6 Months

Today marks the sixth month anniversary of my Aunt Jil's death. It seems hard to believe that she has been gone that long, it feels like it has only been a few months. I wanted to go out to the cemetery this weekend, but a long lingering illness kept me close to home. Perhaps next weekend. We miss her. So much. Her presence at family gatherings. Her thoughtfulness. Her love. From month 5 to 6 was emotional for me. I remember from my grandpa's death that it took at least 13 months to feel some semblance of normal. I remember that because I'd heard the first year was the hardest but on the first year anniversary I felt even worse. Yet within a month or so, I realized that indeed, it did seem to get easier.

The illness also kept me from finishing my ten day challenge with Leslie. I made it seven days. Took some time off. And am now doing another four miler for my workout, one that is slightly less intense as the other one.

I found some information on "whfoods.com" last week about the benefits of eating at least five vegetables and fruits a day in relation to preventing breast cancer as well as the re-occurence of breast cancer. I'd wanted to make an intelligent blog out of it, but I'm pretty worn out from the past two weeks. Please excuse me for cutting and pasting this information. On the left side of the home page, click on the link for "All About Organic Foods" and then enter in Lentils, or any other foods you want to know more about.

"Americans have one of the highest breast cancer rates in the world. One's risk for breast cancer is related to one's lifetime exposure to estrogen-like substances. These include any of the natural and man-made chemicals to which the body responds similarly (but sometimes much more strongly) than it would respond to estrogen.

"While one out of eight American women develop breast cancer, the rate of breast cancer in Japan is about one-fifth of that in the United States. Researchers attribute much of this discrepancy to differences between the standard American diet and the low-fat, nutrient-dense native diet and of the traditional Japanese diet.

"There is tremendous controversy regarding the role of dietary fats in the development and progression of breast cancer. However, evidence is building to show that the types of fats you eat and levels of other nutrients in your diet may greatly influence how your body processes estrogen-like substances, which clearly affect the risk for breast cancer.

"Breast cancer survivors who eat 5 or more servings daily of vegetables and fruits, and exercise moderately, can cut their risk of dying from breast cancer almost in half, even if significantly overweight, shows a study just published in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"Researchers at the Cancer Prevention and Control Program, San Diego Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA, enrolled 1,409 women diagnosed and treated for early-stage breast cancer between 1991 and 2000, and followed them through December 2005.

"The combination of consuming 5 or more daily servings of vegetables and fruits with regular moderate exercise (equivalent to walking 30 minutes, 6 days a week), was associated with a significant survival advantage - a 44% reduction in risk in obese as well as nonobese women. If you've been diagnosed with breast cancer, you can greatly improve your odds of living a long and healthy life simply by enjoying a daily half-hour's walk and delicious meals featuring the World's Healthiest Foods."