Keeping cancer and other diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity and more might be as simple as the choice we make in keeping toxins out of our bodies and stress out of our minds. Think about all of the money poured into medicines, which are chemicals, that only treat certain symptoms. And most of the time create other side effects that we have to take more medicines for that in turn create more side effects, and on and on. You see where I am going.

What if only a part of the millions and millions of dollars poured into research on medicines, was put to use in educating the public on the right choices of foods and nutrition to put into our bodies to keep them healthy and to learn how to relax and quit putting so many demands on ourselves. What if more funding went into organic farming instead of mass, quick produced, with fertilizers and steroids for faster turn around on the products. Personally I have had so many chemicals blasted into my body from chemo and radiation, and medicines for this and medicines for that, I am about to think that all of that is only hurting my body more. Are we brain washed to believe that we have to have a pill for everything?

My community does not have a health food store that sells fresh organic produce or meats. And the local grocery stores carry very limited amounts of those items. I did take it upon myself to talk to one of the produce managers who did start ordering some other variety of organic vegetables which I thought was nice. And it seemed to catch on with some other customers too. Maybe the trend in that store will be to start ordering more organic products.

I will be posting a series of blogs on personal research that I am doing and trying out, just because I am sick and tired, literally, of fighting cancer that reoccurs and using medicines that are ripping my body apart leaving my immune system even more at risk for infection and disease.

But the one thing that I want to emphasize in this blog right now, is to STOP EATING processed and canned foods. It may be quicker to heat up a can of food or something already processed and pre-made for us, but it is not healthier. Eating fresh organic vegetables and home made prepared foods without chemical preservatives and other additives is the way to go to start getting some of those toxins out of our bodies. If you can't find fresh in something, because seasons play a big part in our fresh vegetable selections, purchase frozen. Also purchase dried beans or other dried items and cook them instead of buying canned ones. They are healthier than canned. Eating raw vegetables or slightly steamed vegetables is more healthy because the vitamins and nutrients do not cook out of the food.

Children and teenagers -- mostly girls -- need zinc, a mineral important for maintaining healthy immune systems and healthy skin and for preventing colds and infections. Yet half of all teenage girls have zinc deficiencies.

Red meat is the most effective way of channeling zinc into the body. Perhaps these young girls are eating red meat less than two times per week -- a practice research shows can contribute to zinc deficiencies.

Iron is vital for good health. Menstruating women need it. The elderly need it. Pregnant women need it. And children need it too. But many lack healthy levels of iron.

Red meat contains a lot of iron. And while iron also comes from vegetable sources, meat contains more iron than most foods and is best utilized by the body in this form.

Red meat also contains B vitamins, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, selenium -- and protein, critical for muscle and organ health. Protein from red meat is complete, meaning it contains all the amino acids the body cannot make on its own. Protein helps the body repair and renew.

There is definitely a good side to eating red meat. There is also a bad side.

Red meat has been linked to incidences of bowel cancer, breast cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, high cholesterol, clogged arteries, and food poisoning.

Experts say the controversy surrounding red meat comes down to the type of meat we are eating -- and how we are eating it.

There are three official red meats -- pork, lamb, and beef. Pork is the leanest, lamb is the fattiest, and beef is the most nutritious. Red meat is typically high in saturated fats and bad cholesterol. But lean beef is fairly healthy -- if it's not treated with hormones and is truly free from excess fat. The more white you see, the more fat you get.

So here is the trick for all meat-eaters out there -- choose lean meats, seek nutritious cuts of meat, avoid hormone-treated products, steer clear of processed meats (these include more additives and fats than simple cuts of pork, lamb, and beef), read labels carefully, make meat just one component of a balanced diet, and brace yourself for more research and study and discussion that will undoubtedly conclude that meat is good for us. And bad for us too.

If at the smoky smell and sizzling sound of frying bacon you go mmmm....Bacon! then you might be dismayed by a review published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that suggests processed meats might be a cause of stomach cancer. But might is a big word in this specific report.

One, they don't have enough evidence to say for certain that bacon, sausage, hot dogs, salami, ham, and smoked or cured meat leads to an increased risk for stomach cancer. Two, the researchers did not take into account other studies of processed meats consumption that do reflect an increased risk of stomach cancer in those who also suffer from Helicobacter pylori infection. Early thought on this is that the infection in combination with processed meats consumption might be what increases stomach cancer risk. Definitive evidence is still not conclusive.

Consuming multiple servings of processed meats on a weekly basis is not a good idea, and most people know that. The news of this ambiguous review of previous studies still leaves the question wide open as to stomach cancer risks in relation to a diet of processed meats. Which begs the question: why did they release the findings of this report as significant news? It makes for a good news hook to attract more readers and television viewers, but I don't think it really tells us much in the way that we can take with us to the breakfast table.

The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment has issued a 264-page report Our Food Our Health, that is sure to create some heated discussion over which lifestyle habit -- smoking or diet -- actually contributes to the most disease and death. At the heart of the findings the Dutch indicate that a poor diet lacking in an abundance of disease prevention foods, like fish, fruit, and vegetables, cause more disease and death than smoking tobacco. According to these researchers, many scientists agree that at least 75 percent of diseases can be prevented by eating a healthy diet.

The study findings go on to state that each year, inadequate diet causes about 13,000 deaths in The Netherlands due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Unhealthy diet habits are just as bad, if not worse, as smoking in terms of their effect on risk of disease and death. You hear that cancer diagnosis and death could be reduced by 50 percent with certain lifestyle changes. The emphasis is usually on smoking cessation. However, if these researchers are correct, and researchers worldwide are in agreement with them, then the conversation about cancer prevention will need to shift away from smoking and replace diet and obesity as the number one causes of diseases like cancer. Someone said, not too long ago, that obesity and diet would replace the spot smoking has dominated as the number one lifestyle risk for cancer. With research news like this, you can see the beginning of the new trend.

I've been wondering lately about how I might alter my diet in a post-cancer world. I am a moderate eater -- I eat moderate amounts of meat and fruits and vegetables and grains and dairy. And moderate amounts of fats and sweets too. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing myself a disservice by eating meat and processed foods and refined sugar. I've gathered many opinions that indicate that the further our food comes from the dirt of this Earth, the worse it is for us. That perhaps the increase in cancer cases in the United States is linked to the increase in diets rich in artificial stuff. Part of me resists this speculation -- maybe because I enjoy a variety of foods from the entire food pyramid and I just don't want to give them up.  And part of me believes that if this argument is true, then I am a fool to not jump on board and take control of my future health. So I've taken the first step -- I've done some research and have located a destination where I could explore this route with detail and precision by practicing a whole new way of eating and being.

Hippocrates Health Institute, a leader in the field of natural and complementary health care and education since 1956, teaches a vegan diet with a focus on implementing this lifestyle at home. Food is served in its purest form and is fresh, organic, and enzyme-rich. Food is not the only focus at this institute, however. Whole body healing includes various therapies, exercise, and workshops. While living on the premises of this West Palm Beach, Florida oasis for a minimum of one week and a maximum of three weeks, I could cleanse myself of the toxins and stress and anxiety that have invaded my body as a result of cancer. It's tempting. And maybe when my treatment is complete in August, I will become a student of this philosophy. Just maybe.

Because cancer can take years to develop -- and because certain dietary habits have been linked to an increased risk of cancer -- and because helping children adopt informed healthy habits of eating during the early years seems a practical strategy to a lifetime of cancer prevention -- this headline Parents health food fads make children ill, grabbed my attention. According to eating disorder expert Dr. Steve Bratman, parents who encourage their children to choose healthy foods are dangerous role models. It seems that limiting the amount of sugar, fat, salt and artificial additives are putting children at risk of serious damage to their health, and in some cases, death by starvation. With great pain, Dr. Bratman shares that he is deeply disturbed to be receiving an ever-increasing amount of email from children interested in healthy eating habits.

Because no term exists in medical tomes to describe this condition, Dr. Bratman made one up. He calls the condition of junk food aversion and deprivation -- orthorexia. Dr. Bratman has written a book and developed a website devoted to this new life-threatening eating disorder where growing numbers of children, influenced by their parents, are taking an interest in eating healthy. To use the closing remark often used by John Stossel of ABC News 20/20 to a news story that defies sanity and common sense -- give me a break!