Reducing the risk of breast cancer
Dedicated to my friends Meryl and Tracey
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That lovely smelling body wash with the scent that really lasts? That is likely to be hiding a plastic chemical nasty – pthalates are added to make scents or ‘parfum’ last. And you won’t see its name on the label – it’s not disclosed.
Recent community research (link below) has highlighted the role that may be played by parabens and pthalates. They are like fake estrogens (xenoestrogens) disrupting hormones. BC survivors who cut out every day personal care products with these chemicals in, in one month eliminated cells that showed signs of malignancy-associated behaviour (see health and environment website link)
Action plan: Some things you can’t control. But some things you can
Diet: consider what you eat, drink and smoke.
Sleep: prioritise a decent night’s sleep – the best hours are the first four hours for most restful sleep and deep Delta wave healing – for most people around 10pm to 2 am.
Personal Care Products: switch to plant-based products that are free of chemical nasties. I use and recommend Tropic as it’s the only product that I have never had a reaction to. I’d appreciate you using my portal to buy. https://tropicskincare.com/pages/rosemarykpharo Same goes for washing powder – ditch the plastics and petroleum-based products.
Bras: Avoid tight bras that constrict the breasts lymph flow – underwired bras particularly. Consider natural materials not plastic such as polyester. Surprisingly, perhaps, plastic-based clothes apparently ‘off gas’.
Breast massage: the Lymph System is your body’s sewage system – give it a hand to flush our your breasts. My friend, Sally Spurgeon, a bc survivor who runs a Las Vegas-based massage practice has created a great daily routine for improving lymph flow and getting to know what’s normal for your breasts: https://yournewbreastfriend.com/daily-routine
Emotional baggage: emotional baggage and unresolved trauma leaves the body behaving ‘as if’ it is under great stress. This typically puts the body in an inflamed ‘fight or flight state’ – sympathetic nervous system activation. This is both a huge drain on your resources and blocks the body’s normal ‘healing state’ (parasympathetic activation) with its healing hormones (e.g. human growth hormone) from going into full action. There are so many ways to clear this – you’re bound to find one that suits you.
Connective tissue (fascia) may also become less mobile, more congested, inflamed and affected by unresolved emotions and experiences in parts of the body that the nervous system associates with the emotion or trauma. This in turn will affect the ability of the lymph system to work its magic.
Exercise: 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise (as a minimum) is recommended to reduce risk of bc. It’s thought to improve helpful hormonal states and reduce inflammation and keep your weight in check too.
Locations: Avoid highly polluted environments
Links:
Www.breastcancer.org – risk factors
https://www.zerobreastcancer.org/en/ - support and coaching
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Copyright R Pharo 2025
90% of BC has an environmental basis
Only 5-10% is genetically related
Booze, excess weight, chemicals in every day toiletries, what we wear,
perfume/’parfum’, smoking, age, low vitamin D
What makes things worse? Lack of sleep (increases aggressiveness of any c), lack of exercise


