Breast Cancer Can Strike a WFPB Diet Follower

Susan Voisin , in addition to being dismayed, was also shocked to hear her physician tell her that she had breast cancer. You see, Susan is the creator and administrator of the “Fat Free Vegan” web site and she has followed a low fat vegan diet for 20 years.  A breast cancer diagnosis would be traumatic for any woman, but it must cause a special psychological torment for health conscious women who promote low fat, whole food plant based diets (WFPB).

Whenever I discuss the health promoting powers of WFPB diets, I always try to mention that there are no guarantees in life, but that a WFPB diet along with reasonable exercise and avoidance of bad habits give us the best chance to avoid chronic diseases.   I am aware of other women who have followed WFPB diets who also have been diagnosed with breast cancer so Susan’s story does not shock me by any means.  There are always going to be outliers.  However we must never make the mistake of identifying an exception as the rule.

We must remember that there are many examples of cigarette smokers that never develop lung cancer and there are many examples of lung cancer victims who never smoked a cigarette, cigar, or a joint. Avoiding smoking will not guarantee that you will not develop lung cancer. But avoiding smoking will cut your risk of developing lung and other cancers in addition to reducing your risk of developing our # 1 killer – Coronary Artery Disease (Heart Disease).

Dominating your diet with fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes will not make you impervious to developing chronic diseases, but it will provide protection against them.

Women like Susan may have such a strong genetic predisposition for breast cancer, that its development may be inevitable.  It’s likely that a healthy, plant-based lifestyle delays its development.  In her wonderfully written article, Susan explains how she went through periods where she blamed herself. Were there certain cancer protecting foods that her diet lacked? Did she not exercise enough? Did her failure to reach her goal weight increase her risk? Eventually she realized that it’s never a good idea to blame any woman for developing breast cancer, regardless of her lifestyle habits. Once diagnosed, the focus should be on working with healthcare professionals to make the best treatment choices.

After receiving her diagnosis, Susan did not question her WFPB diet. In fact she believes it helped her withstand her chemo treatments as she suffered only minimal side effects.

Robin Quivers, from the Howard Stern show, came to the same conclusion about how her WFPB diet allowed her to suffer very few effects from the powerful chemo treatments that she received for her endometrial cancer. She said that her Doctors were shocked!

I wish I could tell people that a healthy lifestyle could provide full protection against the scourge of cancer. If I did, I’d be lying.   However in the “2012 Cancer Facts and Figure Report “ the American Cancer Society stated that “scientific evidence suggests that about one-third of the 577,190 cancer deaths expected to occur in 2012 will be related to overweight or obesity, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition and thus could be prevented”. That’s over 192,000 people who didn’t have to hear the terrifying words “you have cancer”.

Cancer is such a complex and mysterious disease that comes in many forms. We still have a lot to learn. However, we do know that a WFPB diet can help save lives and reduce human misery. The evidence is very clear about this. We should all do what we can to prevent this insidious monster from wrecking havoc.