Cinco Vidas

Britta Aragon and her father, Javier.

I pride myself on being a positive person. After surviving cancer myself, I felt I had experienced firsthand the power of believing you can, and you will get well. I did it, and later, when my father was diagnosed, I watched him do it not once, but five times. His strength and optimism stay with me to this day, and fuel all my efforts for Cinco Vidas and all the cancer fighters, survivors, and caregivers that we touch.

However, despite my father’s triumphs, after the fifth recurrence of the cancer, there came a time when I knew that even with all his positive energy, my father was not going to survive. I’m not sure how you come to know this. It’s not just what the doctors say, or what the test results show. After a certain time of fighting battles—some you win, but some you lose—you see that the body is breaking down, and like a machine with too many broken parts, there’s just no fixing it anymore, despite the strength of the heart that lives inside. (more…)

Cancer treatments got you feeling negative about your appearance? Want a quick and easy way to diminish wrinkles, improve skin tone, and reduce stress? Put on your favorite comedy DVD, read a book of jokes, or head out to your local comedy club. Laughter, as you may have heard, is good for you—not just for your body and soul, but your complexion as well.

“Laughing improves skin tone and appearance by absorbing more air, therefore oxygenating the cells” says healthy-living spokesperson Laurel House, writing for Planet Green. “Just as smoking restricts oxygen to the body’s tissues and causes aging, an increase of oxygen invigorates the skin and brightens skin tone.” (more…)

Science still isn’t sure what causes breast cancer. Most likely, it’s a myriad of things dependent on a person’s genetic makeup, diet, lifestyle, exposure to dangerous chemicals, and stress levels. However, researchers have long speculated that estrogen—a hormone necessary for normal development and growth of the breasts and organs important for childbearing—may have something to do with it. According to researchers from Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors (BCERF) in New York, estrogen may be implicated in breast-cancer risk because of 1) its role in stimulating breast cell division; 2) its work during the critical periods of breast growth and development; 3) its effect on other hormones that stimulate breast-cell division; and 4) its support of the growth of estrogen-responsive tumors. Women with high lifetime exposures to estrogen may be at higher risk, BCERF concludes. (more…)

It’s not all in your head. If you find it hard to focus, remember things, retrieve words, analyze difficult data, or multi-task like you used to before cancer treatment, you may have chemo-brain.

Doctors used to shrug off patient complaints about foggy thinking and forgetfulness, but finally science is catching up with what patients have long known. Just like chemotherapy can cause problems in the rest of the body, it can do so in the brain, as well, and these problems can last long after treatment is over.

“When you are an accountant and you can only fumble with numbers,” says survivor Jenise, “retirement was the only option….[I]t would have helped if there had been more awareness of what was happening to my brain along with all the other physical ailments overwhelming my body.” (more…)

Find yourself unable to taste food after chemotherapy? Does meat seem to have a metal flavoring? It’s not a side effect to take lightly. According to Sarhill and colleagues, in a study published in Support Care Cancer (2003; 11:652-659), for as many as 20% of cancer patients, the primary cause of morbidity was malnutrition, not malignancy—and Jae Hee Hong, lead researcher on a recent study published in the Journal of Supportive Oncology (2009;7:58-65), says disturbances in taste and smell caused by cancer treatments could have a lot to do with that malnutrition. (more…)

“Does anyone know anything about the use of ayurveda in treating cancer?” says caregiver auberon. “My brother-in-law has cancer…I just want to know all alternatives.”

Ayurvedic medicine is no magic bullet for curing cancer, but it may help some cancer patients better manage side effects. An ancient system of medicine that originated in India over 5,000 years ago, ayurveda (meaning science or knowledge of life) is a holistic way of diagnosing illness and bringing the body and mind back into balance to help restore health. Treatments and techniques can include special diets, medications, detoxification, herbal medicines, massage, meditation, Yoga, and breathing and relaxation techniques. (more…)

Have you jumped on the mineral makeup bandwagon? If so, you’re probably enjoying the benefits. Mineral makeup doesn’t clog or irritate pores, contains few (if any) preservatives or dyes, feels lightweight, and often includes ingredients that are good for the skin, like sunscreen (e.g., zinc oxide) and anti-inflammatories. However, they also contain very small particles that may pose some health risks. (more…)

Know how a great tune can lift your spirits? According to scientific studies and oncologist Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, it can do a lot more than that—like help heal cancer.

“Sound can play a role in virtually any medical disorder, since it redresses imbalances on every level of physiologic functioning,” Dr. Gaynor says. In addition, sound “affects healing in several ways: It alters cellular functions and biological systems…it calms the mind and the body; affects the emotions, which influence neurotransmitters and neuropeptides, which in turn regulate the immune system, the healer within.” (more…)

If you lose your hair during cancer treatments, you may be a little confused over how to take care of this new skin. Vin Diesel and Chris Daughtry have it down, obviously, but if you’ve never before taken care of the skin on your scalp, how do you go about it now?

All skin is fragile during chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and the scalp even more so, as it’s probably never been so “naked” before and may be a little tender and sensitive. So forget regular harsh shampoos and opt for a more caring approach—one you would take toward baby skin. (more…)

As long as we have manufacturers trying to catch our attention—and the attention of our wallets—we’re going to have words shouting at us from product labels. We’ve talked about the importance of reading the ingredient deck, but what about the other claims cosmetic companies make?

To help you get more familiar with cosmetic lingo, here are a few common phrases you’ll find on the front—or back—of your favorite personal-care products, and what they mean.

pH-balanced. What is pH, anyway? Scientifically, pH is the measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in a solution. In fact, pH is an abbreviation for “potential hydrogen,” often expressed as “parts hydrogen,” with a scale ranging from 0 to 14. A pH of 7 is considered neutral. (more…)