Much more money needs to be poured into cancer prevention activities, says Dr. Ellen Warner, a physician whose practice is devoted to breast cancer.
Dr. Ellen Warner
An associate professor of medicine at the University of Toronto, Warner was a principal investigator of a study of the frequency of BRCA1/BRCA2 mutations among Jewish women with breast cancer.
She spoke recently at a program called Taking Charge of Our Health, sponsored by L’Chaim Cancer Support for Jewish Women, a project of National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Toronto section.
Also on the program was Dr. Barry Rosen, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at U of T and head of gynecologic oncology at both the University Health Network and U of T; Tanya Giaquinto, a registered dietician, and Brenda Baskind, an inspirational speaker.
Warner said that we need to put “tons of pressure on the government, and we need to be activists. Politicians don’t care about cancer prevention.”
Drug companies, as well, have little interest in research into cancer prevention, she said. “They need to increase their funding.”
To prevent cancer, said Warner, we have to understand how it develops. “Genes become damaged, either by chance, by radiation, by chemicals or by a virus, and make the cells malfunction. Preventing cancer means we have to prevent damage to our genes.”
The number 1 risk factor for cancer is aging, she said, “but half of cancers are preventable.”
First of all, Warner advised, “don’t smoke. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Canadian women, and smoking also increases the risk of other cancers. It’s never too late to quit and to get the benefits from quitting.”
Sun protection is also essential, she said. “The ozone layer is thinning, and a lot more ultraviolet rays are getting through. You must protect yourself.
“Number 30 [sunscreen] is the highest protection necessary, but don’t rely on sunscreen. Stay out of the sun. Being fair-skinned is the sign of a smart, healthy woman.”
She said that screening needs to be done for breast, colon and cervical cancers. Screening is crucial, because a lot of tests find lesions that are not yet cancer.
“Know your family history, and talk to your doctor about it. Some people inherit a defective gene from their parents, and if the doctor finds you have an increased risk, he may refer you for genetic counselling. You may be a candidate for a clinical trial.”
Rosen said that screening for ovarian cancer is a problem, because a number of symptoms aren’t specific to that disease. “All of us get these symptoms, and if we wait until we get other symptoms, it’s often too late. If ovarian cancer could be detected in stage 1, it would be 90 per cent curable. A lot of effort is being put into finding the right test, but [we] haven’t found it yet.”
Jewish women have a mutation of the BRCA genes more commonly than any other population, he said, but that could be an advantage, “because [then] you are in a position to prevent [those diseases.]
“If you know it’s in your family, then you’re in a position to change the course of your history.”
Currently, he said, 2,500 women a year are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and 1,500 die. “I am encouraged, however, with the research that is developing. There is a lot of awareness and we are doing all that we can. I think that the future is bright.”
Tanya Giaquinto advised women to be “as lean as possible, move your bodies, and eat mostly foods that are of plant origin. Limit your amount of animal foods, avoid processed meat, and reduce your salt.”
