A Pap test – the primary reason women are encouraged to have gynecological exams – is an evaluation of the health of your cervical cells, and a screening test for cervical cancer and precancerous changes. What does this mean? The cervix is the lower portion, or opening, of the uterus, through which blood, sperm and babies pass. You can feel it with your finger at the end of the vaginal canal: while the vaginal walls are muscular and soft, the cervix feels like the tip of the nose, with the opening palpable as a little indent. For those of you who like pictures, see www.beautifulcervix.com for a great selection of photos.
By now, you are likely aware of the negative health effects of chlorine-containing chemicals like pesticides, dioxins, and PCBs. We know that these chemicals, which the body is not adapted to process, accumulate in fatty tissue. This causes trouble in the form of breast and other cancers, infertility, endometriosis, hypothyroidism, neurological ailments such as ADD, brain fog and depression, chronic infection, allergies, autoimmune diseases, environmental illness, heart disease, and fatigue (Kaur 2003, Crinnion 2007, Rogers 2002). Alarmingly, the main way women purge these chemicals is through breast-feeding. A baby breast fed for 6 months receives more than 5 times the daily limit of PCBs set for a 150 lb adult (Kaur 2003)! Fortunately, there is another way to expel these toxins from our body fat: infrared saunas.
Lately it seems like pretty much everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer. Indeed, current statistics are that 1 in 9 women in Canada will get breast cancer in her lifetime. Understandably, this reality and the associated media attention has created a lot of fear. But what the media doesn’t emphasize is that the majority of cancer is caused by “diet & lifestyle” and environmental factors rather than genetic heredity, which in fact accounts for only about 7% of breast cancer.
Supporting Detoxification and Immune Function Through Lymphatic Health
The lymphatic system is central to our health, yet it is often overlooked in western medicine, both by practitioners and by health-conscious individuals. Working in concert with the blood circulatory system, lymphatic function in fact supports every other system in the body by providing nutrients, draining wastes, and coordinating immune system activity. White blood cells – the so-called “soldiers” of our immune system – are produced and transported throughout the body via the lymphatic system. As well, lymphatic channels perform a crucial function in draining away waste material from virtually every cell and organ in the body. Unlike our blood circulatory system, the lymphatic system has no pump. Lymph moves when we move. When we are sluggish, so is our lymph, and this is recognized as having a significant impact on our health. Sluggish lymphatic drainage can lead to nausea, fatigue, swelling and joint pain. Symptoms associated with lymph blockage include breast tenderness, fibrocystic breasts, worsened allergies & food sensitivities, sinusitis, more frequent colds and ‘flus, fatigue, and skin breakouts. Many practitioners associate cancer with lymph blockages. In general, if lymph function is compromised, detoxification and the immune system are compromised.
Attain & maintain optimal lymphatic health by incorporating some of the strategies below:
Abnormal Paps, Cervical Dysplasia and HPV
