A high intake of vitamin C has been shown to reduce the risks for virtually all forms of cancer, including leukemia, lymphoma, and lung, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers as well as sex hormone related cancers like breast, prostate, cervix, and ovarian cancers. Vitamin C is your body's first and most effective line of antioxidant protection. Vitamin C protects cell structures like DNA from damage and it helps the body deal with environmental pollution and toxic chemicals. Vitamin C enhances immune function, and it inhibits the formation of cancer causing compounds in the body (such as the nitrosamines, chemicals produced when the body digests processed meats containing nitrates).

Dr. Douglas Brodie states in the book, Alternative Medicine Definitive Guide to Cancer, "Each one of us produces several hundred thousand cancer cells every day of our lives. Whether we develop clinical cancer or not depends upon the ability of our immune systems to destroy these cancer cells. That's because cancer thrives in the presence of a deficient immune system."

Here is a list of foods high in vitamin C. Adding these foods to your daily diet will help boost your immune system which will aid you in fighting off many diseases as well as cancer.
Fruits and vegetables are both high in Vitamin C. The highest are papaya, raw red and green peppers, oranges, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, Brussels sprouts, baked potato, cabbage, green peas, kiwi fruit, and kale.

There are a few good vitamin C supplements on the market but one that I particularly am using at present to super charge my immune system is Emergen-C Super Energy Booster which has 1,000mg of vitamin C along with vitamin B and 32 mineral complexes.

In her award-winning documentary Toxic Bust, filmmaker Megan Siler takes on the issues and realities of toxic chemicals women are exposed to at home, in the community, and during work in relation to the potential links to breast cancer. Siler focuses on three breast cancer hot spots -- San Francisco and Silicon Valley in California and Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Siler is not alone in her investigative work of environmental links to cancer risks. Even though the current percentage of federally-funded research dollars allocated to the links between cancer and exposure to environmental toxins is in the single-digits, there are those who have spent a good deal of time, energy and resources into studying the cause and effect of the environmental risks to cancer. In the last six years, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has conducted extensive studies regarding toxic chemicals in the environment. Among the 72 people who participated in the EWG studies, a chemical body burden of 455 industrial pollutants, pesticides and other chemicals in blood, urine, and breast milk were found.

The Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition analyzed the hair, blood, and urine samples of ten study participants and found that every person tested had at least 26 and as many as 39 toxic chemicals in his or her body and the exposure to toxic chemicals came from everyday activities and products. Breast Cancer Action released State of the Evidence 2006: What Is the Connection Between the Environment and Breast Cancer? which provided compelling scientific evidence pointing to some of the 100,000 synthetic chemicals in use today as contributing to the development of breast cancer, either by altering hormone function or gene expression. The report also identifies radiation exposure, such as that from X-rays and CT scans, as the longest-established environmental cause of breast cancer. In the United States, a woman's lifetime risk of developing breast cancer has tripled in the last 40 years.

Wendy Mesley, co-host of CBC's Marketplace and breast cancer survivor, produced and hosted the investigative documentary Chasing the Cancer Answer, that provided revealing interviews with an outspoken American doctor, frustrated cancer victims in southern Ontario, pharmaceutical sales representatives in Paris, France, and activists working to increase awareness of prevention measures. Greenpeace issued a report that Chernobyl cancer deaths have been grossly underestimated. Award-winning and highly-respected journalist and public commentator Bill Moyers produced a PBS documentary Trade Secrets investigating the history of the chemical revolution and the body burden of synthetic chemicals that pose dangers to human health.

We have additional links related to the topic of environmental links to cancer risk at Earth Day: environmental cancer risks and Cancer Epidemic: are we poisoned from birth? Cancer defines about 100 diseases characterized by the uncontrolled, abnormal growth of cells. No one single factor is going to be the cause for all cancers. However, environmental exposure from toxic chemicals cannot be ignored as one, and perhaps multiple, contributing factors in raising the risks of developing cancer.

The fortunes and ills of modern society. Without argument, the advent of artificial light has provided a new way of life, a freedom from the dictates of the light of day and the darkness of night. However, it appears, we are not getting enough light during the day and we are getting too much light at night. As a result, it is creating an internal hormone imbalance and we might be paying the price of progress in increased rates of breast cancer and other cancers as well.

It's called light pollution at night and energy conservation by day. To save on energy, we dimmed the indoor lighting. Many of us spend most of our days exposed to a quality of indoor lighting that is insuffcient for our health needs. At night, we are exposed to too much light when the body needs darkness. The trouble stems from the interaction between melatonin and light. At night, when melatonin should be most active in our bodies, artificial light shuts it down. According to researchers, one of the functions of melatonin is in its ability to shut down cancer cells.

At a conference in Ottawa, Canada, more than 100 psychologists, biologists, medical researchers, engineers and lighting designers are attending a conference to address the research and to explore possible solutions. As one of the researchers suggested, "we tend to live in a state of perpetual low light."

BBC News is reporting that the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has caused a massive oil spill off Lebanon's coastline that could take ten years to clean up and poses a threat of increased cancer risks for people living in the region. The spill was caused by the Israeli bombing of the Jiyyeh power station.

Yacoub Sarraf, Lebanon's environment minister, stated that they cannot begin to tackle the problem until the conflict ends. "We cannot get equipment, companies, labor or know-how to handle the problem," he said until the safety of technical teams can be guaranteed.

Marine experts from Inforac, an organization with links to the United Nations Environment Program (Unep), said the spill of fuel oil was a "high-risk toxic cocktail made up of substances which cause cancer and damage to the endocrine system." The experts warned that the first people at risk from the toxic spray at the time of the bombing were the two million inhabitants of Beirut.

Experts are comparing the oil spill to the Erika tanker oil spill off the coast of France and speculated that the Lebanon oil spill could end up being as devastating as the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Summer surf and sand. Planning a day trip or weekend vacation at the beach? You could be putting yourself and your family at short-term and long-term health risk. From bacterial pollution to toxic chemicals, some of our beaches are dirty enough to cause serious concern.

In an effort to combat beach pollution, the Milford Environmental Concerns Coalition in Milford Connecticut, hosts a beachwater quality initiative called the Freedom Lawn Contest, recognizing local residents who show their commitment to protecting water quality by growing beautiful lawns and gardens without the use of chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers.

According to Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), every coastal state has a beach pollution problem. In 2000, the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) was passed by Congress, requiring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise the current health standards by October 2005. The FDA missed the deadline, and indicates it will not be able to finish updating the standards until 2011. The NRDC announced it is suing the EPA for failing to modernize the standards as ordered by Congress six years ago.

The NRDC has published a 349-page report, Testing the Waters 2006: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, available as a PDF document.

According to the National Cancer Institute, one out of two men and one out of three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, and three out of four American families will have at least one family member diagnosed with cancer. Those statistics are so overwhelming in scope that it takes a minute before it sinks in just how epidemic cancer is and how many lives it touches. And even after the reality of the numbers has become a reality in my mind, I am still always surprised when I find out someone has been diagnosed with cancer, or someone they are related to has died of cancer.

I was happily and distractedly researching information for something entirely unrelated to cancer -- a recently released animated movie based on a favorite comic strip Over The Hedge -- when in an interview with Bruce Willis, who is the voice of RJ the raccoon in the movie, shared his philosophy about life and living. Willis lost his younger brother to pancreatic cancer five years ago. In the interview Willis remarks:

Dr. Samuel Epstein hasn't made many friends in the Canadian and American Cancer Societies or with the federal government because he has been a publicly vocal critic to what he believes is their complete lack of attention to the every day cancer risks that each of us encounter in life. His criticism is justified.

Dr. Epstein, who teaches environmental and occupational medicine at the University of Illinois, wants us to know that we are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals when we shampoo our hair, put on makeup, tidy the house, control garden pests, in how we store our food -- and in the food we eat.

Erin Brockovich-Ellis traveled to Ithaca to tell local homeowners she thinks they have a strong legal case against Emerson Power Transmission for damages resulting from the plant's contamination of the area with the industrial solvent, trichloroethylene, or TCE, a potentially potent carcinogen. It seeps into groundwater. According to Brockovich-Ellis, "the residents are not dealing with a rinky-dink amount of TCE," and went on to indicate that the TCE numbers are some of the highest she has ever seen. A spokesperson for Emerson is quoted as saying that the company was not aware of any lawsuit and had no comment. They might not have a comment but I seriously doubt they are unaware of the potential lawsuit or the arrival of Brockovich-Ellis.

Neither a lawyer or scientist, she has become legendary for her activism and work regarding environmental issues related to cancer incidence. What made her famous was the curious, relentless, tenacious, and fearlessness of her pursuit in exposing the truth of the incident involving Pacific Gas and Electric who had been knowingly exposing residents groundwater to the cancer-causing agent chromium 6 and the cancer deaths that followed. Like I said, because of who she is and the reputation that precedes her, I have difficulty believing the Emerson spokesperson when he states they are not even aware of the arrival of Brockovich-Ellis and the lawsuit her firm is interested in taking on against the company.

In an earlier post, TCE: groundwater contamination in toxic triangle of cancer, we shared a story about residents in Texas who plant small purple crosses in the front lawns of those who have been diagnosed with cancer. They believe they have been poisoned by the TCE that was dumped at a military base for decades and subsequently spread for miles through a shallow aquifer under the 22,000 nearby homes where they live. 

Last year, ten people took part in an investigative study to test for the presence of toxic chemicals in their body. The Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition took hair, blood, and urine samples and tested for plasticizing chemicals known as phthalates; the flame retardants PBDEs; lead, arsenic, and mercury; perfluorinated chemicals like those used to make Teflon; and pesticides -- including the now banned PCBs and DDT. Many of these are know to increase cancer risks. The purpose of the study was two-fold -- the researchers wanted to know which chemicals are getting into our bodies, at what levels, and to better understand the potential harm posed by poor regulation of chemicals. Second, the researchers hope that by understanding the dangers we face, better solutions can be developed to eliminate the exposures to toxins from the environment. The results shocked and surprised the participants in the study. It might disturb you too, as most of us carry a similar body burden of cancer-causing chemicals.

If you don't think staying out in the sun for long periods of time puts you at greater risk for skin cancer -- or that a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen are all you need to be safe from the damaging rays of the sun -- you might be interested in what MoleMap, a melanoma surveillance program in Australia, discovered during a study of New Zealand farmers and skin cancer rates. I was surprised -- and not in a good way -- by the results of the study.

According to the study, these farmers take sun safety very seriously and observe most of the advised sun safety practices of wearing wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses, protective clothing and sunscreen. Yet, with all those preventive measures, half of the New Zealand farmers, or close family members, have been diagnosed with skin cancer. The unavoidable truth is that the work they do requires them to be out in the sun for as long as eight hours a day.

MoleMap general manager Gavin Foulsham is quoted as saying, "We are getting absolutely hammered with ultraviolet rays from the hole in the ozone layer, and our skies are very clean, so we don't get the protective benefits of pollution either, which ironically caused the hole in the first place." The farmers are being asked to pay close attention to any changes to the skin that could indicate skin cancer and to get it checked right away. For all of us who are not required to work outdoors, this is a cautionary tale of why it is essential to take sun safety seriously and to stay out of the sun for long periods of time.

Janice R. England has been investigating dumpsites and landfills and cancer clusters for over twenty years. In 1984, she founded People Investigating Toxic Sites, P.I.T.S., to provide information on locations of open and closed dumpsites and landfills, contaminated groundwater, and to investigate illnesses related to contamination of the environment.

P.I.T.S. features an online resource of a state by state list of toxic waste, military ordinance and chemical warfare dumps. According to England, many of these sites are linked to contaminated groundwater, cancer clusters, birth defects and various health problems. She has provided a way for you to find out if you live, work, play or send your children to schools that are on or adjacent to these toxic sites. Visit P.I.T.S. to learn more.

The image in the photo of diesel exhaust pouring out of the back of the big yellow school bus makes me want to cough and I am no where near the back of the bus. Imagine the children sitting inside the bus, where much of that bus diesel's own exhaust is entering back inside the cabin from cracks in the exhaust train and through windows and doors. Two environmental groups imagined it -- and based on disturbing studies of the effects on school children from the 40 different chemicals classified as toxic contaminants that make up diesel exhaust -- have filed a lawsuit in California to force Laidlaw Transit Inc., of Naperville, Illinois, to put written warnings on buses about the dangers of cancer-causing pollutants the buses emit. Air pollution from diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen. The State of California knows it. The EPA knows it.

Three days ago, I went all Erin Brockovich about the news that wasn't being reported in the news reports about the Nevada Cancer Institute opening offices in Elko and Fallon. As initially reported by the local Nevada television and print media, this was an effort to help provide outreach, education and support to the projected 11,000 Nevadans who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. At that time, not one of the news reports mentioned anything about the water supply, or the fact that Fallon is classified as a cancer cluster town, or why the offices were being opened. Days later, you can go here, and here, and even here, to be told that University of Arizona scientists think they may have a found the reason for the unusually high number of childhood cancer cases in Sierra Vista and Fallon, Nevada.

For fifty years, Americans have enjoyed the bounty of the chemical revolution, trusting the government and industry to keep us safe. The public has a right to know the truth about the thousands of chemicals in use and the lives compromised. -- Bill Moyers
 
Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report is a highly-acclaimed PBS documentary presented by Bill Moyers, a widely-respected investigative journalist, exposing the secret documents of chemical companies, the dangers these chemicals pose to our present day health, and the options we have in creating a safer home environment by reducing the known and unknown cancer risks some of these chemicals pose for our family.

Bill Moyers is extensive in his research and reporting, and PBS has graciously provided much of the documentary's focus and findings on the website dedicated to the show. The report is broken down into three areas: The Problem which discusses the body burden, the toxic journey and children at risk; The Evidence reveals the secrecy, the regulatory war, and the money and politics involved in the deceptive practices of the chemical industry; and most importantly, The Options offers concrete and doable ways of protecting your family and yourself from the damages of potentially cancer-causing toxic chemicals.

According to Trade Secrets, most of us believe the chemicals in consumer products have been tested and approved by some government agency. In fact, until they are proven harmful, most chemicals are presumed safe. Of the more than 75,000 chemicals registered with the Environmental Protection Agency, only a fraction have gone through complete testing to find out whether they might cause problems for human health. Many that are produced in enormous quantities have never been tested at all. In order to make informed cancer prevention choices, you owe it to yourself and your family to read through the facts and information provided in this documentary.

What is hanging so toxic in the air? According to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, benzene from cars and trucks that burn gasoline or diesel fuel. Other toxins causing higher risks for cancer where air pollution is the worst are naphthalene and acetaldehyde -- also from vehicles.

Autoblog, one of our sister blogs, has launched AutoblogGreen, which will feature posts on living an eco-friendly lifestyle in all things auto-related in green car culture. They will be keeping a close ear to the ground and fingers to the keyboard to give readers an up-to-the-minute accounting on the auto industry's efforts to create transportation that is fuel-efficient and cleaner for the environment.

From our perspective here at The Cancer Blog, transportation going green means a giant step towards a cancer prevention environment. From air pollution to alternative fuels, check AutoblogGreen out! It's a very cool, forward-thinking blog.