Some middle-income countries, which include the Philippines, Iran, South Africa, Colombia, China, Brazil, Malaysia, Turkey, Poland, Argentina, and Chile, also saw cancer become the leading cause of death.
That study, too, found that cancer was quickly outpacing heart disease as the top killer, with high-income counties transitioning first. In fact, while only 21 percent of U.S. counties had cancer as the leading cause of death in 2003, this rose to 41 percent in 2015.
Why Is Cancer a Top Killer?
The study suggested cancer is rising to the top because heart disease is better treated in high-income countries, saving more lives from heart disease and paving the way for cancer deaths to rise. But perhaps a better question is why cancer continues to kill so many.Changing the Way We Think About Cancer
It’s becoming increasingly clear that in order to conquer cancer, it’s necessary to change the way we think about it. Cancer is found in virtually all animals, suggesting it has a significance we’ve overlooked. Some researchers have even theorized that cancer is an ancient survival program unmasked—even a process the body undergoes in order to survive nutrient deprivation and exposure to toxins.“[Cancer] is an atavistic [primitive] condition that occurs when genetic or epigenetic malfunction unlocks an ancient ’toolkit' of pre-existing adaptations, re-establishing the dominance of an earlier layer of genes that controlled loose-knit colonies of only partially differentiated cells, similar to tumors.”If this is true, it makes sense that conventional cancer treatments aimed to poison or “kill” the cancerous cells may only make the problem worse by creating an even more toxic environment, which could trigger cancer to reach back into its “ancient toolkit” to find additional means of survival.
Nearly 1,000 Substances Have Anti-Cancer Potential
GreenMedInfo has a database of 986 substances that have been researched as potential cancer prevention and treatment strategies. There are undoubtedly many more out there that have yet to be discovered. At the top of the list is curcumin, the active ingredient in the curry spice turmeric, which targets cancer stem cells, while leaving normal stem cells unharmed.So if there was one silver lining to the news that cancer is now the leading cause of death in some countries, it would be that it’s a condition that has many promising natural avenues for prevention and treatment. Current conventional cancer treatments are failing, but that doesn’t mean cancer is unstoppable—it means it’s time to broaden our research into and usage of traditional therapies.
For more on how to naturally fight cancer, visit the GreenMedInfo database on the subject.
The GMI Research Group is dedicated to investigating the most important health and environmental issues of the day. Special emphasis will be placed on environmental health. Our focused and deep research will explore the many ways in which the present condition of the human body directly reflects the true state of the ambient environment. This article was originally published on GreenMedinfo.com