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    An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You
    An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You
    An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You
    Ebook202 pages2 hours

    An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You

    By Charles H. Chen

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    About this ebook

    Cancer is one of the most devastating diseases in the world today, but early prevention remains the key to controlling it. Charles H. Chen shows that through a strict regime of diet, exercise, and other healthy lifestyle changes, you can increase your chances of keeping cancer from your doorstep.

    Diagnosed with colon cancer in 1998, Chen decided to tackle the disease head on and was determined to learn the causes of cancer, the treatments, and prevention methods. Chen brings a unique perspective to this subject as both a medical doctor and a cancer survivor, breaking down the various aspects of this worldwide epidemic. Practical and concise, An Intimate Relationship covers topics such as:

    Screenings for men and women Benefits of early diagnosis Treatment options Prevention and healthy lifestyle choices

    As a gynecologist, Chen also focuses on women's cancer issues, including breast cancer and hormone replacement therapy. He also provides tips to help you achieve good health through the consumption of organic foods, antioxidants, and nutritional supplements.

    Don't become a statistic-increase your chances of avoiding cancer and improve your overall health with An Intimate Relationship.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateDec 14, 2007
    ISBN9780595871995
    An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You
    Author

    Charles H. Chen

    Charles H. Chen, MD, is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist who has been in private practice in southern California for more than twenty-nine years. He was a chairperson of the Fountain Valley Regional Hospital OB/GYN department for four years. Dr. Chen lives in Newport Coast, California.

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      Book preview

      An Intimate Relationship - Charles H. Chen

      An Intimate Relationship

      Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You

      Copyright © 2007 by Charles H. Chen

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      iUniverse

      2021 Pine Lake Road, Suite 100

      Lincoln, NE 68512

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any Web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.

      The information, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this book, you should consult your personal physician. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions in this book.

      ISBN: 978-0-595-42861-8 (pbk)

      ISBN: 978-0-595-68192-1 (cloth)

      ISBN: 978-0-595-87199-5 (ebk)

      Contents

      Acknowledgments

      Foreword

      Preface

      CHAPTER 1 The Human Body

      The Human Body

      The Cell’s Genes

      Gene Mutation and Its Influence on the Function and Morphology of Organisms

      Where Human Beings Came From

      CHAPTER 2 Causes of Cancer

      Cancer Is a Genetic Disease

      The Etiology of Cancer

      Causes of Cancer

      Summary

      CHAPTER 3 Screening for Cancer

      When and How to Screen for Cancer

      Cancer Screenings for Women

      Cancer Screenings for Men

      CHAPTER 4 Early Diagnosis

      Organs and Tissues of the Human Body

      Visiting Your Doctor

      Diagnostic Methods the Doctor May Use

      CHAPTER 5 Cancer Treatment Options

      The Stages of Cancer

      Surgery

      Radiation Therapy

      Chemotherapy

      Stem Cells

      Therapeutic Cloning

      Hormone Therapy

      Targeted Therapy

      New Therapeutic Approaches

      Prayer and Meditation

      Summary

      CHAPTER 6 Cancer Prevention and a Healthy Lifestyle

      Free Radicals and Antioxidants

      Cancer-fighting Properties of Foods

      Nutritional (Dietary) Supplements

      Special Instructions Regarding Antioxidants

      Organic Food

      General Guidelines for Good Health

      Prevention of Common Cancers

      Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and Breast Cancer

      Summary

      CHAPTER 7 Conclusion

      Past Medical History and Modern Scientific Findings

      Moderation and Harmony

      Calculating Body Mass Index (BMI) and Calories

      References

      Glossary

      A medical doctor who survived cancer wrote this book.

      During and after his recovery, he spent considerable time searching for information about cancer causes, screenings, early diagnosis, treatments, and prevention. As a gynecologist, he also spent a lot of time researching information about women’s health in regard to the various aspects of cancer and a healthy lifestyle.

      The author lived a healthier life after his recovery from cancer. This book intends to give people from all walks of life an awareness of how to live a healthy lifestyle, prevent all diseases including cancer, and reduce the effects of aging.

      I dedicate this book to those who want to prevent cancer, those who want to know about early diagnosis of cancer; and those who suffer with cancer. This is to anyone who wants to know about diagnosis, treatment, prevention of cancer recurrence, how to avoid a second hit, and how to improve his or her health.

      Acknowledgments

      In this modern time with many medical subspecialties, writing a book for people from all walks of life to read and understand is not an easy task. As I finished writing parts of this book, I asked many physician specialists to review the material. Many thanks go to the following doctors for their time and input, and for their expertise in their respective specialties:

      Dr. Glen Justice

      Medical Director, Orange County Regional Cancer Center, Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of Southern California, Norris Cancer Center/ Keck School of Medicine

      President, American Cancer Society (Orange County Division) Board of

      Directors, American Cancer Society

      Dr. Michael L. Berman, gynecological oncologist

      Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California at Irvine, School of Medicine

      Dr. Lalita Pandit, medical oncologist

      Dr. Bichlien Nguyen, medical oncologist

      Dr. Ranjan Sapra, medical oncologist

      Dr. Philip Chin, surgical oncologist

      Dr. Robert J. Woodhouse, radiation oncologist

      Dr. Aaron Esrig, radiologist

      Dr. Sheldon Barasch, pathologist

      Dr. Kamini Malhotra, pathologist

      Dr. Bernard Turbow, urologist Dr. Clement Chu, gastroenterologist Dr. Richard Zelner, gastroenterologist

      Foreword

      I am privileged to write a foreword for Dr. Charles H. Chen, a dedicated physician whom I have known and practiced with for over twenty-five years.

      In his book An Intimate Relationship: Genes, Cancer, Lifestyle, and You, he is incredibly engaging in terms of discussing the overall concept of the causes of cancer. In addition to that, he discusses the multiple causes of cancer in a very clear fashion.

      He goes through a very challenging and very helpful analysis of how people can diminish the incidence of cancer as he discusses his anticancer and antiaging menus. I feel that the book is highly credible and helpful, and is an excellent dialogue in terms of understanding human beings’ greatest challenge today—namely, the war against cancer.

      At this time, cancer is literally affecting one out of three people. It is a horrific problem from an individual as well as a societal standpoint. I think that Dr. Chen’s book is an excellent guide to help someone take personal responsibility for dealing with a healthy lifestyle, and indeed for avoiding or diminishing the chance of developing cancer.

      I think that this will be an incredibly interesting read for anyone who has a relative or a friend suffering from cancer—and with a disease that affects one in three people, who among us is not in that category?

      Glen R. Justice, MD

      Medical Director, Orange County Regional Cancer Center, California

      Clinical Professor of Medicine at University of Southern California,

      Norris Cancer Center/Keck School of Medicine

      President, American Cancer Society in Orange County, California

      Preface

      I was shocked when I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1998. I am a medical doctor, a top medical student, and a knowledgeable OB/GYN practitioner. I do not know why I ignored the early symptoms and signs of colon cancer and did not consult my colleague, a gastroenterologist.

      I was diagnosed as having stage 2 colon cancer (rectosigmoid). I had noticed symptoms and signs six months earlier, and I should have seen a doctor right away. My cancer would have been in stage 1, and I would have been completely cured much sooner. I arranged for a colonoscopy early in the morning and had surgery the same afternoon. Subsequently, I received chemotherapy and followed up for five years. Now, seven years later, I am cancer-free and healthier than before I was diagnosed.

      I cried when I found out I had cancer, because I wanted to see my daughter become a famous writer one day. She was a gifted writer, and she was still only in college. I cried when my uncle, Dr. Wu-Fu Chen, a famous ophthalmologist, died of liver cancer after he contracted hepatitis C from a blood transfusion many years ago. Taiwanese people knew him as the Albert Schweitzer of Taiwan. My heart was moved and I cried when I learned that one of my friends had died of stomach cancer in his late forties. He had graduated number one in his class and was a fine ophthalmologist in private practice. We had studied the Bible together when we were in medical school, and I had delivered his two daughters.

      These sad stories motivated me to search for cancer causes and methods of prevention. I attended all of the tumor board meetings at our hospital during the past five years and asked many questions. I observed the debates among cancer surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, pathologists, and radiologists, and I collected their information. The medical director of the Orange County Regional Cancer Center responded to my difficult questions by telling me that he would have won the Nobel Prize if he’d known the answers.

      I go to cancer conferences sponsored by the American Cancer Society as often as I can. I read selected oncology textbooks and other publications, general-information cancer books, and diet and nutrition books written for ordinary people. Among the things I found are the three pictures of an intrauterine device (IUD) collection in chapter 7 of this book. Some of the devices are one hundred years old, and they are part of a rare collection from the history of human medicine. This collection demonstrates that humans did not look for their own health issues in the past thousand years.

      This book is intended to be a very practical, concise, and valuable guide for readers. You will learn the meaning of many medical terms that will be useful when you read or communicate about health issues. It provides basic information about the function of human body cells, which will help you to communicate with your doctor. Sometimes it is embarrassing to ask your doctor about terminology or procedures that doctors readily understand.

      For those who have no particular interest in some chapters or have no time to read the whole book, you can read the chapter summaries or sections that interest you or have information you need to know.

      Knowledge of the human body cell and its functions is essential to an understanding of cancer cell development. The human body cells’ molecular chemical structures, and how genes regulate our bodies’ functions, make a fascinating study. We still have much to learn about this mystery. As Albert Einstein wrote in 1930, The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious; it is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.

      After I did a lot of research on the human body cell and molecular structure, after walking on the ocean shore every week and observing beautiful plants and flowers for more than seven years, and after observing our middle-aged planet’s natural phenomena, I began to question Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution.

      Darwin’s theory is fascinating. Everyone should read about it in chapter 1 of this book. What you read will open your eyes, after which you can come to your own conclusion.

      Most important, this book emphasizes the causes of cancer, what to do to prevent cancer, and—vitally important—how to develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

      The American Obesity Association fact sheets from the year 2000 say that 30.3 percent of American children from age 6 to 11 and 30.4 percent from age 12 to 19 are overweight (AOA 2000, 2). It is getting worse every year—not only in America, but worldwide. As these kids grow into adulthood, they experience a higher incidence of metabolic disease, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Those problems will translate into huge medical costs in the coming years. For many reasons, the parents, pediatricians, and government policy makers must educate these kids about the importance of changing their lifestyle.

      Chapter 6 deals with cancer prevention and a healthy lifestyle. It is a very important chapter, and you should read it carefully. I have included lists of fruits and vegetables with high antioxidants for your convenience when you shop, as well as healthy lifestyle information. The general guidelines are not only for the prevention of cancer, but also for your health and happiness. A healthy lifestyle that involves

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