Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., with over 600,000 Americans dying annually from the disease. However, there were an estimated 18.1 million U.S. cancer survivors as of Jan. 1, 2022, which was about 5.4% of the population. This number has increased significantly from the 1970s, when there were only about 3 million cancer survivors. From 2022 to 2030, the number of U.S. cancer survivors is projected to increase to 21.6 million; by 2040, the number is projected to be 26 million.
One of the drawbacks to surviving cancer is the constant fear that the disease will return. This is because conventional medical theory cannot figure out the root causes of cancer. So, patients are sent off with minimal instructions, along with a percentage number that represents the “likelihood of relapse” for their particular form of cancer.
The good news is that wellness coaching has a powerful tool in Chinese medical theory. Eight Principle-based concepts explain cancer in ways that empower cancer survivors to make the changes necessary to banish their fears.
What we really want to find out are what cancer loves and what cancer hates. Let us examine six cancerous habits.
Habit #1: Smoking
Our Chinese name for cancer is “toxic blood stagnation.” In this case, the problem is the result of chronic exterior/interior excess heat. It’s not the ingredients in tobacco that are the main cause. It’s the regular inhalation of hot gas (smoke is hot gas) that disrupts cellular DNA, turning a healthy cell into a hyperactive monster that wants to grow as fast as possible. In fact, cancer grows faster than surrounding structures, crowding them out, causing stagnation and pain in specific areas of the body.
All forms of cancer love excess yang/heat because it helps them grow fast, as well as travel to other parts of the body (metastasis).
Habit #2: Alcoholism
I define alcoholism as an addiction to alcoholic drinks. An alcoholic will drink daily or binge-drink. Over time, this habit invites the return of cancer.
Alcohol is damp heat – interior excess of yin/yang. You can feel the burning sensation in the mouth and esophagus with every drink of liquor or wine. We already know that cancer loves excess heat. It also loves damp. At seven calories per gram, cancer sees that as extra food.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Each year, about 20,000 adults in the United States die from alcohol-related cancers. All alcoholic drinks, including red and white wine, beer, and liquor, are linked with cancer.”1 They further explain, “When you drink alcohol, your body breaks it down into a chemical that damages your DNA. When DNA is damaged, a cell can grow out of control and become cancerous.” The same damage occurs with cigarette smoke.
The weightiness of yin/damp tends to push the yang/heat down into the lower abdomen. Because of this fact, alcoholism typically causes cancer of the colon, rectum, bladder, uterus, prostate, and sexual organs.
Habit #3: Worrying
Cancer loves crowded spaces. The reason is that crowding prevents the wei qi (immune factors) from reaching errant cancer cells in a timely manner, so they can be killed and consumed when they are still small. People who suffer from chronic worry/anxiety/guilt/fear will tighten their muscles in an unconscious readiness for fighting or fleeing. Liver qi stagnation (poor circulation) is just what cancerous cells need to grow and develop undisturbed.
In addition, liver qi stagnation, like all stagnation, generates heat (qi grinding against an immovable barrier). Cancer loves heat.
Habit #4: Hurrying
People who hurry and scurry through life, speeding around, chasing success, are often sleep-deprived, too. This constant internal friction, so common in the populations of modern cities, creates an unhealthy, overheated space (interior excess heat) for cancer to call home. According to the American Cancer Society, ”scientists believe that short sleep (4-5 hours a night) doesn’t allow the body time to restore and rest and this might increase the chance of abnormal cell growth that could lead to cancer.”2
Habit #5: Overeating
The International Agency for Research on Cancer has linked excess body fat to 13 cancers, including liver, gallbladder, pancreatic, colorectal, ovarian, breast, and thyroid cancer. Carrying excess body fat promotes the return of cancer in three ways.
- Excess yin/nourishment: Cancers cells need to reproduce themselves faster than their healthy neighbors. That’s how they take over. That’s why they are dangerous. Cancer cells need extra food, either dietary or stored for ready access in fat cells. A new study shows that fasting primes the immune system's natural killer cells to better fight cancer.3
- Excess interior heat: One purpose of enlarged fat cells is to generate interior heat for a long, hibernating, paleolithic winter. Cancer loves heat.
- Excessive crowding: Enlarged fat cells reduce circulation, impede the wei qi, and give cancer cells plenty of quiet time to eat and duplicate.
Habit #6: Sedentary Living
From the Canadian Cancer Society: “Sit less. Plan your day to take frequent, short breaks from sitting. Being active decreases your risk of cancer, but sedentary behavior is an independent risk factor. Even if you exercise 30 minutes or more every day, if you’re sedentary for most of your days, you are still at an increased risk for cancer.”4
Regular contraction and extension of muscles activates qi and blood, thus increasing circulation and benefiting wei qi. Lack of movement deactivates qi and blood, thus inviting problems of stagnation such as toxic blood stagnation/cancer).
References
- Alcohol and Cancer Risk. National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute.
- “Does Sleep Affect Cancer Risk?” American Cancer Society.
- “Fasting Primes the Immune System's Natural Killer Cells to Better Fight Cancer, New Study in Mice Finds.” Science Daily, June 14, 2024.
- “How Sedentary Behavior Increases Your Risk of Cancer.” Canadian Cancer Society.
