Cinco Vidas

You feel it in the pit of your stomach, as if you’ve been punched. The doctor said the word—cancer—and your world spins around you, echoing, unreal. Not only do you feel the pain of what that word may mean for the future, but a worse feeling that shrinks you down small in your seat—helplessness. Because it’s not you the doctor is talking about. It’s someone you love. (more…)

It looks so innocent, clear, and refreshing sitting there in the cooler. But recent tests have shown that bottled water may be harmful to our health—especially for at-risk populations like infants, children, the elderly, and those fighting disease.

“Concerned about tap water quality,” says the Environmental Working Group (EWG), “many consumers turn to bottled water, hoping to find a guarantee of safety. But the reality is very different…; all bottled waters tested by EWG contained some chemical contaminants…” Those chemicals can include by-products of disinfection like chloroform and haloacetic acids—part of a group of chemicals called “trihalomethanes” that have been linked with bladder cancer. The National Toxicology Panel has stated that chloroform is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.” (more…)

Most of us know we may lose our hair during chemotherapy. What we may not be prepared for is losing hair in other places—like on our eyes!

“I am 4 weeks out from my last chemo, and my eyelashes are still leaving,” says survivor katyg.

“My eyelashes and brows did not fall out until AFTER chemo was over, around six weeks,” says survivor Cheryl G. “The eyebrows seem to grow faster than the lashes (per eye doctor, it takes about six to eight weeks for a new set of eyelashes).”

Chemo drugs can cause you to lose your hair just about anywhere, but eyelashes may arguably be the most difficult to deal with. “I had the chemo and in the process lost all my hair, eyebrows, eyelashes etc.,” says survivor Em. “Within 3 months of finishing the treatment they had grown back…. Well, it’s now 5 months since I finished chemo and my eyebrows and eyelashes are falling out all over again!” (more…)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working on new rules for sunscreens. That means safer products for us! So far, they’ve proposed three things: capping SPF numbers at 50+, banning certain terms in labeling, and requiring UVA testing and labeling. The rules won’t be finalized and released until later this year, but we wanted to let you know now, so you can get a head start on choosing products that truly protect your skin. (more…)

So many cancer patients suffer from stomach upset that researchers have developed many medications to treat it—but there are also several natural solutions you can try.

Why is it that cancer treatments so commonly cause stomach upset? According to Dr. Harman at cancergrace.org, both cancer and the treatments for it can be factors in creating stomach problems. Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting usually occur because the drugs stimulate a part of the brain that controls the vomiting response. Damage to the intestines from chemo can also stimulate that same response in the brain, and in the stomach. Other causes unique to cancer include: (more…)

There are a lot of us who just don’t like needles. Memories of childhood flu, vaccination, and tetanus shots are usually not that enjoyable. Yet acupuncture has shown in many studies to be helpful at lessening the side effects of cancer treatment. If you’re not a needle person, is it worth the trauma?

First of all—most people would not describe acupuncture as painful. According to the Chinese Learning Center, it’s “virtually painless.” In fact, most patients experience acupuncture as relaxing. The needles are very thin—about the width of a hair—and flexible. Nothing like those shot needles you may be thinking of. (more…)

When you’re trying to lose weight, experts say the best thing to do is to change your habits—eating habits, yes, but also shopping habits. The same could be said for choosing to live with fewer chemicals. Perhaps you’re now buying more fresh fruits and vegetables, and fewer fattening chips and pastries. You can do the same with your personal-care purchases.

First of all, as when you’re shedding pounds, read labels. If you’ve gone through a few of our posts, you may be starting to become familiar with the ingredients that are potentially harmful or carcinogenic, like phthalates and parbens. (more…)

Bleomycin was one of the cancer drugs to appear on California’s new “toxic chemicals” list.

Could it be that a chemical used in treating cancer could also cause cancer? According to the latest list of toxic chemicals released by the state of California, amsacrine, a chemotherapy drug, is also a carcinogen.

A drug used in the treatment of acute adult leukemia, amsacrine (Amsidine®) was found to cause tumors in Wistar rats, according to a study by Graziano M.J. and colleagues, with tumors showing up on the skin and in the uterus, small intestine, mammary gland, and thymus. According to Dr. Zuck of healthline.com, the drug is no longer commercially available in the U.S., but still is in Canada. (more…)

Lynn Lane, founder of “Voices of Survivors,” shooting a documentary film in Southern West Virginia.

What does it really mean to be a “survivor?” The term is constantly used in the media and related cancer publications, but if you’ve actually experienced cancer in your life, what does survivorship really mean? That’s what Lynn Lane, founder/executive director of “Voices of Survivors,” has dedicated his life to find out.

“A lot of people don’t like the word ‘survivor,’” he says. “Does it mean you’re just barely hanging on, or you ‘just’ survived? We’re not just surviving. We’re living. We’re thriving.”

Diagnosed with prostate cancer when he was only 41, Lynn found the experience very isolating. (more…)

There’s a new book out we just had to tell you about. If you’re still on the fence about whether or not to read labels on the personal-care products in your bathroom and medicine cabinet, this book is for you!

It’s called, Toxic Beauty, and it’s written by Dr. Samuel S. Epstein and investigative reporter Randall Fitzgerald. Epstein is an expert on avoidable causes of cancer, as well as professor emeritus of environmental health at the University of Illinois, consultant to the U.S. Senate, and former consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Labor. Fitzgerald has been an investigative reporter for 37 years. Together, the two have created a great reference for anyone who wants to avoid unnecessary toxic exposure and purchase healthier products. (more…)