A typical cancer patient will be someone who is skinny and emaciated. But that is when the disease is in its advanced stage.

But in the early stages, more patients are actually obese or overweight. Recent studies have shown a definite link between obesity and cancer. Below we shall look at the issue in more detail.

1. Kidney cancer in both men and women (two fold increased relative risk)
2. Endometrial cancer (one and half-fold relative risk)
3. Post menopausal breast cancer (two fold relative risk)
4. Colorectal cancer (may be related to low physical activity)
5. Gall bladder cancer
6. Thyroid cancer in women
7. Oesophageal cancer (probably related to gastric reflux)

Interestingly, obesity can be protective for the following cancers:
1. Breast cancer in pre-menopausal women
2. Lung cancer

Another interesting aspect of obesity is the death rates from cancer. It seems that most studies of obesity and breast cancer survival suggest that obese women have poorer survival than leaner women.

Being overweight or obese substantially increases the risk of dying from cancer, according to researches from the American Cancer Society.

According to a report, obese individuals have a 20% (more…)

As we move into the 21st century, we find people primarily suffering and dying from what is known as silent killers or chronic diseases. These include coronary artery disease, cancer stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cataracts, Alzheimer’s diseases and the list go on and on.

How long do you expect to live? One of the primary ways to evaluate a nation’s health-care system is to look at the death rate of a particular country.

In 2006, the top 10 diseases that cause the death of Malaysian:

Malaysia Ministry Health Dept

As you might have imagined, we have spent a fair bit of money on health care system and new hospitals mushrooming in the country. We have MRI and CT scanners, angioplasty, bypass surgery, total hip and knee replacement, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, antibiotics, advanced surgical techniques, intensive care units.

Sure, you may argue our country facilities are not advanced as those in the USA.

But in spite of the billions of dollars Americans spend on health care, USA is considered one of the worst industrialized nations in the world when it comes to life expectancy. The health care system they claim is the best in the world is actually near the worst.

Does it really matter if you have great doctors or even the most advanced hospitals in the world?

Source: This post is taken from the book “What your doctor doesn’t know about nutritional medicine may be killing you” by Ray. D. Strand, with statistics and some wordings changed to accommodate to this blog.

Watch out for my next post: A Wake-Up Call – Your Quality Of Life