Breast cancer is sneaky. A new study discovers a trick that breast cancers use to get around some of our best drugs. If you know about this trick you'll be able to take action to put a stop to it. The Background: Two-thirds of all breast cancers ... [Read More]
A Diet that Defies Cancer
In this section, you will learn lots of great information on anti-cancer nutrition. We will review the latest science on this rapidly evolving topic, and help you make better choices on what you eat.
Alkaline Diet And Water: Are They Anticancer?
Have you heard this claim before: "Cancer cells only grow in an acidic environment, therefore you should drink alkaline water and eat an alkaline diet." If you have heard this before you are not alone. Literally every day in my office I get asked ... [Read More]
Eat Nuts, Live Longer
The Mediterranean Diet scored another point last week when a major new study showed that regular nut consumption -- a key feature of Mediterranean eating patterns -- helps you live longer. ... [Read More]
Getting Enough Anti-Cancer Sulforaphane Requires Special Instructions
Did you know that sulforaphane, one of the most potent anti-cancer and liver detoxification compounds derived from broccoli and other cruciferous plants, isn’t actually found in these foods? Incredibly, it only forms when other compounds in these ... [Read More]
Artificial Sweeteners Stimulate Your Appetite For Sugar
Did you know that although artificial sweeteners have zero calories they stimulate your appetite for sugar. Sorry for the bad news folks. Just when you thought you were doing a good thing and switching to a sugar alternative. Read Conner ... [Read More]
Higher Risk Of Developing Another Cancer After Your First Diagnosis
If your body grew one cancer it has a higher risk of developing another one in the future. A new study reports that breast cancer survivors have a 29-96% increased risk of developing a second cancer in the future. It's never too late to ... [Read More]
Adrenal Exhaustion and Cancer: Is This Real?
Medical school teaches nothing about adrenal exhaustion (also known as adrenal fatigue). Most conventionally trained physicians believe this not to be a real medical diagnosis. Instead, it is simply felt to be only in the mind of the patient with no ... [Read More]
Can I Reduce The Risk Of My Cancer Growing Or Coming Back?
Literally, hundreds of patients have asked me: 'What can I do to help reduce my risk of cancer coming back or growing?' If you currently have cancer or if you are cancer survivor you likely are confused about what works and what doesn't. This ... [Read More]
Do Fish Oils Really Boost The Risk Of Prostate Cancer?
Thousands of patients were anxiously calling their doctors last week after a new study found that fish oils might increase the risk of prostate cancer. Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the study found that high ... [Read More]
Just say “No” To Artificial Sweeteners (and “Only a Little” to natural ones…)
There is no such thing as a healthy sweetener -- only more, or less, unhealthy ones. This conclusion became abundantly clear to me as I read a study published this week in the medical journal Diabetes Care. It found that a popular non-nutritive ... [Read More]
What Integrative Oncology Is And Is Not
http://youtu.be/cx5VuAMaW6k What Is Integrative Oncology? Before I get into clarifying what integrative oncology is NOT, let’s first make sure all of our newer readers know what it IS. Integrative oncology is the use of evidence-informed ... [Read More]
Reduce Your Risk Of Blood Clots Without A Prescription
This article has been updated, November 2019 (link here) One of the the facts I emphasize during my integrative oncology talks is that the majority of patients with cancer do not die from their cancer, but instead from a side effect or ... [Read More]
Time To Take Milk Off The Menu?
Attention milk-lovers: If you have had breast cancer, you may be better off steering clear of dairy fat. A new study conducted by scientists at Kaiser Permanente, the large U.S. health insurer, and published in the Journal of the National Cancer ... [Read More]
Is There Any Other Anti-Cancer Botanical Compound As Exciting As Curcumin?
Curcumin is one of the hottest plant polyphenol extracts being researched, today. Until recently, I was unaware of the extensive history of curcumin research...dating back over 170 years! In the last 10-years, alone, there have been over 4,600 ... [Read More]
Hey Doc, Can I Take Antioxidants During Chemo and Radiation?
This is one of the most common questions asked by our patients in the oncology clinic, and for most oncologists their knee jerk answer is "NO, It's NOT safe to take antioxidants during chemotherapy and radiation therapy." What's The Claim? When I ... [Read More]
Fight Cancer: Chew (or Juice) Brassicas!
I was no fan of broccoli when I was a kid. My mom used to have to serve it to me with melted cheese just so that I would eat it (pssst, don't tell my mom, but I used to feed it to our family dog under the table before the cheese ... [Read More]
Is This The Diet To End All Diets?
The only thing that has surprised me about the latest study on the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet has been the media frenzy surrounding it. “Mediterranean Diet: The New Gold Standard?” asked Forbes.com, predicting that the study “will ... [Read More]
Love Is The New Superfood
If, like me, you’re fed up with Valentine’s-Day madness – cards, candy and oceans of pink – fear not: this isn’t another tract about the aphrodisiac properties of caviar and oysters, or advice on how to cook your way to your lover’s heart. No, ... [Read More]
Dispelling Cancer Myths on World Cancer Day
While most of us are perfectly comfortable talking about life-threatening illnesses like heart disease and AIDS, cancer remains shrouded in myth and mystery. Many people refer to it as “The Big C” or “The C-Word,” as if fearing that merely ... [Read More]
What 93% of Americans Don’t Know: Obesity Raises Cancer Risk
Shocking but true: according a poll published this week, only 7% of Americans understand that being obese increases a person’s cancer risk. Disappointingly, this comes after years of tireless awareness-raising campaigns by organizations like the ... [Read More]
Flavonoid Polyphenols and Cancer
What are Flavonoids? Flavonoids are plant-made chemicals (phytochemicals) in the “polyphenol” family of molecules. They are widely found in fruits, vegetables, cereals, herbs, spices, stems and flowers, teas, red wine, beer, beans, cocoa, and many ... [Read More]
12 Healthy Gift Ideas
At a time when retailers in want us to worry about holiday gifts, it occurs to me that everyone I know has everything they need – except, perhaps, for health and happiness. So this year, why not give gifts that may – at least to some extent – help ... [Read More]
Dr. Lawenda’s Interview on Integrative Radiation Oncology: Today and The Future
Listen to my interview with host, Karolyn Gazella, of Five To Thrive Live (on 11/12/12) We discussed a variety of topics including: What is integrative oncology Why and how I chose to become an integrative radiation oncologist I discuss what ... [Read More]
Inflammation 101: The Fuel That Feeds Cancer
I think most of us typically think of inflammation as our body’s protective response to injury and infection. Without it, we’d be in serious trouble (unless we lived in a sealed bubble.) If it were only that simple… Inflammation comes in two ... [Read More]
More Bad News For Refined Carbs
Regular readers of this blog won’t be surprised to learn that diets high in sugar and refined starches increase the risk of disease recurrence and death in people who have been treated for colorectal cancer. However, the extent of the recurrence ... [Read More]
It’s Not Just About Calories
A reader wrote in to say that the Queen of Sheba birthday cake I posted recently sounded delicious but was so calorie-laden she would avoid it. She is right, of course: this cake is high in calories – like most chocolate cakes. However, ... [Read More]
Do multivitamins cut cancer risk?
Fans of magic bullets took heart this week from headlines proclaiming that a daily multivitamin supplement can cut our cancer risk. Not so fast, people! Although the study appears to be methodologically sound, its results may have been skewed by ... [Read More]
Crispy Sticky Black Pepper Tofu
I have a confession to make: I don’t cook with tofu. For a foodie who claims to eat everything, this is a somewhat embarrassing revelation. It’s not that I dislike its taste; in Japanese restaurants I’m perfectly happy to eat the delicate silken ... [Read More]
In Praise of Fungi
Did you know that Japanese mushroom farmers are half as likely to develop stomach cancer as their non-mushroom-growing neighbors? (1) This may be due to the fact that they regularly eat the mushrooms they cultivate and benefit from the ... [Read More]
Pears: Underrated Nutritional Superstars
This fall, instead of gravitating towards apples (I know -- they're so much easier to love: ripening more predictably in our fruit bowls, traveling better without bruising, simultaneously offering tart crunch and creamy flesh, and coming in a wide ... [Read More]