Sunday, October 30, 2011

Your immune system and cancer risk

A healthy immune system is essential for a healthy life- and to avoid cancer. Deficient immune systems put people at increased risk for certain types of cancer as well as other diseases. In fact, scientific studies estimate that up to 15 percent of cancer incidence around the world is related to microbial infection. This suggests a firm link between weak immune systems, chronic infection, and cancer. Common examples of this connection between chronic infection and cancer are the human papillomavirus, associated with cervical cancer, and the hepatitis B and C viruses, which are linked with liver cancer.

Therefore the body needs a healthy immune system to fight deadly illnesses such as cancer. Studies show that when cancerous cells evade the immune system, usually they do so by taking over the immune system's defensive inflammatory response mechanism for fighting infection. In a bit of biological irony, cancer uses the
human body's defenses to promote disease development. While not all the mechanisms are understood, studies suggest that a complex combination of factors influence the immune system's efficacy at fighting cancer
and other diseases. These factors include diet, exercise, brain stimulation, and emotions that may affect the immune system via the brain.

Read more in Cancer Causes and Controversies- understanding risk reduction and prevention.  Available through Amazon.com.