Did you know regular massage can help keep your breast tissue healthy, thereby reducing the risk of developing breast cancer? Not only massage therapy administered by a licensed and certified therapist, but also massages YOU can give yourself.
Breast cancer affects men as well as women. To understand what things increase or decrease your odds of developing breast cancer, let me explain a few things about your body and cancer that you may not be aware of. First, your body has a “trash removal system” called the lymphatic system. It’s job is to collect toxins, waste, and bacteria and filter and flush them through to your kidneys where they can be excreted. If filtered well enough (to the point of being clean and useable), the fluid is returned back into your circulatory system. Think of this as the water treatment plant – cleaning and filtering water to where it is useable and even drinkable. Toxins, bacteria, and harmful substances get stored in fat cells. Breast tissue is 80% fat tissue. Blood and lymph fluid are the main defenses against cancer in general. Increased circulation of both increases the changes of cleaning your internal house. Massage increases the circulation of both blood and lymph fluid.
A few things about cancer that you may not be aware of:
- The spread of cancer IS not random and does not happen overnight (in most cases). It takes about 8 years, on average, for a tumor to show up on a mammogram, and up to 10 years to be felt as a lump!
- Cancer loves sugar! Cancer cells need food to grow, and sugars are its choice meal. Sugar, white flours, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and all processed carbohydrates create an acidic blood pH and feed the cells
- Cancer loves stagnation. Think about those breasts encapsulated and held tight inside bras! Think about how your body looks more and more like the couch!
- Cancer loves stress. ‘Nough said!
Some tips, then, to help you do all you can to keep yourself cancer-free:
- Eat a diet high in vegetables, fruits, and fiber. Reduce the amount of processed and refined carbs you eat.
- Exercise has shown to reduce the risk for acquiring all cancers by up to 80%. Walk, dance, or shake, shake , shake your booty for better health. Exercise increases blood and lymph flow, more than massage does. Women – a simple daily routine of “Phluffing the girls” by taking hold of your bra straps and shaking your breasts up and down for 10 seconds will do remarkable things. Men – I don’t recommend you do this for the women you love, nor do I recommend buying a bra for this occasion – but do move your breast tissue as well!
- Unplug from technology – leave the phone at home and get out and do something you enjoy. Meditate in a quiet place, listen to music, laugh, read a book, pray, get a massage – whatever you enjoy that brings you peace.
