[Becky]

Diet is part of it as RB has pointed out. The Omega 6 pathway leads to prostaglandin production (which causes inflammation and pain. This is the chief component to menstrual cramps and is how aspirin, ibuprofen, etc dull pain as it disrupts this pathway which is linked to Cox1 and Cox2). For many reasons we won't get into - when needed, pain and inflammation are a good thing (when you injure yourself or you are sick - how else whould you know? It also helps you rest or rest an affected part (like not walking on a broken leg)). Lolly's article post doesn't get into this but implies this. However, chronic inflammation can cause a situation that can cause a disease state. This can come up with the wrong diet. Heart disease is easier to understand. Eating wrong and having high cholesterol (LDL) is a case in point. LDL starts to line the arteries. Its not supposed to be there so the body rages war with inflammation and an immune response (white blood cells - macrophages etc) to the site. Its not something they can "kill" so it becomes chronic with more build up (now called plaque as it is LDL with macrophages and swelling due to increased inflammation). All you need is more of it or a small clot and bam - heart attack.


Well, lets look at the ducts and lobes of the breast. If you remember Lolly's post on the mouse virus - I saw this presentation at SABCS and they said that 38% of the tumors they evaluated had the mouse virus genome incorporated into the tumor - so, if this is true, does the body fight the virus and in turn (for some of us) not be able to get rid of it and cause chronic inflammation that leads to cancer? This might be so. As RB says often, so many questions. Lolly - thanks so much for this article as I really feel that cancer (any type) is the immune system gone awry (but is it because it works too little or too much?).