Happy birthday all you Leo’s out there!  Today is my birthday and I wanted to share a few thoughts with all of you and the upcoming events that we are hosting.  

First, let me tell about the weekend that I spent in the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA.  Truly, a centering and healing weekend spent in meditation and prayer and acceptance.  Maybe this was God’s birthday gift to me.  The priest had recommended the book ‘The Shack’ which I finished last night among tears and laughter and again acceptance.  The book was hard for me emotionally but amazing all the same and I recommend it but what I am so amazed at is God’s forgiveness and love and how warmly we are embraced in it.  My efforts this 39th year (again) are to allow myself to feel that love and embrace others within it.  

Heal the spirit, first.  

Dr. Anna Cabeca

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New Recommendations for Mammogram Screening
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recently made new recommendations for mammogram screening. This information will help explain the new recommendations as well as the benefits and limitations of mammogram screening.
What are the new USPSTF recommendations for mammogram screening?

1) Women should start getting screening mammograms at age 50, and if normal, should continue getting them every other year until age 74.

2) Women under 50 should not get mammograms unless they:
are having symptoms
are at exceptionally high risk or
the woman and her doctor believe it will be of benefit to her.

3)  After age 75, women can stop getting screening mammograms.

Why is the USPSTF making these new recommendations?  

1.  There have been large numbers of false diagnoses of breast cancer when screening mammograms have been used.
Mammogram screening exams are shown to prevent only 1 death in nearly 2000 women aged 40-49, while there are 99 false-positive results per 1000 screening exams.  That is a rate of nearly 10% false positive diagnoses.  False diagnoses lead to unnecessary emotional trauma of false cancer diagnosis and unnecessary, risky further procedures such as needle biopsies or radiation treatment.

2. Mammograms expose us to radiation.
Epidemiologists have calculated that cumulative radiation exposure from yearly screening mammograms commencing at 40 could cause a net overall increase in cancer deaths. The younger we are when exposed to radiation, the more sensitive our tissues are to the hazards from radiation exposure and from the extra images that are required in the event of a false positive result.

3. Over the past 30 years, mammograms have been shown to decrease breast cancer deaths in women over 50 years of age by 30%.
But a benefit for women in their 40's has never been demonstrated.  Mammograms are clearest when imaging fatty breasts, which are naturally more prevalent in older women. Higher hormone levels occurring in the premenopausal period naturally cause breasts to be more fibrous and harder to read on a mammogram.  

These new recommendations are in line with the recommendations followed by most European countries for the last 10 years, and the rates of death from breast cancer in the U.S. do not exceed those of most of Europe.

Are there any other screening options?

*_Thermography*_ is an excellent way to find large numbers of aggressive cancers as early as possible.

Thermography is radiation free using infrared sensing technology to identify areas of increased heat in the breast which represent increased blood flow, and inflammation, which are associated with breast cancer. A number of studies have shown Thermography to be sensitive and specific for detecting breast cancers.

Thermography offers the advantage for prevention because it identifies factors that can cause or encourage the growth of cancers.  Such factors are modifiable and women can make the appropriate changes needed to discourage prevent the growth of cancers.  

What measures can I take to promote healthy breast care?

Don't smoke.
Drink alcohol only in moderation.
Eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables (especially broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, kale, kohlrabi), healthy fats, and lean protein, including soy.
Take a daily high-quality multivitamin that contains iodine and selenium
Take omega-3's
Exercise 30–60 minutes 4 times per week and keep your body mass index low
Manage your stress in a healthy way
Discuss your family and personal history with your practitioner
Alkalinize your body! Try Mighty Maca Greens available on Amazon 

Wishing you a vida pura !
Anna Cabeca, DO, FACOG, ABAARM  

Dear Dr.

If I have an ablation, can I still get pregnant?  

I am 49 and it is too risky?

dr-cabeca  response:
NO, the risk of miscarriage is extremely high after an endometrial ablation. Additionally, pregnancy is unlikely after an ablation.

For more information on heavy menstrual bleeding refer to my article:  Heavy Menstrual Bleeding 

Wow! It has been a while since I blogged on my expert site! I was really surprised that it had been so long!

“What happened?” you may ask.
Avamarie was born and then she became mobile!  

“Is it more difficult when you have a child after age 40?”
Well, in my case, she is my fourth, but I was diagnosed with irreversible infertility and early menopause after my third.  So she is a miracle, and yes it was hard because I had so much fear that something would happen to her and I was emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted when she was born.  I have since learned to accept the fear, and grace of God, and put aside any, and I mean any concept that age limits you!  I mean that sincerely!  I am now in better shape than I have been in over 20 years, lost 50 pounds, participated in my first sprint triathlon and came in fourth for my division!!!

So, babies after age 40 are fabulous!  I enjoy every snuggle and cuddle and embrace my health and my families health and enjoy the simple moments in our lives.  

“How did you do it?”
I take the head to toe approach I write about in my book “Your Restorative Health Program“.  I have written it in a work book format for anyone who wants to improve their health.  

It has taken me years to research and understand the concepts, but it is simply a head to toe, 7 key approach to optimal health and victorious living.  These are:

Mental and Spiritual Health

Environmental Health

Nutrition

Digestion and Intestinal Health

Detoxification

Hormone balance

Structure and function, i.e. exercise

Balance in these areas leads to victorious healthy living!  

I was most recently at the Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine Conference in Boca Raton, Florida and gave a lecture to over 400 Physicians.  One of the most interesting topics was risk reduction for breast cancer.  I presented a case regarding a patient who was a young 42 year old female who was diagnosed with Stage 1 invasive breast cancer.  

She had undergone twelve rounds of chemotherapy and a bi-lateral mastectomy as a result of the diagnosis.  When I had seen her approximately two years after her therapy she was feeling horrible, she felt fatigued, had decreased libido, PMS, constant irritability and agitation, her ADD symptoms were worse, and she was on medications for Attention Deficit and asthma.  What concerned her the most was now that she was treated for breast cancer she still had no idea how to prevent another cancer or why the cancer began in the first place.  This is often a question people have whether they have a diagnosis of benign or cancer.  Either way a diagnosis that is benign (or in other words non-malignant) or they are diagnosed with cancer, it is very scary, very frightening and often we do not know what the reason was.  In my practice I take a head to toe approach in regards to my patients.  

So when they present to me I want to know fully what their history is including such things as: childhood illnesses, social influences, anything that could be a stressor in their lives, how is their diet, how is their nutrition, what is the quality of life, how much do they exercise, what is their mental functioning and what type of environment do they live in to name a few.  

Toxicity is a big issue as I’ve mentioned in prior newsletters.  What is concerning to me is that I see younger patients diagnosed such as this one with breast cancer that are without a clearly identified genetic link.  Even though she had a family history of breast cancer she was BRCA1 and BRCA2 negative also her receptors for the breast cancer were negative, we call these estrogen and progesterone, and  Her2/neu receptor negative.   These markers are important because they help us guide the treatment options, for example because she was hormone receptor negative chemotherapy was an option.  If she was hormone receptor positive she would have the option for something called selective estrogen receptor modulators, such as the drug example tamoxifen which could be used for up to five years in this patient.  

In approaching this patient we want to try to work on the cause that led to cancer to begin with, often we are not exactly sure what the trigger was and we know that cancers can grow for ten to fifteen years before we ever identify them.  By looking back over a patient’s history (that is broad and detailed) we can sometimes see potential triggers.  Some of these potential triggers include:

long term use of birth control pills
birth control pills started at an early age
history of estrogen dominance
toxin exposure
poor dietary habits

and certain genetic predispositions related to our body’s ability to detoxify and metabolize whatever comes into our body or that we are exposed to in our environment.  

We are meant to live in a natural world not an industrial one.  

 Sometimes our bodies are overloaded and that’s one of the reasons I so strongly recommend beginning detoxification as early as possible in a person’s life.
In this case, the patient, a young woman 42 years old, really at the prime of her life was struggling to get through the day.  She has been told that currently she is free of cancer but she felt miserable.  The way I worked with her was to clearly identify several things to improve including: good dietary, nutritional supplementation and an exercise regimen that helped her rebuild her body and rebalance her body.    Functional tests further identified where there was a breakdown in the communication between her cells.  When we think of the cells of our bodies we think of the powerhouse of the cells which are the mitochondria.  We can actually get more information on our body by using urinary testing that looks at our body’s ability to process our nutrients.  In her case, we found that she had significant deficiencies in certain vitamins such as B12 and B6, which are really our “get up and go” and due to the chemotherapy she was in complete ovarian failure and menopause.  She suffered from hormone imbalance issues.  In utilizing therapeutic herbal recommendations, to help improve her body balance, and balancing her hormones we were able to achieve optimal health in this patient.  

Another study I did with this patient was look at heavy metal toxicity as a possible trigger to her breast cancer and when I tested her she had greater than 95% toxic load of lead, which we know is associated with breast cancer and other cancers as well.  So it was necessary to kelate the lead, removing it from the body. This can be done through oral supplementation, or in her case we used a suppository, the result she feels enormously better.  

She is joyous once again, living without pain and living without fear.  She has control of her body; she saw where some of the problems were in her body and was able to repair them through her education, her knowledge and her disciplined approach to her lifestyle.  She was able to make therapeutic lifestyle changes with the appropriate interventions.  I can’t emphasize how important it is to take control of your life to be disciplined and work fully to optimize your health.  Granted at times we want to reach for the chocolate cake, as I do right now, but resisting or limiting yourself to those temptations is a part of staying in balance and progressing forward to a healthy lifestyle.  Taking charge and making positive changes will result in your health being as optimal as possible.  

This is not only about being a survivor, it is about being VICTORIOUS!  

*Read more:  Cabeca Health News 

Wishing you a vida pura ,
Anna Cabeca, DO, FACOG, ABAARM

*CabecaHealth.com 

Drawing by Betty Jo Blystone

In our practice, Libby and I are experts in hormone balancing and you may or may not know that our hormones are derived from the very important substance, cholesterol.  

Cholesterol in its natural state is a waxy substance; it does not mix well with blood.  It has to combine with other proteins to become HDL, which is good and beneficial, or LDL, which is the bad or harmful.*

HDL is high-density lipoprotein. This cholesterol scavenges a LDL   low-density lipoprotein and transports it to the liver for breakdown.  

All our hormones are derived from cholesterol and antioxidants inhibit the cholesterol from oxidizing onto the lining of the arteries.  In general, cholesterol is not bad for us till it becomes oxidized and affects the lining and vessel walls of the arteries.  I think in general we are focussing on, in our medical community, achieving unrealistic and possibly unhealthy low cholesterol levels.  Because again, this is where we are deriving our hormones from.
*
Statin drugs like Lipitor and Mevacor are used to reduce cholesterol.  Data has shown increased survival rates among people with high cholesterol and advanced heart disease who take these statin drugs, but these are certainly not for everyone.  Many patients may experience side effects on statin drugs, which include muscle pain, muscle loss, memory loss, and fatigue.  Therefore, people with mildly elevated cholesterol may benefit from alternate therapies and alternate therapies can also be used in conjunction with the statin drugs to reduce the effect of the negative side effects.  Additionally, CoQ-10 is an important enzyme that is reduced by statin medication that should always be taken in a dose of somewhere between 60 to 120 mg or even 200 mg per day in patients who are on statin drugs.  In general, for myself, coenzyme Q10 is one of the powerful antioxidants and is important for energy production.  It is also one of my anti-aging secrets.  So, I personally take on a daily basis, CoQ-10 120 mg per day based on my testing and mitochondrial needs that I have evaluated through our organic acid nutritional testing.  

So, what are our alternative therapies for reducing cholesterol.

Eat a healthy diet. That is a Mediterranean, low-glycemic load diet.

Use olive oil, coconut oil, and grapeseed oil.

Incorporate lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Seven to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, ideally 7 vegetables to 2 to 3 fruits per day. Nuts and seeds and spices. I am a big fan of spicing your food.

Protein: you should include a diet high in fish, low in beef and pork and use as much free range organic meat as possible to avoid the chemicals and hormones that are in meat.

A diet with high fiber sources using garlic and onion liberally is encouraged.

Take a robust multivitamins such as our Dida daily essential vitamin packs, which include Albion micronutrients and chelated minerals in their most bioavailable highest quality form, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and an antioxidant rosemarin. I also recommend CoQ-10, vitamin E - mixed tocotrienol form, curcumin, and OPCs from grape seed can all work synergistically to help lower your cholesterol.

Additionally, a supplement called Krill, which is a deep water crustacean, basically whale food, has been shown to significantly lower LDL, improved HDL, and lower triglycerides. This works excellent also for hormone balancing, for insulin resistance, to help with weight loss, and has worked great in patients with PMS and perimenopausal mood disorders and it is absolutely one of my favorite supplements.

 In a study evaluating Krill on cholesterol, it showed in 90 days a 13% reduction in total cholesterol with a decrease in LDL cholesterol of 32% and increase in HDL, the good cholesterol of 43% and a decrease of triglycerides 11%.   This was at only 1 to 1.5 g per day of the Krill oil.  At 2 to 3 g per day, the triglycerides were decreased a further 27% in 90 days.  Again, if you are on a statin drug, this can work synergistically with it.  

REFERENCE:
Bunea, R. Khassan, EF, Deutsch, L. Evaluation of the Effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the Clinical Course of Hyperlipidemia; Alt Med R; 2004; Vol 9, No. 4; 420-8.
Studer M, Briel M, Leimenstoll B, Glass T, Bucher H. Effect of Different Antilipidemic Agents and Diets on Mortality: A Systemic Review; Archives of Internal Medicine 2005 April 11; 165(7):725-30.  

Additionally, not all over-the-counter supplements are the same.  For example, our Krill oil is almost exclusive EPA and DHA and come in the form of phospholipids contrary to all other marine oils where the fatty acids are in the triglyceride from.  Neptune Krill Oil builds healthy cell membranes and provides antioxidant protection.  All our omegas are tested for heavy metals and we use the highest quality resources.  

Dr. Anna Cabeca is a bio-identical hormone specialist. Visit:
https://www.CabecaHealth.com to learn more.

• Dr. Anna Cabeca does not receive an income from Golden Isles Medical sales of supplements, etc..  Any income is used towards research and development as well donations for foundations involved in improving quality of life and generational health studies including the Garrett V. Bivens Foundation.  These products have been made available to assist patients in achieving the highest quality, science-based supplements, that are safe and tested and certified.  These products are used, as well, in autism children.  Dr. Cabeca feels that her selections are among the safest in the world.  There has been much media attention to supplements containing heavy metal contamination, pesticide, insecticide, as well as containing less than 10% of blood products that may be stated to contain.  For example, the Costco had Omega-3s that were shown to have significantly high levels of heavy metals, GNC's mineral combination had toxic side effects and is now involved in a class action lawsuit.