Lesbian women may be at higher risk of developing breast cancer than heterosexual women. Lesbians are often less inclined than heterosexual women to access conventional medical treatment due to lower economics, fear of discrimination and past negative experiences with health care causing them to avoid health care all together. Due to a lack of equal rights with partners that are insured, unlike heterosexual couples, many lesbians with lower income jobs that cannot afford individual insurance plans, can not join on the insurance policy of their partners.

There is no genetic difference between heterosexual and homosexual women that increases disease risk among lesbians but the lack of screening taking place within the lesbian community increases the chances that a woman will be diagnosed in more advanced stages of cancer. Then at later stages there are fewer treatment options. One other factor in the lesbian community is that women who have children after age thirty, or never at all, are at increased risk for breast cancer. It is believed that certain hormones released during pregnancy act as a preventative force against breast cancer. Studies show that lesbians are less likely than heterosexual women to have children, and therefore may be at increased risk. African American lesbians have the highest risk factors for breast cancer than any other group.

Like gay males, the lesbian and bisexual population tend to consume more alcohol and also smoke more than heterosexual women. Whether this is done as a tension reducer or for social interactions is not determined but addiction frequently follows and is associated with higher rates of cancers, heart disease, and emphysema which are the three major causes of death among all women.

The body speaks in visual clues revealing the state of our health. For example, a trained practitioner can tell you if you have heart disease by examining how your fingernails grow. Deciphering what the body is trying to say is a continuing learning process for the health community. Now, there might be one more clue that is understood.

According to researchers, deep facial wrinkles indicate lung weakness and a sign of lung disease. In a study done at the Royal Devon & Exeter National Health Service in Britain, the participants who had significant wrinkles of the face were five times more likely to have COPD and three times more likely to have severe emphysema. It has been well-established that some, but not all smokers, develop decreased lung function and eventual COPD. Researchers believe the results of this study will alert physicians to the potential for lung disease when treating patients who show extensive or deep wrinkling of the face.

Mama's Health recommends eating these healthy foods to help prevent cancer and heart disease.

Herbs, vegetables, dietary fiber and fruits are food items most of us already know are essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Here are some foods that are especially good for preventing cancer and heart disease.

Basil tops the herb list and reduces blood pressure and eases the symptoms of emphysema and bronchitis. In addition, rubbing basil on your skin acts as a natural bug repellent.

Spinach, asparagus, and broccoli top the vegetables most recommended to cut down on heart disease and cancer, giving at least 50 percent of the recommended daily allowances (RDI) for vitamin A, and about 20 percent of the RDI for vitamin C. Spinach is a good source of iron, calcium and folate and asparagus is also high in folate content (20 to 50 percent of RDI per serving). Folate is a nutrient identified as being important for pregnant women. Folate, also known as folic acid, might reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer and breast cancer.

Sweet Bing cherries, pumpkin, strawberries and apricots, are high in vitamin A and C, and provide a good source of fiber. Sweet Bing cherries is a cancer prevention food with the ability to fight the inflammation associated with some cancers. Pumpkin and strawberries are a good source of iron and folate. A substance found in strawberries, quercetin, has been shown to program cancer cells to self destruct. All are low in calories.

Dietary fiber found in whole wheat bread and 100 percent bran cereal along with kidney beans, white beans, and potatoes top the fiber charts for healthy eating to prevent cancer and heart disease. Soy nuts top the healthy snacks and are high in protein and isoflavones.

The world was stunned to learn that Dana Reeve, a non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer. Peter Jennings, who had quit smoking many years before his lung cancer death -- and who had only recently taken up the smoking habit again before being diagnosed with lung cancer -- was perhaps less confusing. Jennings publicly blamed smoking for his cancer. For many among us, spoken or unspoken, lung cancer has been thought to be a smoker's disease. With the loss of Dana Reeve, a non-smoker, new questions were asked, and conversation began, into all the causes of lung cancer. As a result of Dana Reeve's lung cancer death, non-smokers were asking out loud -- how much danger am I in for developing lung cancer. The every day person was soon to learn that not much is truly known about lung cancer, or clearly spelled out.

One of the most confounding truths about lung cancer and smoking, is that only 15 percent of smokers develop lung cancer, and almost 20 percent of lung cancer diagnosis involve non-smokers. University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers are attempting to develop an assessment model to determine who is at greater risk for lung cancer. Here is some of the information they have come up with so far in the assessment model:

• Heavy smokers who have a previous history of emphysema exhibit nearly a four times increased risk of lung cancer than light smokers without emphysema.
• The risk of developing lung cancer increases to nearly 11-fold if a patient with the same medical history also has an inefficient DNA repair capacity.
• Individuals with a history of allergies have a 29 percent reduced risk of lung cancer.
• Such individuals, who also exhibit efficient DNA repair capacity, have a 56 percent reduced risk of developing lung cancer, compared with people who do not have allergies with poor DNA repair genes.
• Genetically, family members of lung cancer patients had more than a six-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer before the age of 50. Their risk of developing any type of cancer before age 50 was 44 percent higher.

Because there is such an increased focus on lung cancer now, this is just the beginning of information we can expect to learn in the near future to not only predict, but prevent by intervention, lung cancer for those who are at greater risk of developing the disease.

Here are basic lung cancer facts. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and accounts for 30 percent of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer will kill more people this year than the combined deaths from breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma.  Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for men, and will cause the death of three times as many men as prostate cancer this year. Lung cancer will cause the cancer death of nearly twice as many women as breast cancer this year. Over 50 percent of new lung cancer cases will be diagnosed at a very late stage, and only five percent of lung cancer survivors live five years.

Of new lung cancer diagnosis made this year, 35-40 percent are current smokers,  50 percent are former smokers, and 10-15 percent have never smoked. The risk factors for lung cancer are smoking, exposure to secondhand or passive smoke, radon, the chemicals arsenic, asbestos, uranium, and diesel fuel. Lung scarring from emphysema, COPD, or tuberculosis can lead to lung cancer.

When lung cancer does cause symptoms, they are likely to be coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, pain in the chest, shoulder, upper back, or arm, coughing up blood, repeated pneumonia or bronchitis, loss of appetite, weight loss, hoarseness or swelling of face or neck.

If you smoke, or are a former smoker, it is important to have regular check-ups and to watch for any changes in how you feel. Many people with lung cancer have no symptoms until the disease has advanced into late stages. If you have never smoked, and begin to notice any of the above symptoms, see your physician. The symptoms of lung cancer are similar to many other illnesses, but it is best to be on the safe side. Any cancer diagnosed early leads to a better chance of survival.