EVERY 13 MINUTES someone dies from breast cancer. But did you know that almost 100 percent of all government and private funding supports ways to fight breast cancer rather than prevent it?
That’s right. After 30 years of research and billions of dollars spent, we still don’t know the cause of this deadly disease. And while an abundance of funding is pouring in to advance mechanical forms of fighting breast cancer such as chemo therapy and radiation, there is basically no research being administered that looks at the cause of breast cancer.
Don’t you think you deserve better than this? So does Dr. Northrup as she continues to devote her life work to changing these discouraging facts and teaching women about the emotional anatomy of breast cancer.
“I’ve seen women heal from everything—including breast cancer that had spread to their bones!” Dr. Northrup affirms. “In most cases, these women had the courage to release the grip of the past, feel their pain, and then chose to walk into the light of peace and joy.”
In her newly revised edition of The Wisdom of Menopause, Dr. Northrup includes the latest research on breast cancer as well as a detailed program to promote healthy breast tissue. “Like all diseases, cancer has an emotional component as well as a physical one,” she says. “There are now many scientific studies confirming the idea that our emotional style may influence both the incidence of breast cancer and our ability to recover from it.”
In The Wisdom of Menopause, Dr. Northrup also cites a study where, interestingly, the way in which a woman dealt with adversity was also a significant factor in whether she developed cancer. “Those who had allowed themselves to experience their grief fully when they confronted devastating losses were three times less likely to suffer from breast cancer than those who hid their emotions behind a brave face or submerged their grief in various forms of activity.”1
The good news is that there are many advocates like Dr. Northrup daring to change the statistics on breast cancer. One such group making a difference by shifting breast cancer research toward integrative medicine and preventative study is the Heal Breast Cancer Foundation (HBCF). This revolutionary foundation recently honored Dr. Northrup and five other inspirational teachers and leading advocates of this groundbreaking research.
At a gala benefit hosted in February by HBCF, Dr. Northrup was lauded for her innovative approach to women’s health and wellness. She was joined by colleagues and fellow proponents to prevent breast cancer—renowned spiritual guru Eckhart Tolle, alternative medicine trailblazer Dr. Dean Ornish, What the Bleep Do We Know? producer and screenwriter William Arntz, renowned psychosocial oncologist Dr. Carl Simonton, and inspirational writer and actress Meg Ryan’s mom Susan Ryan Jordan.
The Heal Breast Cancer Foundation, which was established in 2004, is dedicated to uncovering the many breast cancer myths, raising both public awareness and the funds necessary to research the cause and healing mechanism of cancer, and helping shift the focus in healthcare to holistic prevention, pre-tumor detection, and biopsychosocial intervention. This innovative foundation, we’re proud to report, is currently supporting and conducting research in several pioneering projects, including the organ-brain connection and brain diagnostics, traumatic life events and breast cancer, and pre-tumor breast cancer prevention.
“Though the most important part of creating daily breast health is achieved through the energetic influence of self-nurturance, releasing resentments, and mutually reinforcing relationships, the health of our breasts, like that of every bodily organ, is also affected by what we eat and by other lifestyle choices.”
And as new research efforts inch closer to integrative approaches and an exploration of the mind, body, spirit, and environmental connection, a cure for breast cancer may be closer than we think. “Remember, we always have the power to create and maintain healthy breasts,” Dr. Northrup confirms.
References
1. Chen, C. C., et al. (1995). Adverse life events and breast cancer: Case-control study. British Medical J, 311, 1527-1530.
Published May 2007