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Myeloma, Cancer, Genetic Markers, Risk
Genetic Markers may Signal an Increased Risk of Cancer. At the Same Time Nutrition, Supplementation and Lifestyle Can Reduce your Risk of the same Cancer…
I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in early 1994. While I increased my risk of a MM diagnosis with lifestyle, health and environmental risks, I had no genetic markers for multiple myeloma.
Do you drink? Ever had a smoke? Gotten sunburned too many times? These are examples of how your lifestyle choices can increase your risk of cancer.
If you undergo genetic testing you will probably find that you have a genetic propensity, an increased risk, for some type of cancer. I’m sure most of us have a genetic link to one of the more than 200 different cancers.
I don’t believe that a genetic propensity to a type of cancer means that you should have a body part removed. If you find out you have a genetic propensity to some cancer should you change your lifestyle? Yes. There are countless ways to reduce one’s risk of many cancers. Should you be tested regularly? Yes. Should you learn to live with the idea that you may get cancer someday? Yes.
As it stands today, 1 out of 2 men and 1 out of 3 women will get cancer in their lifetimes. It is estimated that 15% of cancer diagnoses are due to genetic propensities and 85% of these cancers come from environmental factors such as a poor diet, polluted air or water.
While genetics can play a role in a diagnosis of cancer, according to the studies linked below, a person’s lifestyle choices have a much greater impact on their risk of developing cancer and managing a cancer diagnosis if they get cancer.
I am a long-term survivor of an “incurable” cancer called multiple myeloma. I’m convinced that I have remained in complete remission since 1999 by changing my genetic expression through nutrition, supplementation, lifestyle, etc.
- To Learn More about possible causes of Pre-Myeloma- click now
- To Learn More about cancer genetics and epigenetic- click now
Do you been diagnosed with multiple myeloma? Would you like to know what nutrition, supplementation and lifestyles are cytotoxic (kill) multiple myeloma? Scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.
thank you,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Recommended Reading:
- Multiple Myeloma Therapy – Eight Slices of the Magic Bullet
- Multiple Myeloma Side Effects- VTE, Blood Clot Risk Reduction
- Multiple Myeloma Pre-habilitation- Enhance Efficacy, Minimize Toxicity
Genetic marker
“A genetic marker is a gene or DNA sequence with a known location on a chromosome that can be used to identify individuals or species. It can be described as a variation (which may arise due to mutation or alteration in the genomic loci) that can be observed…”
Finding Risks, Not Answers, in Gene Tests
“The results, she said, were “surreal.” She did not have mutations in the breast cancer genes, but did have one linked to a high risk of stomach cancer. In people with a family history of the disease, that mutation is considered so risky that patients who are not even sick are often advised to have their stomachs removed. But no one knows what the finding might mean in someone like Jennifer, whose family has not had the disease…”
Epigenetics: genes, environment and the generation game
“There are many definitions of epigenetics, but simply put, says Professor Marcus Pembrey, a geneticist at University College London and the University of Bristol, it is a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code. It is a process that happens throughout our lives and is normal to development. Chemical tags get attached to our genetic code, like bookmarks in the pages of a book, signalling to our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use…
There may be medical benefits in knowing that epigenetic marks exist and how our lifestyles affect them, adds Dias. “You can imagine a scenario where the die is not completely cast… You could possibly mask the gene expression effects of your ancestral experiences,” he says. Knowing that you may be at greater risk of obesity because your father smoked as a boy, for instance, may prompt you to change your diet. Similarly, parents might become more careful about their lifestyles to protect future generations…”
Lifestyle Choices Could Affect Gene Sequences That Code for Cancer
“New findings in the field of epigenetics, however, suggest that we may have more control than previously thought when it comes to preventing the onset of sporadic or even heritable diseases. Our daily routine, from what we eat for breakfast to the distance we travel to work, could determine whether or not our gene sequences activate or prevent the development of cancer within our bodies…
Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine put forth an exciting theory earlier this year that, if proven correct, will perhaps identify preventable or stoppable causes of carcinogenesis. They have proposed the existence of processes within our cells that activate specific sequences of DNA that function as epigenetic on/off switches for cancer…”
Identical twins’ differences focus of epigenetics studies
“Researchers are focusing on the differences between identical twins, rather than the similarities, in an attempt to rethink the nature versus nurture debate, and unlock medical mysteries including cancer…
“It (epigenetics) broadly describes a mechanism by which chemical signals can switch on or off genes,” Spector said. “It’s not the gene that counts — it’s how you use them.”
Within 10 years, epigenetics will be a commonplace part of medicine, used in all kinds of cancer treatments, and it’s going to really make predicting individuals who get disease a much more precise art,” he said.”