive health is jeopardized by all the usual saboteurs….poor sleep, alcohol, sugar, processed foods, and of course people who don’t listen to grandma – and don’t get their roughage. Cellular malware thrives without an optimized digestive tract.

Preventing Cancer: Building Our Cellular Anti-Malware: (Our Fab 4)
  1. Nutrition..
  2. Exercise & Physical Activity
  3. Sleep
  4. Minimize exposure to carcinogens, mutagens, pathogens……reducing oxidative stress & chronic inflammation

When the body is unable to fight intruders, our biochemical terrain allows mutated cells, aka cancer cells, to reproduce…and reproduce……until “we have cancer”. It is believed that everyone of us have cancerous cells lurking within, our goal is that we have the defences to shut down those cells, or force what is called apoptosis – cell suicide.

Front and center to the body’s defences are our immune and circulatory systems.

Our immune system is a pumpless system.  In other words, it can produce all of the wonderful superheroes in the world (lymphocytes, macrophages, neutrophils, immunoglobins….) but if there is no pumping action from our muscles, or no muscles, the immune system can’t do its job.

Exercise is imperative for optimizing our body’s performance. Every study shows us that exercise and physical activity are an absolute necessity for every organ system of the body, and a necessity, the “managing partner” to chronic disease prevention…all of them…

Our vigilance to proactive health, by honoring  the 4 components of Anti-malware is vital to the destruction of cancer, and all chronic illnesses at every level:

Prevention: enabling the body to kill those intrusions, to build a strong inner ecosystem

Management: make it through treatment, minimizing risks of side effects of treatment, fighting fatigue, getting our immune system to work in our favor, and  studies show us –  help better response to treatment, including protecting the body from potential side effects of medication

Prevention of recurrence. Rebuilding and equipping the immune system

Cancer occurs because their has been a genetic mutation, a change to the genetic code. The body has been attacked..the body needs to fight the attacker. By honoring our Fab 4, understanding their power, the many layers and complexities of each……we will fight cancer & chronic illness. We are NOT helpless, at all.

 

Corporate health programs…what a wonderful way to affordably  make the world a happier, healthier place. Educate people to Prevent cancer 

Help control workforce oxidative stress:  Oxidative Stress is at the root of all of our chronic illnesses including cancers, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, depression…..inflammation ages us and leaves us susceptible to disease. 7 patents, 24 peer reviewed studies on pubmed, accolades from American Heart Association, Mayo Clinic, National Institute on Aging….Washington State: “may well become the most extraordinary therapeutic and most extraordinary preventative breakthrough in the history of medicine.”

Shira Litwack, Corporate Program Designer
Shira Litwack – The Corporate Happy Place medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist

Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio

 

 

Cancer Awareness: ROI in Lives and Dollars

Cancer Awareness – Measuring ROI in Lives and Dollars

February is National Cancer Awareness Month.  Newly released data from the American Cancer Society,  for 2016,  reports:

  • 1,685,210 new cancer diagnoses
  • 595,690 cancer deaths

According to the CDC, 75% of chronic illness can be adjusted with lifestyle – however, where this fall shorts is a completely incomplete explanation of lifestyle. We all know certain basics – Don’t smoke, eat right & exercise. That’s great – but even if we are following that advice, it falls painfully short – and we are all left wondering …why do we still get sick.

According to 2014 research from IBI, Integrated Benefit Institute, a leading workforce health and productivity research and measurement organization, cancer costs businesses $19,000/100 employees per year.

Cancer Costs:

  • In lost work time & treatment: $19,000/100 employees/year
  • Lost work time and presenteeism  $10,000/ 100 workers
  • Medical and pharmacy treatments  $9,100
  •  Absent 3.8 more days per year
  •   Lose the equivalent of 1.8 more days per year to presenteeism.
  • At any given time, about 1/4 of employees with a history of cancer are in treatment.
  • Employees with cancer have an average of approximately four other conditions that complicate care management strategies

Impact on productivity, co-morbid conditions:

  • depression (16% of employees with cancer)
  • chronic fatigue (22%)
  • obesity (19%)
  • anxiety (14%)
  • chronic back or neck pain (23%)
  • high cholesterol (30%)
  • and hypertension (24%).

“Cancers present complex challenges for the workplace. At a basic, human level, a cancer diagnosis is a frightening, sometimes emotionally devastating, event. It is natural that co-workers and supervisors will want to provide support to a friend and colleague when told he or she has cancer. At the same time, balancing privacy and workplace accommodation is a critical, but sensitive, issue. Many employees with cancer will frequently feel too sick to work, while others report that remaining on the job keeps them ‘connected’ and provides a sense of routine as they undergo treatment,”

(Past)  IBI President Tom Parry, PhD.

At the root of all of our chronic illnesses is the reality of oxidative stress, and a resulting condition of chronic inflammation. Nurturing our cell-being – sadly, is not incorporated into employee wellness programs, except at Best In Corporate Health, aka, Cell-Being.com.

Cancer awareness Shira Litwack, corporate health provider, on Voice America Oxidative Stress
Oxidative Stress – The Root Cause of Chronic Illness

Oxidative Stress: The imbalance between the production of free radicals in the body and the ability of the body to neutralize / detoxify their harmful effects with antioxidants. Some chemistry geek – Free Radicals: A molecule that has a single unpaired electron in an outer shell ….Reactive Oxygen Species. Our redox state, the balance in our body between free radicals and antioxidants, determines the status of our inner biology, our cell-being. Uncontrolled oxidative stress can lead to inflammation – which a certain amount is necessary – however chronic inflammation has been proven to be at the root of all of our chronic illnesses….cancer, diabetes, heart disease, depression, Alzheimers, macular degeneration, respiratory, our ability to focus, mood disturbances, autoimmune disease……….

Cancer awareness is all health awareness. Building cancer awareness into our employee wellness programs will provide a brilliant ROI, measured in both dollars, and lives.

Author…..Living a Life to Prevent Cancer is the Healthiest Lifestyle of all…..

Shira Litwack….Measuring & Maximizing Employee Cell-Being

Cancer awareness cancer in the workplace - Shira Litwack on Breast Friends Voice America
Shira talking with Becky & Sharon on Breast Friends, Voice America on Oxidative Stress and inflammation

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shira Litwack, Corporate Program Designer
Shira Litwack, medical fitness professional, Cancer Exercise Specialist , Medical Exercise Specialist, Holistic Nutritionist, Corporate Health Provider

Chief Health Enthusiast – Best In Corporate Health

Employee Wellness Toronto, Ontario – But offered worldwide!

  • Shira is regularly consulted by Naturopaths, oncologists, health coaches on cancer exercise and exercise adherence.
  • Has assembled over 20 health and fitness professionals with varying specialties to bring to corporate wellness programs
  • Platforms include: Speaking, One-one/group health coaching, Retreats, Course development for in house delivery, Metrics to measure success available, Partners always included
  • Now offering live interactive webinars, just as if each participant has a personal health coach – making corporate wellness programs affordable to all.
  • Shira has been interviewed & published in hundreds of resources over the last 12 years:

Articles featured in: ezines, ArticlesInk, European Registry of Exercise Professionals, The National Post, Investment Executive Magazine, Directory of Greater Toronto, Canadian Leukemia & Lymphoma Association, Prostate Cancer Canada, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Anytime Fitness, Today’s Black Woman, Today’s Seniors, Medical Fitness Network, FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Willow (Breast & Hereditary Cancer Support),Myeloma Canada, Cancer Exercise Training Institute, Urban Poling for Breast Cancer, ROW – Recovery on Water for Breast Cancer, Sirius XM Doctor Radio