How can I reduce chances of cancer after carcinogen exposure?

Good morning, @football84. After I read your post just now, George Carlin, came to mind. He jokingly said, “Saliva causes cancer, but only if swallowed in small amounts over a long period of time.” Exposures to potential carcinogens can be difficult to avoid. They typically occur throughout a lifetime and are accumulative. Some of these can occur naturally such prolonged UV radiation or radon gas or, from workplace environments, air/water pollution, smoking, hobbies, X-rays, etc.. But once they occur it’s pretty difficult to unring a bell.

Some of the toxins, over time, can cause cancers by creating changes in the DNA. The odds of developing cancers of some descriptions would largely be a function of the severity of the exposure, duration of the exposure as these things are accumulative and how robust your immune systme is in recognizing and taking out mutated cells at an early stage.

Certainly going forward, I would think it’s prudent to minimize any future exposures to not contribute to any potential further genetic damage that may have already occured. That, along with all the old saws you hear all the time such as, eat healthy foods high in antioxidants, exercise, drink plenty of water and regular sleep are always appropriate.

My best advice to you, coming from someone who has had an aggressive leukemia, is to not be consumed by ‘what if’ scenarios. That can rob you of precious time and cause so much unnecessary stress and worry. Because what if everything turns out alright?! 😉

These are just my thoughts. Have you discussed your concerns with your primary care doctor or received any input from them?

I found an excellent video by the director of integrative medicine at Mayo Jacksonville, on diet and special foods to eat. The link to the video was on the Mayo Clinic connect webpage

@football84,

Here are some suggestions you may want to explore:

1) Start with your doctor first to identify tests that are indicated with your exposure history and family history. You may need a referral to a specialist. Write down symptoms you are having, but keep in mind that many cancers do not have symptoms until they have advanced. A CT scan of my heart picked up a lung GGO that developed early stage 1A lung cancer 4 years later.

2) Look at your insurance plan. Are you under a managed care plan, like a HMO, which may limit the type of tests that can be orders or cost restrictions? Get all your routine screen tests included in your plan.

3). Consider seeing a Functional Medicine doctor. Do your research carefully because most do not bill insurance and some of the practices do not have solid science to back them up. Use your own discernment and research. One test I have found helpful is CTC (circulating tumor cells) in your blood. The science is still involving on this test, and it is expensive $890-$1000.

4). Order your own lab tests to look for Heavy Metals, Toxin Exposure, Cancer Markers, etc. through an online lab, like Ultalabtests.com. The labs are drawn and processed through QUEST, a National Lab, with draw stations throughout the U.S.. They offer huge discounts on all tests and they run specials with an additional 20% off. They do not bill insurance and you don't need a doctor's order. The discounts may be cheaper than your own insurance. I have used them for 4 years to monitor my health conditions.
I recently ordered the Women's Cancer Screening panel and it showed an abnormality in one of the Cancer biomarkers. I am now discussing this with my doctor.

Most importantly, strive to adopt a healthy lifestyle- filter your water at home, exercise, avoid processed foods, and consider reading the book "Eat to Beat Disease" for food suggestions that support our body's natural defense systems, including foods that help kill cancer stem cells.

@football84
When I started proton radiation at UFHPTI for prostrate cancer they made me stop all my supplements. I was really puzzled as I thought they would be good to take during radiation. Their research showed the antioxidants supplements do help protect cells but they also protect the cancer cells. The purpose of the radiation is to damage the cancer cells and prevent them from reproducing. So you don't want to protect them with supplements.

Almost every supplement I was taking they asked me to stop 2 weeks prior and to 2 weeks after.

So when you asked what can be done yourself about exposeure to cancer causing agents supplements I would do research on web sites like WEBMD, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, American Cancer Society, NIH, etc.

Try to find a up to date and experience medical specialists who can go over your exposure to see if any testing needs to be done and go over proactive things you can do to help reduce the damage of your exposures from past, present and future.

I would agree wholeheartedly with the foregoing suggestions. These are all good strategies. I would recommend using a reverse osmosis water filter as the water in many communities is not as safe as it could be, and perhaps getting your house tested for radon gas and then remediating, if necessary. Reduce the plastics and toxic cleaning products in your environment and choose less toxic ones in their place. Buy natural beauty products, creams -- whatever you use, as there are unhealthy ingredients in many every day products that we use on a daily basis. Use glass containers in place of plastics whenever possible.
Some people suggest chelation treatments to reduce the toxic load of past heavy metals that may have been absorbed by the body. I have no experience with this but if you feel it is something that you would like to research to see if it might be for you, there are resources available through naturopathic sources. You could also try a very safe nutritional detox every so often which might involve eliminating gluten, sugar, dairy etc for a short period of time while really upping your consumption of healthy vegetables, and micro greens powders. It can re-set your metabolism and get yourself on a healthier eating path. I am also an advocate for the eating plan in "Eat to Beat Disease." At first glance, it may seem difficult change eating habits but when you look at the many excellent food choices that are incredibly healthy for us that are acceptable under this plan, it is really quite easy to adopt and maintain. It may just involve adding or deleting a couple of choices every day. I would advise to not forget about getting good sleep and reducing anxiety and stress in your life. These are important strategies for strengthening your immune system. Protect the organs that are eliminating regular toxins from our body -- stay away from tobacco and alcohol and eat bitter greens every now and then that support kidney function. One thing to try is to drink a glass of warm water with lemon in the morning before breakfast. I also have a glass of hot water before going to sleep at night -- according to an internist who I know this may be the best thing you can do for your digestive system. Finally,
I agree with an earlier comment by Helen -- that it is difficult to "unring the bell" when it comes to past toxic exposures. This is true, but if you can get rid of the ongoing incidental exposures that we don't even recognize, we can minimize the overall effect. The good news is that our old cells are replaced by new ones all the time, so we are constantly shedding old damaged cells. Hope this gives you some constructive steps towards a healthier life.